Triple Murder Trial: Erin Patterson's Mushroom Defence Unfolds

Accused killer Erin Patterson continues her testimony in her triple murder trial, admitting under questioning some mushrooms in her beef wellington might have been poisonous death caps, while most came from supermarkets and grocers. The 50-year-old mother details her mushroom foraging habits developed during COVID lockdowns and describes testing wild mushrooms by trying small amounts first.

• Developed interest in wild mushrooms during COVID lockdowns while walking with her children
• Gradually became confident identifying certain mushroom varieties and testing them carefully
• Regularly purchased exotic mushrooms from Woolworths, farmers markets and Asian grocers
• Bought a dehydrator in April 2023 primarily to preserve wild mushrooms beyond their short season
• Described her 2015 separation from husband Simon as "amicable" with continued good relations
• Claimed her in-laws Don and Gail continued to treat her as family despite the separation
• Mentioned the Wilkinson family were friendly at church, with Heather making special effort to include her
• Court heard about text from Simon in December 2022 suggesting they could resolve financial issues

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh, my goodness, it's Lisa here from the Mushroom
Murder Trial Podcast.
I had to run home to make sureI got this out to you as soon as
possible, so let me know whatyou think.
Because Erin Patterson todaycontinued giving evidence in her
triple murder trial and toldthe court she accepted that some

(00:20):
of the mushrooms in her beefwellington were poison death
caps.
But the mother of two said themajority of the mushrooms were
from the local Leon GathaWoolworths supermarket and a
quote grocer in Melbourne.
The 50-year-old mother of twogave her account from the
witness stand at Morwell asmembers of both the Patterson

(00:43):
and the Wilkinson families whoseloved ones were affected by
Miss Patterson's fatal beefWellington meal sat in the
courtroom.
The Supreme Court of Victoriaheard about her interest in
mushrooms, both wild andstore-bought.
She said she'd begun noticingwild mushrooms during the COVID
lockdowns while on walks withher children in the Coranburra

(01:06):
area.
Quote.
I first noticed them popping up.
Then there were lots of them atin brackets, coranburra Botanic
Gardens.
I remember that she explainedhow she gradually became
confident in identifying certaintypes, including field and
horse mushrooms, identifyingcertain types, including field
and horse mushrooms found in apaddock near her home Quote.

(01:31):
It was a process over severalmonths in the lead up to it.
But when I got to a point whereI was confident about what I
thought they were, I cut a bitoff one of the mushrooms, fried
it up with some butter, ate itand then saw what happened.
She said they tasted good and Ididn't get sick.
Her barrister, colin Mandy SC,questioned her about her online
communications with her Facebookfriends, highlighting messages

(01:54):
that reflected her enthusiasmfor mushrooms.
Ms Patterson agreed yep, that'strue.
She said she'd always likedmushrooms because quote they
taste good and they're veryhealthy.
She also told the court sheregularly bought exotic
varieties from Woolworths,farmers markets and Asian

(02:15):
grocers in Melbourne.
She said she would shop inthose areas when her children
were staying at her Melbournehome Quote I use them in curries
or pasta dishes or soup orspaghetti, she said.
When asked what she liked aboutthe exotic mushrooms, she
replied quote they just tastemore interesting, more flavour.

(02:37):
Mr Mandy asked her aboutevidence that she had purchased
a dehydrator in April 2023.
I did do that, she said.
I liked eating wild mushrooms,but it's a very short season.
You can't keep them too long inthe fridge, so it was one way
to sort of preserve them andhaving them available later on

(02:58):
through the year.
She said Quote, but it wasn'tjust for mushrooms, so I thought
perhaps I could start to use itto preserve a whole range of
things.
She added she separated from herhusband, simon Patterson, at
the end of 2015.
Ms Patterson described thesplit as quote amicable, saying

(03:19):
there was no acrimony withassets and that, although it was
a difficult time, that quoteonly lasted a few weeks.
Quote.
We went back to being reallygood friends.
I didn't want to be separated,but there was no other choice,
she said.
Ms Patterson told the jury thather in-laws, don and Gail

(03:39):
Patterson, continued to treather as a trusted member of the
family even after the separation.
It never changed.
They just continued to love me.
The family continued to sharemeals at each other's houses,
including Simon's.
Ms Patterson added that Don andGail remained very involved in

(04:00):
her children's lives.
She also gave evidence abouther relationship with members of
the Wilkinson family, includingtwo of the lunch attendees, ian
and Heather Wilkinson.
She told the court theWilkinsons would talk with her
at church and during Christmasgatherings.
Quote.
Heather would go out of her wayto sit with me and make sure I

(04:21):
had company.
Ms Patterson said the courtalso heard about a message sent
by Simon Patterson on the 9th ofDecember 2022.
In the text, he told MsPatterson he had learned more
about the financial aspects oftheir separation and believed
the two of them could work theirfinancial issues out.

(04:41):
So thank you so much for yourtime today.
I'll be back tomorrow coveringthe trial for you, and Erin is
expected to be giving moreevidence tomorrow.
Please head to my websitemusherandmurdertrialcom for more
information.
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(05:04):
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(05:25):
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There's so much I could say,but I can't at the moment.

(05:48):
So have a wonderful evening andI shall get back to you
tomorrow with any updates, andhave a great evening.