Flashback: Erin Patterson's Mushroom Murder Trial: Community Reactions and Court Updates

Erin Patterson's Mushroom Murder Trial: Community Reactions and Court Updates

This episode is from 2024.

A court update reveals the accused mushroom cook will return to court earlier than expected, as we explore the Facebook life of those involved and how social media reveals the community's grief and reaction to unwanted media attention.

• Erin Patterson, charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, will appear in court on April 22 for a case management hearing
• Ms Patterson denies all allegations and is entitled to a fair trial without prejudice
• Facebook has become a key investigative source, with police reportedly examining deleted social media content
• Local Facebook groups reveal the community's grief over their lost members, including tributes to Don Patterson as a beloved teacher
• The South Gippsland community feels unfairly portrayed as "cult-like" by media, with Mayor Nathan Hersey describing it as "just a regular country town"
• Simon Patterson's Facebook posts provide insight into his past business experiences and health challenges
• The Facebook trail shows a community struggling with tragedy while trying to maintain privacy from media scrutiny

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to support our independent podcast, please consider donating $5 via the Buy Me A Coffee platform - link in the show notes. Follow us on Instagram at Erin Podcast, on Twitter at Lisa Podcast, or visit our website for updates and to submit 


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, I'm here today to tell you a story that has
fascinated Australia and theworld.
Firstly, today we are going toupdate you on upcoming court
appearances.
The accused mushroom cook willreturn to the court very soon,
almost two weeks earlier thanexpected, after a special

(00:24):
mention date was set down.
The 49-year-old mother of twowas originally due to reappear
in the La Trobe MagistratesCourt on May 3, almost six
months after her arrest inNovember last year.
Ms Patterson is now listed toreturn to the court on April 22

(00:47):
for a case management hearingbefore her committal mention the
following Friday.
We will have full coverage ofboth appearances, but today we
are here to divulge what we canabout the woman we knew, justice
Erin, albeit with caution dueto the ongoing legal matter in
Victoria, where our words musttread lightly so as not to sway

(01:13):
any potential jurors.
Furthermore, ms Pattersondenies all allegations and we
are in no way implying shedeliberately poisoned her
relatives with beef, wellingtonand mushrooms.
She had the right to a fairtrial.
But keep in mind this narrativeis grounded in real life

(01:35):
tragedy involving the deaths ofthree very loved individuals.
Miss Patterson is accused ofmurdering her former in-laws,
don and Gail Patterson, bothaged 70, and Gail's sister,
heather Wilkinson, aged 66.
Back in November, ms Pattersonwas charged with three counts of

(01:57):
murder and five counts ofattempted murder.
Today we examine how Facebookis a key player in the Beef
Wellington with Mushroomstragedy, and it's important for
us to say firstly, we know MsPatterson from the social media
platform, but we found out inrecent news that police were

(02:18):
reportedly scouring MsPatterson's Facebook activity
for information.
According to the Herald Sun,officers are set to scour the
deleted social media.
Now, getting back to news, thisis what truly matters.
The South Gippsland communitywas truly shaken by the

(02:39):
allegations concerning MsPatterson, which she denies.
And it's inside a localFacebook group where the
devastation caused by the lossof three very loved people is
laid bare.
It even provides context toSimon Patterson, erin's ex, and
his health challenges.
About a year ago, a womanreplied to Simon saying thank

(03:04):
God, you're okay, simon.
Simon responded amen to thatgoing great, just need to
strengthen the arms back up.
And when the news broke of thedeaths of Don, gail and Heather,
there was an absoluteoutpouring of grief.
Quote I still remember MrPatterson pinging me for
throwing the ball over my headin a school football game.

(03:28):
It was clearly a hand pass.
I yelled as a 15-year-old 29years ago.
The one thing I remember washis massive calf muscles LOL, he
was always one of the goodteachers back in the day.
The next, thinking about thewhole community during this
difficult time.
Next, our hearts are heavy forthese dear people.

(03:51):
We have continued praying dailyfor all involved in this family
and for the extended family aswell.
On the 28th of August 2023,.
This appeared on a local noticeboard Hi there.
As a member of the localBaptist Church, I have been
asked to pass on this message toour wonderful community.

