EXCLUSIVE Erin Patterson: New Mail podcast launches to hear case against Australian mother-of-two accused of killing three family members with a Beef Wellington laced with deadly mushrooms
Part of the Mail's award-winning true crime series 'The Trial', The Mail has launched a new podcast following the trial of Erin Patterson, who stands accused of murdering her sister and in-laws with poisonous mushrooms.
On 29 July 2023, Erin Patterson, 50, allegedly served sister Heather Patterson and her husband Ian Wilkinson as well as parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, a Beef Wellington containing Death cap mushrooms.
All four felt unwell by midnight that evening, with Gail, Heather, and Don Patterson all dying within a week of consuming the toxic dish.
Erin, an Australian mother-of-two from the small town of Leongatha near Victoria, has protested her innocence, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The Trial of Erin Patterson is available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Listen here
Her defence points to the fact that she was also poisoned by the Wellington in evidence of her not-guilty plea.
Another charge against her of the attempted murder of her ex-husband Simon Patterson was dropped just days before the trial began.
The stage is set for a case that will dominate headlines in Australia, with the Mail's acclaimed crime correspondent Caroline Cheetham and reporter in Australia Wayne Flower set to share every courtroom revelation as it happens.
With the trial getting underway on Tuesday, Flower told the podcast what the jury selection process was like having sat inside the busy Valley Latrobe Courthouse.
'There were 120 jurors that had to come into the small courthouse', Flower described.
'Each of them went in and Erin Patterson got to eyeball each one of them. They made sure that no juror knew any of the witnesses.
'By around 3 in the afternoon, they had a jury of about 15 – ten men and five women.
Don and Gail Patterson both died after the lunch
'The jurors go into the opening of the trial with some information about what lies ahead.
'They were told straight off the bat by the prosecution that these were not any ordinary mushrooms: they consumed deadly Death cap mushrooms.'
Tune in to 'The Trial of Erin Patterson' tomorrow as the prosecution lays out its case against the defendant.
New episodes will then be released every Wednesday and Friday. Search for The Trial of Erin Patterson, wherever you get your podcasts now.
Also watch out for The Trail's coverage of the proceedings of The Kim Kardashian heist in Paris, available now, and the cutting down of the famous Sycamore Oak, released on Thursday.
Become a member by clicking here, for ad-free access to every show across The Crime Desk network — including over 200 episodes of UK's No.1 True Crime series - The Trial and On The Case and so much more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Erin Patterson: Australian accused in mushroom murders disputes accounts of fatal lunch
SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - An Australian woman accused of the murder of three elderly relatives of her estranged husband by feeding them poisonous mushrooms disputed on Tuesday accounts of the fatal lunch given by other witnesses, a court heard. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution accuses her of knowingly serving the guests the death caps as part of a Beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people some 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne. She denies the charges, which carry a life sentence, with her defence calling the deaths a "terrible accident". On Patterson's third day of cross-examination, prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers asked whether she had lied about serving herself on a plate of a different colour from those of her guests, which the prosecution says she did to avoid the poison. "I suggest that this description that you gave to the jury of the plates you used at the lunch is a lie. Correct or incorrect?" Rogers said. "Incorrect," the accused replied. In his evidence, Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving guest from the lunch, whose recovery took months in hospital, had said Patterson served herself on a plate of a different colour. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, previously testified that Heather Wilkinson had remarked on the different coloured plates before she died. Erin Patterson also disputed an account by her son, who said in his evidence he had not seen her repeatedly visit the bathroom as a result of also becoming sick after the meal. The defence's decision to call Erin Patterson as a witness has re-ignited interest in the trial that began in late April. Media have descended on the town of Morwell where the trial is being held, about two hours east of Melbourne. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on the trial is currently Australia's most popular, while many domestic newspapers have run live blogs. Patterson is currently in her sixth day of giving evidence and her third day of cross-examination by Rogers. The prosecution rested its case on June 2 after a month of evidence from relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. The trial, expected to conclude this month, continues.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Erin Patterson denies lying about making herself vomit after fatal mushroom lunch
