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The Advertiser
07-07-2025
- The Advertiser
Mushroom murderer: key points in Patterson's conviction
KEY EVENTS IN THE MURDER TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON * 2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children * November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support * June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill * June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing * July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home * July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch * July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening * July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne * July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event * August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast * August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch * August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station * August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview * September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital * April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day * June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days * June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating * July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson KEY EVENTS IN THE MURDER TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON * 2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children * November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support * June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill * June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing * July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home * July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch * July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening * July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne * July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event * August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast * August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch * August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station * August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview * September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital * April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day * June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days * June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating * July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson KEY EVENTS IN THE MURDER TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON * 2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children * November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support * June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill * June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing * July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home * July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch * July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening * July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne * July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event * August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast * August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch * August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station * August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview * September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital * April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day * June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days * June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating * July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson KEY EVENTS IN THE MURDER TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON * 2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children * November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support * June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill * June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing * July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home * July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch * July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening * July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne * July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event * August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast * August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch * August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station * August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview * September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital * April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day * June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days * June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating * July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson
Perth Now
07-07-2025
- Perth Now
Mushroom murderer: key points in Patterson's conviction
KEY EVENTS IN THE MURDER TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON * 2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children * November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support * June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill * June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing * July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home * July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch * July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening * July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne * July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event * August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast * August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch * August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station * August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview * September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital * April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day * June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days * June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating * July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
WTF: Treating neurodevelopmental diseases differently – why NTI164 offers new hope
What are ASD and Rett syndrome? How do they affect children and families? Why is there a need for new treatment options in neurodevelopmental care? And what excites Professor Fahey most about NTI164's future? In this interview, Professor Michael Fahey, a leading Paediatric Neurologist and Clinical Geneticist at Monash Medical Centre, joins host Tylah Tully to answer all these questions and more, delving into his experience with Neurotech's (ASX:NTI) NTI164 drug in treating ASD and Rett syndrome. As the first clinician to prescribe NTI164 during its clinical program, Professor Fahey shares powerful patient outcomes and his hope for a treatment that "enables people to be their best" without the side effects of conventional therapies. He explains how NTI164 is showing early promise, with families reporting transformative changes. "People were more alert, more able to participate... Families would tell us that they went out to dinner as a family for the first time," he said. Professor Fahey believe the early clinical success really underscores the real-world impact of the drug could have, beyond clinical metrics. Watch the video to learn more about the NTI164 drug candidate and Professor Fahey's key takeaways from the clinical program. This video was developed in collaboration with Neurotech, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
The Advertiser
04-06-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Moment husband confronted mushroom cook over toxic meal