(04:15):
Baptist Church would like toexpress our sincere appreciation
for the outpouring of love andsupport from our local churches
and communities during thisdifficult time.
As we share grief andcommemorate the lives of those
we have lost, we also continueto uphold our pastor in prayer.

(04:38):
Most of you may know that isthe local pastor, ian Wilkinson,
who was fighting for his lifein hospital at that time.
He's now back and out ofhospital, which is good news for
him.
We continue to uphold ourpastor in prayer for God's
healing and restoration.
We pray for God's comfort andstrength for all those who need

(05:02):
it at this present time.
Thank you for all those whoneed it at this present time.
Thank you Now.
The locals understandably do notlike all the attention, but I
think this is a dilemma manysmall towns face when they're
forced into the media.
This is from the Herald Sun howsilence cost town at the centre
of Mushroom Mill.
The Herald Sun revealed thatresidents say they were unfairly

(05:26):
portrayed as cult-like andcountry folk when three beloved
community members died from analleged mushroom poisoning last
year, a fact South GippslandShire Mayor Nathan Hersey said
led to them being wronglylabelled as cult-like.
I think there was a narrativethere for a while of overly

(05:49):
religious, cult-like people, butit's just a regular country
town filled with great people ina very picturesque and
beautiful place.
The Herald Sun Facebookcomments were interesting that
day.
The first one go ahead, make ourtown folk look bad.
I had a reporter turn up at mydoor.

(06:09):
God knows how they found outwhere I lived.
Well, I'm pretty sure I knowthe answer to that.
And journalists?
In a situation like this, we'rejust going to knock on every
door.
Someone responded white pagesprobably.
Look, that's an option, but Ithink it was old-fashioned
journalism.
Then someone said they shouldrename and cash in on it like

(06:31):
they cashed in on Ned Kelly.
Someone responded clever thingto do, really.
Ah yes, small town, localVictorians not wanting to be
dragged into the spotlight forsomething that has nothing to do
with them.
So you make them a story anywayfor not wanting to be part of
the story.
Class act guys, real class act.

(06:53):
He'd probably not like mypodcast.
I thought it happened in LeonGatha.
When you don't roll out the redcarpet I hate this phrase fake
news journalists.
It's not fake news, it's actualnews.
They go into a cult-like fakenews frenzy.
Okay, thanks for that.

(07:14):
Now, moving right along back toFacebook, amongst the reports of
missing dogs, pizza reviews andphotos of a haunted house,
there's a glimpse into the lifeof Miss Patterson's estranged
husband, simon Patterson.
So not a lot is known about himpublicly.
I do know a few things, but Iam not going to say because I

(07:38):
have to respect the legalprocess.
What we know from Facebook isthat he was a project manager
and he coached kids' basketball.
It's also that he'd takenhimself and his kids out of town
to avoid the media storm, butinside Facebook, the posts that
he shared were getting dark inretrospect.

(08:01):
As we mentioned in a previousepisode, simon and Erin once
owned a bookstore in WesternAustralia.
Here's what Simon said onFacebook in 2020 about the
challenges of owning a business.
Running your own business ishard.
It means sticking your neck outand going for something you

(08:23):
believe in.
Some people will knock you andno matter what you're doing, no
matter what it is, there's noshying away from that.
This person so is responding.
This person is more likely tobe successful if she comes out
and says this is my name, here'smy idea.
I think it has real merit.

(08:44):
Please help me with my marketresearch.
Come along for the ride with meas I try to get going.
That's very good advice.
Actually, the great thing aboutit is that it's not possible to
fail.
The worst thing that can happenis you don't make enough money,
or you decide to close down, oryou decide this don't stack up

(09:06):
and you decide to not pursue adream right now.
None of this is failure.
It's just a heap of amazinglessons to help you for the rest
of your life.
So that's all we have for youtoday.
Thank you so much for listening.
It's amazing.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support our

(09:26):
independent podcast, pleaseconsider donating $5 to the Buy
Me A Coffee A Platform, thelinks in the show notes, because
editing the podcast, hostingthe podcast and maintaining a
website are all very expensive.
Plus, we want you to get thebest show possible and to

(09:48):
continue to employ Australianvoiceover artists.
Meanwhile, to get the latestfrom that, you can follow us on
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I'm on Twitter at Lisa Podcastor you can go to our website.
So thanks again, and if youhave any news tips, please
contact us via the website and Iwill see you next time.

(10:11):
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