The lies that unravelled: How Erin Patterson deceived police in her first interview

“Do you own a dehydrator?” asked Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall.

“No,” replied Erin Patterson.

A still from CCTV footage of Erin Patterson dumping a dehydrator at Koonwarra waste station on August 2, 2023, was among exhibits shown to the jury.Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

It was Saturday, August 5, 2023, and at Wonthaggi police station, detectives were conducting their first interview with Patterson, who is now a convicted triple-murderer.

Seconds earlier, Eppingstall had asked her to explain why police found an instruction manual for a Sunbeam Food Lab electronic dehydrator at her Leongatha property.

“What’s that in relation to? Do you know anything about a dehydrator in your house or-”

“No,” Patterson answered.

“I’ve got manuals for lots of stuff I’ve collected over the years. I’ve had all sorts of appliances and I just keep them all.”

“All right. When did you own a dehydrator?” Eppingstall pressed.

“I don’t know,” Patterson replied. “I don’t know. I might’ve had one years ago.”

It has since become evidence that Patterson did own a dehydrator and that she disposed of the appliance at a tip on August 1, 2023.

Mushrooms dehydrating on scales in Erin Patterson’s home, in a photo exhibit to the court.Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

On July 29, 2023, Patterson served a lunch of beef Wellington laced with poisonous, dehydrated death cap mushrooms that killed her in-laws, and her estranged husband’s aunt, and left his uncle fighting for life.

Patterson told the jury in her trial that she got rid of the dehydrator out of fear that people would think she was intentionally responsible for the deaths of her lunch guests.

On Monday, a jury reached that exact verdict.

The transcript of this interview was exhibit 63 in the cache of evidence presented during Patterson’s 10-week-long trial in Morwell, which ended with Monday’s guilty verdicts.

Patterson was arrested and charged three months later, in November 2023, and has been in custody since.

A series of denials

“Obviously, we’ve got concerns in relation to these mushrooms and where they’ve come from,” said Eppingstall at a different point in the interview. “Is that something you’ve done in the past, foraging for mushrooms?”

“Never,” said Patterson.

“All right. Do you preserve foods or anything like that?”

“No,” Patterson replied.

“Have you ever dehydrated food or anything like that?”

“No,” said Patterson.

Eppingstall also laid out what had happened during the interview.

“Following eating at your house, Donald, Ian, Gail and Heather all become so ill that they ultimately ended up in the intensive care unit at both the Dandenong Hospital and moved to the Austin Hospital, all right.

The detective continued: “Following that, [Heather and Gail] had a – a deterioration in their condition and that they become so ill that their livers have failed, all right.

“Donald underwent a transplant last night and” – here Patterson said something indecipherable – “OK, and his condition is still extremely critical as of last report.” Don Patterson became the third to die later that same day, August 5, 2023. Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson both died the previous day.

“So, do you understand why we’re interviewing you today?” Eppingstall asked Patterson in the interview.

“Yep, I do,” she replied. “But I’m sure you understand too, that, like, I’ve never been in a situation like this before – and I’ve been very, very helpful with the Health Department through the week because I wanted to help that side of things, as much as possible. Because I do want to know what happened.”

Eppingstall then thanked Patterson for being “very helpful at the house, and you did point out a couple of things for us that – that will help us with our investigation”.

He said one of the things Patterson pointed out was a fruit platter, which Heather Wilkinson took to the lunch.

Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.