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson says she became scared and frantic after her estranged husband accused her of purposely serving up a toxic beef Wellington lunch as her in-laws were fighting for life. "Is that how you poisoned my parents, using that dehydrator?" she recalls Simon Patterson's confrontation. The 50-year-old has given evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson maintains the poisonings were not deliberate. She was admitted to Monash Medical Centre with her children days after experiencing stomach cramps and diarrhoea and after doctors found traces of death cap mushrooms in her very ill lunch guests. Patterson had fed her kids leftovers the day after the lunch, but with the mushroom filling scraped off. She recalled on Wednesday how Simon confronted her in hospital, asking if she had deliberately poisoned his parents. "I said, 'of course not'," Patterson told the court. Her estranged husband's comment caused her to think about how she had used the dehydrator to dry foraged mushrooms weeks earlier. "I started to think, 'what if they had gotten in there, in the container with the dried Chinese mushrooms'," she said. "Simon was of the mind that this was intentional and I got really scared." Patterson was "frantic" when she got home, telling the court she felt responsibility because "I had made the meal and served it and people had got sick". So the next day she took the dehydrator to the rubbish tip. "I was scared that they would blame me for it," she said. "Blame you for?" defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked. "For making everyone sick. I was scared they'd remove the children," Patterson responded. "I thought there might be ... evidence of any foraged mushrooms in there." The alleged murderer on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting early on the day by frying garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworth to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Mr Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in that additional container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought in Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre properties in Korumburra and Leongatha and along a rail trail. She had accepted there "must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served. Patterson recalled plating up five beef Wellingtons with mashed potatoes and green beans, with Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished. She ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. After the guests had left, Patterson was cleaning up when she said she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought, which left her so full that she "went to the toilet and brought it back up again". Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the case continues into its sixth week. The trial resumes on Thursday. Mushroom cook Erin Patterson says she became scared and frantic after her estranged husband accused her of purposely serving up a toxic beef Wellington lunch as her in-laws were fighting for life. "Is that how you poisoned my parents, using that dehydrator?" she recalls Simon Patterson's confrontation. The 50-year-old has given evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson maintains the poisonings were not deliberate. She was admitted to Monash Medical Centre with her children days after experiencing stomach cramps and diarrhoea and after doctors found traces of death cap mushrooms in her very ill lunch guests. Patterson had fed her kids leftovers the day after the lunch, but with the mushroom filling scraped off. She recalled on Wednesday how Simon confronted her in hospital, asking if she had deliberately poisoned his parents. "I said, 'of course not'," Patterson told the court. Her estranged husband's comment caused her to think about how she had used the dehydrator to dry foraged mushrooms weeks earlier. "I started to think, 'what if they had gotten in there, in the container with the dried Chinese mushrooms'," she said. "Simon was of the mind that this was intentional and I got really scared." Patterson was "frantic" when she got home, telling the court she felt responsibility because "I had made the meal and served it and people had got sick". So the next day she took the dehydrator to the rubbish tip. "I was scared that they would blame me for it," she said. "Blame you for?" defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked. "For making everyone sick. I was scared they'd remove the children," Patterson responded. "I thought there might be ... evidence of any foraged mushrooms in there." The alleged murderer on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting early on the day by frying garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworth to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Mr Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in that additional container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought in Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre properties in Korumburra and Leongatha and along a rail trail. She had accepted there "must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served. Patterson recalled plating up five beef Wellingtons with mashed potatoes and green beans, with Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished. She ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. After the guests had left, Patterson was cleaning up when she said she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought, which left her so full that she "went to the toilet and brought it back up again". Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the case continues into its sixth week. The trial resumes on Thursday. Mushroom cook Erin Patterson says she became scared and frantic after her estranged husband accused her of purposely serving up a toxic beef Wellington lunch as her in-laws were fighting for life. "Is that how you poisoned my parents, using that dehydrator?" she recalls Simon Patterson's confrontation. The 50-year-old has given evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson maintains the poisonings were not deliberate. She was admitted to Monash Medical Centre with her children days after experiencing stomach cramps and diarrhoea and after doctors found traces of death cap mushrooms in her very ill lunch guests. Patterson had fed her kids leftovers the day after the lunch, but with the mushroom filling scraped off. She recalled on Wednesday how Simon confronted her in hospital, asking if she had deliberately poisoned his parents. "I said, 'of course not'," Patterson told the court. Her estranged husband's comment caused her to think about how she had used the dehydrator to dry foraged mushrooms weeks earlier. "I started to think, 'what if they had gotten in there, in the container with the dried Chinese mushrooms'," she said. "Simon was of the mind that this was intentional and I got really scared." Patterson was "frantic" when she got home, telling the court she felt responsibility because "I had made the meal and served it and people had got sick". So the next day she took the dehydrator to the rubbish tip. "I was scared that they would blame me for it," she said. "Blame you for?" defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked. "For making everyone sick. I was scared they'd remove the children," Patterson responded. "I thought there might be ... evidence of any foraged mushrooms in there." The alleged murderer on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting early on the day by frying garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworth to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Mr Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in that additional container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought in Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre properties in Korumburra and Leongatha and along a rail trail. She had accepted there "must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served. Patterson recalled plating up five beef Wellingtons with mashed potatoes and green beans, with Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished. She ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. After the guests had left, Patterson was cleaning up when she said she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought, which left her so full that she "went to the toilet and brought it back up again". Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the case continues into its sixth week. The trial resumes on Thursday. Mushroom cook Erin Patterson says she became scared and frantic after her estranged husband accused her of purposely serving up a toxic beef Wellington lunch as her in-laws were fighting for life. "Is that how you poisoned my parents, using that dehydrator?" she recalls Simon Patterson's confrontation. The 50-year-old has given evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson maintains the poisonings were not deliberate. She was admitted to Monash Medical Centre with her children days after experiencing stomach cramps and diarrhoea and after doctors found traces of death cap mushrooms in her very ill lunch guests. Patterson had fed her kids leftovers the day after the lunch, but with the mushroom filling scraped off. She recalled on Wednesday how Simon confronted her in hospital, asking if she had deliberately poisoned his parents. "I said, 'of course not'," Patterson told the court. Her estranged husband's comment caused her to think about how she had used the dehydrator to dry foraged mushrooms weeks earlier. "I started to think, 'what if they had gotten in there, in the container with the dried Chinese mushrooms'," she said. "Simon was of the mind that this was intentional and I got really scared." Patterson was "frantic" when she got home, telling the court she felt responsibility because "I had made the meal and served it and people had got sick". So the next day she took the dehydrator to the rubbish tip. "I was scared that they would blame me for it," she said. "Blame you for?" defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked. "For making everyone sick. I was scared they'd remove the children," Patterson responded. "I thought there might be ... evidence of any foraged mushrooms in there." The alleged murderer on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting early on the day by frying garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworth to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Mr Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in that additional container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought in Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre properties in Korumburra and Leongatha and along a rail trail. She had accepted there "must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served. Patterson recalled plating up five beef Wellingtons with mashed potatoes and green beans, with Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished. She ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. After the guests had left, Patterson was cleaning up when she said she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought, which left her so full that she "went to the toilet and brought it back up again". Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the case continues into its sixth week. The trial resumes on Thursday.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- ABC News
Security footage played to mushroom murder trial jury shows Erin Patterson dumping food hydrator at the tip
Security footage has been played to Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial, showing her dumping a food dehydrator at the tip in the days after she hosted a deadly lunch. Prosecutors allege traces of death cap mushrooms were found on the black Sunbeam dehydrator, the same toxin ingested by four guests who ate beef Wellingtons at Ms Patterson's home on July 29, 2023. The trial of Erin Patterson, who stands accused of using a poisoned meal to murder three relatives, continues. Follow Wednesday's court hearing with our live blog. CCTV from the Koonwarra Transfer Station And Landfill was played to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, showing Ms Patterson's red car pull up outside a large green shed on August 2, 2023. Ms Patterson is seen retrieving the dehydrator from her boot and taking it inside the shed. Tip manager Darren Canty said the item was later retrieved from an e-waste bin and given to police. Ms Patterson made her trip to the landfill hours after being discharged from the Monash Medical Centre. While Ms Patterson was at the tip, lunch guests Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather and Ian Wilkinson, were in hospital as doctors tried to save their lives. Mr Wilkinson was the only guest who survived. Prosecutors have previously told the court traces of Amanita phalloides, also known as death cap mushrooms, were found on the dehydrator after scientific testing. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning the group of four and avoiding illness by serving herself a similar-looking meal that was not contaminated. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder, with her defence lawyers telling the jury she did not intend to poison her relatives. Professor Andrew Bersten, an experienced intensive care specialist, said he was asked to review Erin Patterson's medical records. He said there was evidence she had suffered from a diarrhoeal illness in the days after the lunch, citing mild dehydration and slightly elevated levels of haemoglobin and fibrinogen consistent with a sudden illness. However, Dr Bersten said, there was no evidence the illness was severe or that Ms Patterson suffered liver damage. Earlier on Wednesday, mycologist Camille Truong testified that there were no traces of death cap mushrooms found in beef Wellington leftovers retrieved from Ms Patterson's household bin in Leongatha. After the lunch, Ms Patterson directed police to her home, where an officer found remnants of a stale-looking pastry and brown filling at the bottom of a bin. Those items ended up with Dr Truong, who examined the filling under a microscope in her home lab and for a second time at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. She said she found no traces of death cap mushrooms, but identified Agaricus bisporus, a mushroom typically found in Australian supermarkets. Several witnesses have told the trial Ms Patterson claimed to have sourced the mushrooms in the group lunch meal from a local Woolworths and from an unspecified Asian or Chinese grocery store in Melbourne's south-east. In the months before the lunch, prosecutors alleged she visited the areas of Loch and Outtrim, near her home, after death cap mushroom sightings had been reported online. Dr Truong said it would be "impossible" for someone to buy death cap mushrooms from a supermarket, because commercially sold fungi was cultivated and the poisonous varieties only grew in the wild. Dr Truong, who also works with the Victorian Poisons Information Centre, said she was not aware of any records of people falling sick from mushrooms sold in shops. Another mycologist, Dr Tom May, was taken through a lengthy exercise by defence lawyers where he was shown 17 pictures of various mushrooms. He agreed the stubble rosegill, Oudemansiella gigaspora, honey mushroom, buttery collybia, spotted stem ringless Amanita and spring fieldcap — all reported to be growing in Victoria — had some visual similarities to the death cap mushroom. Not all of those species were believed to be poisonous, he said. Dr May said identifying species of mushrooms was a challenging task, even for experienced mushroomers like him. "There are quite a few mushrooms where the state of our understanding of the taxonomy … is still not finalised," he said.
