Erin Patterson trial: Simon wanted a strong household. A mushroom meal saw it all fall apart

The Age

04-05-2025

'I guess one of the things that attracted me to her in the first place was definitely her intelligence,' he said.
'She's quite witty, and can be quite funny.'
Erin had a university degree in business, did part of a vet science course, and studied legal courses as well. She worked as an accountant and was a qualified air traffic controller at Tullamarine.
After marrying in 2007 and having two children, the couple eventually settled in Korumburra. Simon's parents, Don and Gail, lived nearby.
Erin stayed home to look after the kids, benefiting from a significant inheritance, first from her grandmother and then her mother, that gave her $2 million and then routine disbursements.
Erin Patterson. Credit: Jason South
When the Pattersons first met, Erin had been an atheist and Simon a Christian who attended church every week. A trip to the local baptist church changed that for Erin when she was visibly moved by a communion service.
Simon continued to go to church weekly; Erin joined with the kids every fortnight. He helped with technical work during the service; she assisted with the livestream, the court was told. The pair often went to Bible study classes.
'She was influenced by a few factors, including, I guess, my involvement in her life. I'm a Christian ... it's really God's leading that makes us Christians or not,' Simon said.
Don and Gail also attended the church. Heather Wilkinson, Gail's sister, was married to the pastor, Ian Wilkinson, who had been at the church since 1999.
The Pattersons' family life was uneventful. Don and Gail looked after their grandchildren, helped them with their homework. They shared a good relationship with Erin.
'They got on very well,' Simon told the court as he fought back tears. 'She especially got along well with Dad. They shared a love of knowledge and learning and an interest in the world and I think she loved his gentle nature.'
Simon told the court he and Erin finally separated for good in late 2015, but they remained on good terms.
Don Patterson (left), Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson were poisoned by a mushroom meal.
They talked, shared duties for the children and even took family holidays together. They are still technically married.
However, Simon told the court the couple's relationship took a turn for the worse in late 2022 when he listed himself as separated for the first time on his tax return.
'She was upset about it. That was probably the first thing that made me feel there was substantial change in our relationship,' he said. 'Our habit for years was to message each other a lot in a chatty way. The chatty nature of it pretty much stopped. It became functional, and sometimes nothing.'
According to Simon, Erin, in a move supported by him, applied for child support but the $38 a month he was told to pay increased tensions between the pair. There were still doctors' bills and school fees to pay for.
In text messages from December 2022, shown to the jury, Simon tells Erin he wants a mediator to help the pair sort out their child support disputes.
'I was keen to resolve it, and I could see that Erin and mine's communication about it ... wasn't working. And, yeah, I guess, from my point of view, Erin was being extremely aggressive, and so I thought a mediator would probably help us communicate about it,' he said.
Simon said Don and Gail continued to speak with Erin, but were keen not to become mediators in any of their disputes.
'They were both really strong on us working our marriage out together and everything out together,' he said.
But during that time there was also what Simon described as a misunderstanding about his mother's 70th birthday.
Simon asked his estranged wife if she was going to the party. Erin said she hadn't been invited.
'I might pass … as I'd rather not go somewhere I'm not welcome,' Erin said in a message.
After some back and forth, Erin said she felt 'very hurt' about not being invited.
Simon insisted it was a mistake, his father had thought Erin had already accepted his invitation to go. She eventually agreed to attend.
By July 2023, Erin said she had news to break to her family, according to the prosecution's opening statement. She asked her in-laws, her estranged husband and the Wilkinsons over to lunch.
Simon pulled out of the event the night before, saying he was 'too uncomfortable' to attend.
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Erin sent her children to the cinema and sat down to a lunch of individual beef Wellingtons, mashed potato and green beans with Don, Gail, Ian and Heather, according to the prosecution's opening statement.
Erin served the meals on four grey dinner plates, hers sitting on a smaller, coloured plate. They said grace and tucked into the meal as she told those assembled of a cancer diagnosis and asked for advice on how to tell her children, the court heard.
The group prayed together, shared cake and fruit for dessert, then parted.
Within a day, all four elderly guests were critically ill. Don, Gail and Heather would succumb to the effects of death cap mushroom poisoning. Ian spent weeks in intensive care before pulling through.
Erin, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, says their deaths were a terrible tragedy, but an accident.
Prosecutors claim she deliberately lured the group to her home with 'murderous intent'.
A jury in Morwell will hear up to six weeks of evidence before deciding which it is.