Mushroom cook Erin Patterson facing further questions in murder trial
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Prosecutors will continue questioning mushroom cook Erin Patterson as she returns for a fifth day in the witness box at her triple murder trial. The 50-year-old mother admitted to a number of lies to police on Thursday, as she nears the end of week six on trial before a Supreme Court jury in regional Victoria . Patterson has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Accused killer Erin Patterson. (Anita Lester) She denies deliberately poisoning her four lunch guests on July 29, 2023 by serving them death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellingtons. Patterson admitted to 14 jurors on Thursday that she lied in her police interview about not owning a dehydrator and having never foraged for wild mushrooms. She said she had a "stupid knee-jerk reaction to just dig deeper and keep lying" after being informed two lunch guests had died. "I was just scared, but I shouldn't have done it," she told the jury. Erin Patterson's defence barrister Colin Mandy SC. (Justin McManus) The prosecution honed in on Patterson's lies during cross-examination, accusing her of lying about dehydrating mushrooms as she knew telling police the truth could implicate her in the toxic lunch. "I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible," Patterson said. She also admitted she told Gail and Don Patterson she had a lump in her arm and was going to hospital to get it tested, which was untrue. "They made me feel loved and cared for in the way that they were asking about my health and I didn't want that to stop, so I just kept going," she said. Erin Patterson will have her case heard in Morwell. (Nine) Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC accused her of using a "so-called cancer diagnosis" to get her guests to come over for lunch. "I suggest that you never thought you would have to account for this lie about having cancer because you thought that the lunch guests would die?" the prosecutor asked. "That's not true," Patterson replied. Patterson will return for a second day of cross-examination on Friday as the trial continues. Victoria
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Erin Patterson has been cross examined for a second day by the prosecution. She's charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder., after her four in-laws were served a beef Wellington lunch containing death cap mushrooms.
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Erin Patterson emotional in the witness box as cross-examination continues Published 6 June 2025, 8:24 am The Victorian Supreme Court has heard Erin Patterson never told authorities there could have been foraged mushrooms in the deadly meal she served at a lunch at her Gippsland home in 2023. The mother-of-two is accused of murdering three of her relatives with a Beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, claiming it was a tragic accident.
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10 hours ago
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Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial: Erin Patterson two faces claim
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson had 'two faces' and was pretending to love her in-laws before she allegedly murdered them with a deadly beef wellington meal, a prosecutor has claimed. The mother of two has spent every day this week testifying in her own triple-murder trial and on Friday faced another grilling by Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC. Ms Patterson is standing trial in Morwell, accused of murdering her estranged husband's parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. The prosecution alleges she served them individual beef wellingtons she had deliberately laced with lethal death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Heather's husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, 71, was the only guest to survive. Ms Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, claiming she may have accidentally added foraged mushrooms into the meal along with dried mushrooms she purchased from an Asian grocer. Under cross-examination, Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson did not love Don and Gail, pointing to expletive-laden messages to her Facebook friends where she described them as a 'lost cause' and 'wanted nothing to do with them'. Dr Rogers asked: 'In fact, you had two faces: a public face of appearing to have a good relationship with Don and Gail … agree or disagree?' Ms Patterson replied: 'Are you asking me to agree if I had two faces?' When pressed again, she said: 'I had a good relationship with Don and Gail.' Dr Rogers asked: 'I suggest that your private face was the one you showed in your Facebook Messenger use, correct or incorrect?' She replied: 'Incorrect.' Ms Patterson also disagreed that she was angry they took their son Simon's side amid a child support dispute in December 2022. 'They did love me and I did love them. I do love them,' she told the Supreme Court. Dr Rogers put to Ms Patterson that if she 'had loved them' she would have immediately notified the authorities when she realised on August 1 there was 'possibility' foraged mushrooms were in a container with the dried mushrooms from the Asian grocer. 'Well I didn't … I had been told that people were getting treatment for possible death cap mushroom poisoning, so that was already happening,' she said. She confirmed she 'did not tell anybody' about that possibility. The court heard Ms Patterson invited the guests and Simon to lunch after a church service on July 16, with Simon testifying that she said to him she had some 'important medical news' to share and had invited everyone 'to discuss that topic'. 'No, that's not what I said to him,' Ms Patterson replied. 'That wasn't the purpose of the lunch or the purpose of the invitations.' Dr Rogers took her to the text she sent Simon after he pulled out of the lunch on July 28. 'That's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing … I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time,' she wrote. After a series of rapid-fire questions, Ms Patterson said she did tell Simon she wanted to discuss some 'medical stuff', but she denied that she wanted advice and that it was the purpose of the lunch. The jury has previously heard she misled her guests when she told them she may need treatment for cancer, but she testified on Friday she was 'confronting' medical issues, since she was planning to have gastric bypass surgery. Ms Patterson denied she prepared a poisoned beef wellington for Simon 'just in case' he turned up at the lunch. 'And when he didn't show up for lunch … you threw it in your rubbish bin,' Dr Rogers said. 'I did put the pastry and mushrooms in the rubbish bin,' she replied. Dr Rogers also asked Ms Patterson why she invited the Wilkinsons to lunch. 'I really liked them and I wanted to have a stronger relationship with them,' she said. Dr Rogers suggested she invited them because she thought it would make it more likely that Don, Gail and Simon would come, but she denied that was the reason. Later, Ms Patterson was asked about records that showed a map about death caps – on citizen science website iNaturalist – was accessed on May 28, 2022, on a computer in her house. 'I don't have a specific memory of this day or this internet search, but my evidence is it's possible, because I remember at some point wanting to find out if death cap mushrooms grow in South Gippsland and finding out that they do not,' she said. Ms Patterson told the jury on Wednesday she found out mushrooms growing on her property were 'probably toxic to dogs' and she wanted to see if death caps grew in the area. The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.
