The Deadly Beef Wellington: Inside Australia's Mushroom Murder Trial

A deadly lunch. A fake cancer diagnosis. Three deaths and one survivor. The trial of Erin Patterson has begun in Victoria's Supreme Court, and it's already revealing shocking details about that fateful July 2023 day.

The 50-year-old Leongatha woman stands accused of serving death cap mushrooms to her former in-laws and their relatives in a beef wellington dish. According to the prosecution, Ms Patterson served herself food on a distinctly different plate than her guests - a small, light-coloured plate compared to the large grey ones provided to the victims. This detail emerged as prosecutors outlined their case against Ms Patterson, who faces three murder charges and one attempted murder charge. She denies all these allegations.

Defence counsel Colin Mandy acknowledges his client initially misled police about the mushrooms' source, claiming they came from a supermarket and an Asian grocer. The defence attributes these lies to panic, maintaining the poisonings were a tragic accident with no malicious intent.

Whether you're fascinated by true crime, interested in Australia's legal system, or simply captivated by this extraordinary case, our daily coverage provides unprecedented access to the proceedings. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow along as this remarkable trial unfolds, revealing the truth behind what happened at that seemingly ordinary lunch table.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial
podcast, your source forcoverage of what's shaping up as
one of Australia's mostcompelling criminal trials.
My name is Lisa, I'm apodcaster and a reporter and
I've followed this story since2023.
Now, before we start, pleasemake sure you subscribe for our

(00:24):
newsletter atmushroommurdertrialcom.
It's full of updates andinformation about the trial,
because I'm here in Victoriareporting on it.
You'll also receive the firstedition of the newsletter when
you sign up.
The purpose of today's episodeis to give you an update on the

(00:45):
proceedings in the Supreme Courtto date, in particular, today's
opening address and reply.
Ms Erin Trudy Patterson, age 50, from Leongatha, is pleading
not guilty to three charges ofmurder and one of attempted

(01:05):
murder.
In the opening addresses todayby council, here's what we've
learned so far In 2023,.
Ms Patterson hosted a lunch ofbeef, wellington mashed potato
and beans at her Leon Gatherhome.
It was attended by Ian andHeather Wilkinson and Don and
Gail Patterson.
The gathering was reportedly todiscuss Ms Patterson's alleged

(01:30):
cancer diagnosis, but both thedefence and the prosecution
agree that this claim wasfabricated.
According to the prosecution,one of the guests, heather
Wilkinson, observed at the lunchthat Ms Patterson served
herself food on a smaller,different coloured plate than
the ones used for the others.

(01:51):
The four guests becameseriously unwell about 12 hours
after this meal, while theguests sought medical attention
promptly.
The prosecution alleges that MsPatterson was hesitant to
undergo treatment, at timesattempting to or discharging
herself or attempting todischarge herself from hospital

(02:14):
when possible.
The defence acknowledges thatMs Patterson initially misled
police, denying ownership of afood dehydrator, claiming she'd
purchased mushrooms from anAsian grocer and denying that
she'd foraged for them.
Her legal team attributes thesefalsehoods to panic at the time

(02:34):
.
Ms Patterson's lawyer, colinMandy, maintains the incident
was a tragic accident andasserts that his client denies
any wrongdoing in relation tothe charges as well.
She had no intent todeliberately hurt anyone.
The prosecution, however, saysit does not intend to present a

(02:56):
motive in court, arguing thatestablishing a motive is not a
prerequisite for securing aconviction.
The Crown is relying upon areport from a medical expert
that said there was no evidencethat Ms Patterson had an acute
illness like the others.
Reading from an expert report,dr Rogers alleged her vital

(03:21):
signs and other test resultswere not suggestive of any acute
illnesses or injuries.
The Victorian Supreme Court atMorwell heard that Erin
Patterson served herself a mealon a different plate to her
guests at the lunch thatallegedly led to three deaths
and one serious illness.

