Mushroom poisoning suspect Erin Patterson convicted five times for high-speed drunken rampage

Erin Patterson’s record includes five serious driving charges over a high-speed rampage at the wheel of an unregistered vehicle as well as fleeing the scene of the historical crash.

Mushroom death suspect Erin Patterson behind the wheel on Tuesday. Picture: Valeriu Campan

A police suspect over the three death cap mushroom fatalities was convicted of five serious charges after a high-speed drunken rampage at the wheel of an unregistered vehicle, fleeing the scene of the historical crash.

Erin Patterson, 49 this month, lost her licence for 30 months in 2004 after crashing the vehicle in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs while heavily intoxicated and then failed to stop after hitting 95km/h in a 60km/h zone, court records show.

Ms Patterson, who was then Erin Trudi Scutter and aged 29, on Tuesday refused to discuss the five convictions and $1000 aggregated fine, which were handed down in Dandenong Magistrates Court on September 7, 2004.

The formal charges she was convicted of were failing to stop a vehicle after an accident, failing to give a name or address after causing property damage, using an unregistered vehicle on a ­highway, failing to give her name or address when property was damaged, using an unregistered vehicle and driving at 95km/h in a 60km/h zone.

A sixth charge, which related to driving with a blood alcohol reading of 0.14 per cent, was struck out, probably because it was dealt with in another charge, according to a certified extract of the offending.

After fleeing the scene at suburban Glen Waverley, Ms Patterson submitted to a breath test within three hours, the court ­record shows, and posted a blood alcohol reading of 0.14 per cent.

This would have involved significant impairment, according to the health literature.

It is not possible to say how many drinks Ms Patterson would have consumed before the crash, but, even without the four other offences, she would have incurred a 14-month driving ban today for high-range drink driving.

Erin Patterson. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig.

As the twin towns of Korumburra and Leongatha prepare for Thursday’s memorial service for her former parents-in-law in South Gippsland, Ms Patterson declined to discuss her driving offences. Her lawyer, Bill Doogue, said: “Our client does not have any comment for you on a drink-driving charge from 19 years ago.’’

When asked by The Australian outside her country house, Ms Patterson said: “My lawyer has told me not to talk to you.’’

Ms Patterson also refused to say whether she would be attending the memorial service for Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, who died after being fed a meal of beef Wellington that police believe contained highly toxic death cap mushrooms.

Ms Patterson was seen in ­Melbourne’s legal precinct on Tuesday after being questioned by The Australian.

The Pattersons are her former parents-in-law, who attended lunch at her house with Baptist pastor Ian Wilkinson and his wife Heather. Ms Wilkinson, 66, also died from toxic poisoning and Mr Wilkinson is still recovering in hospital a month after the meal.

Ms Patterson has stridently denied any wrongdoing and professed her love for the dead, ­especially her former in-laws. She has two children and is estranged from her former husband Simon, a civil engineer who has kept his silence since the fateful meal.

Police have also previously stressed that her involvement in the deaths may be completely innocent. Police did not comment on Tuesday and have maintained their silence since the first press conference after The Australian broke the news that several ­people had been apparently ­poisoned in Leongatha.

The public memorial for Don and Gail Patterson will be held at Korumburra Recreation Centre on Thursday, with local residents this week working to clean up the surrounds before the influx of mourners.

Police have revealed that Erin Patterson is a suspect in the deaths because she was the only one of five adults who either didn’t die or fall gravely ill after ­ingesting the death cap mushrooms.

Erin Patterson claims the fungi were button mushrooms bought from the supermarket and dried mushrooms from an ­unspecified Asian grocery.

In a statement to police, Ms Patterson claimed that Simon Patterson had accused her of poisoning his parents on July 29.