08-08-2025
Erin Patterson's suppressed evidence uncovered; deadly fungi PDFs, a plot to kill her husband with chicken curry and odd Facebook posts
Synopsis
New evidence has surfaced in Erin Patterson's triple-murder case, revealing previously suppressed pre-trial details. Prosecutors alleged Patterson showed a long-standing interest in poisonous mushrooms through a Facebook post and possessed documents detailing lethal substances. The jury was not informed about Patterson's disposal of cardboard and putting out bins on the day of the fatal lunch, actions the prosecution deemed incriminating.
AP FILE - Erin Patterson leaves a court in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. (James Ross/AAP Image via AP, File) Erin Patterson's triple-murder case has taken a new turn after previously suppressed pre-trial evidence was made public. Patterson, 50, was convicted in July of killing three people and attempting to kill a fourth with a poisoned beef Wellington lunch in 2023.
It is also revealed that the alleged Australian mushroom killer tried to poison husband with chicken curry, pasta, and wrap.
The evidence, once ruled inadmissible by Justice Christopher Beale, included a Facebook post prosecutors said showed Patterson's long-standing interest in poisonous to pre-trial material, reportedly by the Nightly, the prosecutors alleged Patterson uploaded a photo of a cat eating mushrooms about 18 months before the first alleged poisoning in November 2021. The post read: 'My cat chewed on this mushroom just now. He is having a vomit. Was in grassland near trees, I'm in Victoria Australia.'Prosecutors claimed Patterson did not own a cat and that the post was dishonest. They planned to use it to argue she had a focused interest in poisons. Defence lawyers objected, saying the post's reliability was questionable and that the source of the screenshot had previously manipulated images.
Justice Beale ruled the evidence out, agreeing it could unfairly prejudice the jury.
Victoria Police digital investigators found thousands of files on devices seized from Patterson's home, searching for terms like 'death,' 'mushroom,' and 'poison.'
According to among them was an appendix from a 2007 book, Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys, found on a Samsung detailed properties and lethal doses of substances, including antifreeze, arsenic, and cyanide. Prosecutors alleged Patterson had access to it in 2019.
The Nightly stated that another PDF, an Overview of Fungi in Melbourne, contained images of death cap mushrooms. The defence maintained that it had little value as it did not mention poisonous mushrooms.
The jury heard Patterson disposed of the dehydrator used to dry the deadly mushrooms after leaving the hospital on August 2, 2023. But they were not told she visited Koonwarra transfer station the day of the fatal lunch to dispose of cardboard, or that she put her bins out for collection that same day as per the Nightly points prosecutors had argued were incriminating conduct in pre-trial remains convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson.