(03:41):
The guests were her formerin-laws who are alleged to have
consumed a dish containingpoisonous death cap mushrooms.
Just to clarify, the guests atthe lunch were Don and Gail
Patterson, so they are Erin'sformer parents-in-law, heather
Wilkinson, who's Gail's sister,and Anne Wilkinson, who's

(04:02):
Heather's husband, missPatterson's estranged husband,
simon Patterson, had beeninvited to the lunch but did not
attend, citing discomfort andpulling out the night before.
According to Dr Nanette Rogers,ms Patterson invited the group
after raising, obviously, theconcerns about her health.
She was seeking their supportin discussing it with the kids.

(04:26):
They have two children.
The court heard she extendedthe invitation at a church
service on July 16, 2023.
On the day of the lunch, theguests were shown around Miss
Patterson's brand new homebefore being seated at the table
with the six chairs.
The court was presented by DrRogers with a photograph of the

(04:49):
table as an exhibit for the jury.
She said while the guests wereserved beef wellingtons on large
grey plates, miss Patterson'sown meal came on a smaller,
lighter plate.
After the meal, miss Pattersonreportedly disclosed to the
group that she had ovariancancer and sought their advice
on how to speak with herchildren about it.

(05:11):
The group prayed together as agroup for them to receive the
wisdom and the grace in tellingthe kids about this supposed
health crisis.
However, the prosecution claimsMs Patterson was never
diagnosed with cancer.
In addition, she read from areport, dr Rogers, that is there
is not sufficient evidence tosupport the assertion that the

(05:34):
accused was diagnosed withcancer.
Dr Rogers says the VictorianCancer Registry has no record of
Ms Patterson receiving a cancerdiagnosis.
Later, when questioned by bothmedical staff and family members
about the source of themushrooms, ms Patterson
reportedly said she used again amix of fresh and dried

(05:57):
mushrooms purchased fromWoolworths supermarket in Leon
Gather and an Asian grocer inone of three different Melbourne
suburbs.
She said the dried mushroomshad been stored in a plastic
container and were used to makea paste for the meal.
She denied having used them incooking previously.
The court heard Ms Pattersonsaid her children had eaten the

(06:21):
leftovers from the meal but shehad removed the mushrooms from
their servings because theydon't like mushrooms.
She was reluctant to have themreceive medical attention
because she did not want to makethem anxious.
Police later recovered theleftover food from a bin outside
of Ms Patterson's home aftershe directed them there.

(06:43):
Dr Rogers also told the courtthat Ms Patterson's relationship
with her estranged ex Simon hadbecome strained after their
2015 separation, especiallyfollowing a disagreement in late
2022 over a tax declaration andchild support.

(07:03):
But four weeks before thisfatal lunch, ms Patterson had
hosted Simon and his parents ather home for a meal without
incident.
But following the Julygathering, toxicology and
clinical reports confirmedsymptoms in the others
consistent with ingestion ofdeath cap mushrooms.

(07:25):
The trial continues this week atMorwell in regional Victoria.
So thank you so much forlistening today.
I have so much to tell you.
I will be putting more episodesout and longer episodes out
this week, giving you a rundownof what's been happening.
We may soon be hearing fromsome witnesses, so stay tuned,

(07:47):
because we really have a lot totalk about.
And make sure you go to mywebsite and sign up for that
newsletter, please.
That would be fantastic.
There's a link in the shownotes.
Now, also, my social mediaaccounts are there too.
If you'd like to follow us,that would be fabulous.
And if you're feeling likerewarding me for the thousands

(08:10):
of hours I've spent on this work, I have a Buy Me A Coffee
membership that allows you topay $5 as thanks and I get
coffee.
So that would be fabulous ifyou do that, but this week I'm
reporting from the Supreme Courtin Melbourne, where the media
has a live feed there, so I willbe here until Friday.
So thank you so much for tuningin, and I shall speak with you

(08:34):
soon.