‘Not quite right’: Accused mushroom murderer’s lonely life

Former colleagues of the woman charged with murdering three family members with poisonous mushrooms have described her as a “loner” who “didn’t get along with anyone”.

More details have emerged about Erin Patterson’s life as an air traffic controller before the deaths of her former-in-laws and alleged attempted murder of her ex-husband.

The Herald Sun first revealed that Ms Patterson, 49, was part of the Airservices Australia air traffic control course number four before she was married to Simon Patterson.

Ms Patterson, then known as Erin Scutter, studied the course with 13 other people in Melbourne from February to November 2001.

A former colleague, who wished not to be named, told the Herald Sun that Ms Patterson had no friends in the tight-knit group.

“She had no friends on the course,” they said.

“We were all really tight and used to have social events but Erin would never go.

“Something was not quite right, she was a bit strange and she didn’t engage with anyone.”

The former colleague said Ms Patterson was a “loner”.

“I remember she used to sit up in the back row by herself,” they said.

“She would say some weird off-the-cuff things and just didn’t get along with anyone.

“Everybody used to talk about her, but no one would talk to her … she just wasn’t someone you connected too.”

The colleague recounted a time when Ms Patterson isolated herself from the group.

“I remember the day that September 11 happened and we all got to work,” they said.

“Instead of doing our course work, there was a TV set and we all huddled around it, watching what was unfolding.

“But Erin sat off in the other room.”

Erin Patterson appearing in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on November 3. Picture: Anita Lester

The colleague said the then 22-year-old was tight-lipped about her life.

“She was super secretive, we all knew about each other’s families and that kind of stuff but not Erin,” they said.

“We knew nothing about her, she didn’t talk about her parents.”

Another former colleague of Ms Patterson said she was “sarcastic” and “a very strange unit”, but managed to attract male attention and could “get guys wrapped around her little finger”.

Technology detector dogs were brought in to search Ms Patterson’s Leongatha home. Picture: Ian Currie

It was believed she had at least one boyfriend in the aviation sector during the time she worked in air traffic control.

The source said she was often “abrasive”, “acerbic” and – possibly unwittingly – frequently offended the people she worked with.

He also said Ms Patterson had called in sick to work a lot and had a habit of leaving early, which had finally landed her in trouble, along with the man then believed to be her boyfriend.

It comes as Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson all died after eating a beef wellington dish cooked by Ms Patterson on July 29.

Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, spent two months in hospital but miraculously survived the fatal meal.

Mr Patterson was invited to the lunch but pulled out at the last minute.

Originally published as ‘Not quite right’: Accused mushroom murderer’s lonely life