Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon reveals next move
The estranged husband of convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has rejected lucrative broadcast deals. Here’s why
EXCLUSIVE
Triple murderer Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson has established a media company to produce a podcast telling his side of the mushroom murders story.
The engineer is also in talks with a publishing company to write a memoir and produce an e-book which will feature transcripts from the podcast.
“He wants to be in control of the message, to have complete agency over it and make the edits himself,” a source with knowledge of the talks told news.com.au.
The move will see Mr Patterson bat away a lucrative upfront payment from broadcast companies such as Netflix, Nine, Paramount-10 or Seven for his exclusive tell-all.
Mr Patterson is said to have been overwhelmed with approaches from media companies and documentary producers but the source said he is not being motivated by money.
The father of two will collaborate on the podcast with Jessica O’Donnell, a management consultant and crisis comms expert.
Mr Patterson and Ms O’Donnell worked together at land developer Landgipps in Victoria’s Gippsland region from 2020 to 2022.
Ms O’Donnell, a one-time political aspirant who ran as the Labor candidate for the seat of Monash in the 2019 and 2022 federal elections, served as a government consultant on the Landgipps project while Mr Patterson was engineer on the project.
According to sources, Mr Patterson and Ms O’Donnell’s developed a level of trust and respect for each other during that time and became friends.
Erin Patterson would, on three occasions in 2021 and 2022, attempt to poison her estranged husband before, in July 2023, she succeeded in poisoning Mr Patterson’s parents Don and Gail and his aunt Heather Wilkinson with a beef wellington meal containing death cap mushrooms.
An uncle, Ian Wilkinson, would survive.
At a pre-trial hearing in 2024 Mr Patterson said he was motivated to tell his story because the “local community is grieving” the deaths of his relatives who were deeply connected to their community and religion.
He said it would take him “years” to come to terms with the deaths.
Ms O’Donnell, who has experience working for not-for-profits and charities and is the founder and director of management consulting firm IntraWork, is expected to play dual roles on the forthcoming podcast, as Patterson’s interviewer and also co-producer.
Although still in its conceptual stage, it’s expected the podcast will initially run to 10-episodes.
There are also plans Mr Patterson’s new media company will become a platform that specialises in podcasts for victims of crime.
On Monday media sources said Mr Patterson’s story would be expected to sell for a million dollars given international interest from streaming platforms.
Nine holds the record for paying the highest sum by an Australian free-to-air TV network for an interview.
That payment went to Beaconsfield mine disaster survivors Brant Webb and Todd Russell who, according to reports, pocketed $2.6 million in 2006 for Nine’s two-night “network special”, the network’s then CEO Eddie McGuire flying south to personally seal the deal during his brief stint as Nine boss.
Drug smuggler Schapelle Corby was paid upwards of $1 million over a number of years for her exclusive 2014 Sunday Night interview with Mike Willesee – Seven making good on the sum with an exchange of luxury accommodation and appearances on reality programs SAS Australia and Dancing With The Stars after its offices were raided by the AFP years earlier in a proceeds of crime investigation that was later aborted.
Thredbo landslide survivor Stuart Diver reportedly pocketed $600,000 in 1997 by Seven’s Witness program pulled out its chequebook.
Terri Irwin’s 2006 interview with Nine’s Ray Martin following the death of husband Steve drew a huge audience of 2.9 million viewers locally. Nine denied it paid for the interview however rumours persisted Irwin was paid as much as $2 million by America’s ABC for her interview with Barbara Walters on 20/20 recorded a day earlier and watched by an audience of 13 million Americans.
In sentencing Erin Patterson on Monday to life in jail for each of the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson, and 25 years for the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Justice Christopher Beale noted Patterson’s lack of remorse.
“Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all of the victims’ wounds,” Justice Beale said.
“I have no hesitation in finding your offending falls into the worst category for the offences of murder and attempted murder,” he said.
“The gravity of your offending warrants the imposition of the maximum penalties for your crimes.”
“Your offending involved an enormous betrayal of trust.
“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years.”
While a motive for the killings was never established, Justice Beale said: “Some murders occur for no reason, the motive for some murders may only be known to the offenders,” Justice Beale said.
“Clearly, the jury was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that you committed the alleged offences.
“Only you know why you committed the murders, I will not be speculating about that matter.”