Erin Patterson says she is 'puzzled' that a clinic in which she said she had an appointment for a gastric bypass offers no such surgery, and denies lying about making herself vomit in the hours immediately after the beef wellington lunch, a court has heard. In her sixth day in the witness box, Patterson was repeatedly asked under cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC whether she was lying about the deadly lunch and other parts of her evidence before her triple-murder trial. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning four in-laws with beef wellington served for lunch at her house in Leongatha on 29 July 2023. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband. Lawyers for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident. Patterson told the court last week that she had a pre-assessment booking for gastric bypass surgery scheduled at Enrich Clinic in September 2023. But Rogers said to Patterson on Tuesday that Enrich was a cosmetic dermatology clinic, and did not offer gastric bypass surgery. Patterson said she was 'puzzled' that was the case. 'In what way?' Rogers asked. 'Well I had an appointment with them, and that's my memory of what the appointment was for, so that's why I'm puzzled.' Rogers confirmed the appointment was made, and had been cancelled by Patterson two days before it was scheduled. Patterson believed the appointment related to weight loss surgery, but said it may have been a different procedure. 'It wasn't a lie, that's what my memory was,' Patterson said. Rogers also asked Patterson about her evidence last week that she made herself vomit in the hours after the lunch, after she felt overfull from eating the beef wellington and a large portion of orange cake. Patterson said she had a history of binge eating and purging dating back to her 20s. Rogers accused Patterson of lying about vomiting on the afternoon of the lunch after her guests left. 'You did not tell a single medical person that you had vomited up after the lunch on the 29th of July?' Rogers asked. 'That is true, I didn't do that,' Patterson said. Rogers suggested to Patterson that she lied about vomiting after the lunch, and about how much she ate at lunch, 'because you're trying to account for why the others were seriously ill and you were not'. 'I wish that was true, but it's not,' Patterson responded. Patterson also denied suggestions from Rogers regarding the plating at the lunch. Patterson said evidence Ian gave about the guests being served on matching large grey plates, and Patterson serving herself on a smaller lighter coloured plate, was incorrect. She said she did not know whether evidence Simon gave about Heather making two comments to him about mismatched plates was also wrong. Rogers suggested to Patterson she used different plates as she made poisoned beef wellingtons for her guests, but that hers did not contain death cap mushrooms. 'To avoid any error, you took the extra precaution of using a different and smaller plate, to plate your non-poisoned serve, correct or incorrect,' Rogers asked. 'Incorrect,' Patterson responded. Patterson said she did not one a set of four matching plates. 'I suggest your whole story is untrue that you plated the food without discrimination,' Rogers asked her. 'You're wrong,' Patterson replied. Earlier on Tuesday morning, after answering a question from Rogers regarding the internet search history of devices seized from her home, Patterson attempted to further clarify the evidence before Rogers asked another question. 'Ms Patterson, I am the person who asks the questions,' Rogers said. 'If there something that needs to be clarified in re-examination, your barrister will do so.' 'No problem,' Patterson replied. The trial continues. In Australia, the Butterfly Foundation is at 1800 33 4673. In the UK, Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677. In the US, help is available at or by calling ANAD's eating disorders hotline at 800-375-7767. Other international helplines can be found at Eating Disorder Hope
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australia mushroom trial live: cross-examination of Erin Patterson to continue on day 29 of her triple-murder trial
Update: Date: 2025-06-10T00:33:16.000Z Title: Erin Content: While we wait for proceedings to begin, here is a recap of what the jury heard on Friday: 1. Patterson said she could not recall accessing posts about death cap mushroom sightings on the citizen science website iNaturalist in May 2022. 2. Patterson said on 1 August 2023 – three days after the lunch – she realised foraged mushrooms may have been in a Tupperware container storing store-bought mushrooms and used in the beef wellingtons. This occurred after her estranged husband Simon Patterson asked if she used a dehydrator to poison his parents, Patterson said. She agreed she did not tell anyone about this realisation. 3. Under cross-examination, denied that the purpose of the fateful lunch on 29 July 2023 was to discuss advice about a medical issue she had. Patterson acknowledged she told Simon about 'some medical stuff' when she invited him to the lunch about two weeks prior. 4. says the medical issues referred to gastric bypass surgery for weight loss she was planning to have. She said she had a pre-surgery appointment booked for this. 5. said she felt 'ashamed' about a message she sent to her Facebook friends in December 2022 where she wrote 'fuck em' in relation to her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson. She rejected the prosecution's suggestion that messages in a group Facebook chat reflected her true feelings towards Don and Gail. Update: Date: 2025-06-10T00:30:48.000Z Title: Erin Patterson Content: Welcome to day 29 of 's triple-murder trial. Patterson, who began testifying on Monday afternoon, will return to the witness box for a fifth day. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC will continue cross-examining Patterson. The trial, which is in its sixth week, will resume from 10.30am. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha in regional Victoria on 29 July 2023. She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband's aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather's husband, Ian. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with 'murderous intent', but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
