Latest news with #Wonthaggi
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Erin Patterson tells police she ‘loved' poisoned parents-in-law in newly released interview footage
The Victorian supreme court has released footage of Erin Patterson's interview with police, conducted a week after she fed beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms to her lunch guests. Justice Christopher Beale ruled that the edited video which was shown to the jury in Patterson's trial could be released publicly. Patterson was found guilty on 7 July of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth during the lunch in 2023. She was convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson the parents of her estranged husband Simon, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The 12-person jury also found Patterson guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending weeks in hospital. Patterson admitted during her trial that she lied to police during the interview about having never owned a dehydrator, nor foraged for mushrooms. She said during her trial that she had foraged the mushrooms served in the beef wellingtons, but did not know they were death caps. They had been accidentally added to the dish after Patterson added dehydrated mushrooms to improve the flavour of a duxelles, she said. The 21-minute video of the interview was shown to the jury on 27 May. The interview was held on 5 August 2023, the same day her house had been searched by police, at Wonthaggi police station. In the interview, Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of the investigation, asks Patterson a series of questions about the lunch, and items found during the search. 'We want to discuss the deaths of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson today with you. When we were at the house earlier, we discussed you hadn't really been kept in the loop, and it came as news to you that Heather and Gail had passed away,' Eppingstall said towards the start of the interview. 'We're trying to understand what has made them so ill.' Patterson responds: 'Mmm, yeah.' Eppingstall said police were also 'trying to understand why you're not so ill'. Patterson, who did not have a lawyer with her during the interview, but had been given a chance to contact one before it started, said: 'I've never been in a situation like this before, and I've been very, very helpful with the health department. 'Because I do want to know what happened, and I've given as much information as they've asked for.' Eppingstall said to Patterson that she had also been helpful to police while they searched her house. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Patterson went on to detail her closeness to Don and Gail, saying this was pronounced because her own parents and grandparents had died. 'Always been really good to me, and they always said to me they would support me, with love and emotional support, even though we're [separated],' she said. 'They're the only family that I've got, and they're [the] only grandparents that my children have. And I want them to stay in my kids' life … I think Simon hated that I still had a relationship with his parents, but I loved them. 'Nothing that he has ever done to me will ever change the fact they are good, decent people.' Patterson, 50, appeared via video link on Friday morning. Beale said that a plea hearing in her case – when the prosecution and defence make submissions about her sentence – would be held over two days starting 25 August. When he asked Jane Warren, for the Office of Public Prosecutions, how many victim impact statements were expected, she responded 'all I can say is a lot, your honour'. Beale then made rulings about the material which could be published, including the interview video. Patterson did not speak during the brief hearing, other than to confirm shortly before it started that she could see and hear the court.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Erin Patterson's interview with Victoria police released
Erin Patterson was interviewed by police on 5 August 2023. On 7 July 2025 Patterson was found guilty of murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, and guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson. The interview was conducted at Wonthaggi police station and segments have been redacted by the court
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Erin Patterson tells police she ‘loved' poisoned parents-in-law in newly released interview footage
The Victorian supreme court has released footage of Erin Patterson's interview with police, conducted a week after she fed beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms to her lunch guests. Justice Christopher Beale ruled that the edited video which was shown to the jury in Patterson's trial could be released publicly. Patterson was found guilty on 7 July of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth during the lunch in 2023. She was convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson the parents of her estranged husband Simon, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The 12-person jury also found Patterson guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending weeks in hospital. Patterson admitted during her trial that she lied to police during the interview about having never owned a dehydrator, nor foraged for mushrooms. She said during her trial that she had foraged the mushrooms served in the beef wellingtons, but did not know they were death caps. They had been accidentally added to the dish after Patterson added dehydrated mushrooms to improve the flavour of a duxelles, she said. The 21-minute video of the interview was shown to the jury on 27 May. The interview was held on 5 August 2023, the same day her house had been searched by police, at Wonthaggi police station. In the interview, Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of the investigation, asks Patterson a series of questions about the lunch, and items found during the search. 'We want to discuss the deaths of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson today with you. When we were at the house earlier, we discussed you hadn't really been kept in the loop, and it came as news to you that Heather and Gail had passed away,' Eppingstall said towards the start of the interview. 'We're trying to understand what has made them so ill.' Patterson responds, 'mmm, yeah'. Eppingstall said police were also 'trying to understand why you're not so ill'. Patterson, who did not have a lawyer with her during the interview, but had been given a chance to contact one before it started, said: 'I've never been in a situation like this before, and I've been very, very helpful with the health department. 'Because I do want to know what happened, and I've given as much information as they've asked for.' Eppingstall said to Patterson that she had also been helpful to police while they searched her house. Patterson went on to detail her closeness to Don and Gail, saying this was pronounced because her own parents and grandparents had died. 'Always been really good to me, and they always said to me they would support me, with love and emotional support, even though we're [separated],' she said. 'They're the only family that I've got, and they're [the] only grandparents that my children have. And I want them to stay in my kids' life … I think Simon hated that I still had a relationship with his parents, but I loved them. 'Nothing that he has ever done to me will ever change the fact they are good, decent people.' Patterson, 50, appeared via video link on Friday morning. Beale said that a plea hearing in her case – when the prosecution and defence make submissions about her sentence – would be held over two days starting 25 August. When he asked Jane Warren, for the Office of Public Prosecutions, how many victim impact statements were expected, she responded 'all I can say is a lot, your honour'. Beale then made rulings about the material which could be published, including the interview video. Patterson did not speak during the brief hearing, other than to confirm shortly before it started that she could see and hear the court.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed at last: The dramatic footage of the very moment Erin Patterson sealed her fate as she told lie after lie to detectives
It was the moment Erin Patterson had been dreading for years in the lead up to her epic murder trial. So damning was her record of interview with detectives that, after jurors were shown it, Patterson's legal team put her in the witness box in a last ditch bid to save her skin. The gamble failed - and she now faces life in jail after she was convicted of the three murders of her husband's family and a further attempted murder. A heavily-edited version 20-minute version of that interview was seen by the jury during Patterson's epic 10-week trial and has now been made public following a legal challenge by Daily Mail and other news outlets. The interview had taken place on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at Wonthaggi police station in Victoria's east. It was the first time police had taken Patterson into custody to interview her over the deadly lunch. Wearing a grey jumper and seated in an interview room opposite Homicide Squad top cop Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppinstall, Patterson had been unprepared for the grilling she was about to endure. 'Do you own a dehydrator?' the detective asked her. 'No,' Patterson replied. Moments earlier Patterson had been told police had found the instruction manual for a Sunbeam Food Lab electronic dehydrator at her Leongatha property. Detectives had searched the property earlier that day and seized all matter of items. 'What's that in relation to? Do you know anything about a dehydrator in your house or...' 'No,' Patterson replied. 'I've got manuals for lots of stuff I've collected over the years. I've had all sorts of appliances and I just keep them all.' 'All right. When did you own a dehydrator?' Senior Constable Eppingstall asked. 'I don't know,' Patterson replied. 'I don't know. I might've had one years ago.' Senior-Constable Eppinstall (left) shows Patterson the time signalling the conclusion of her interview By the time the jury watched the record of interview, it had already seen CCTV footage of Patterson dumping the dehydrator at the local tip on August 1, 2023. Weeks earlier, when the trial opened, the jury had been told by Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy, SC, that she had repeatedly lied to police. Mr Mandy told the jury Patterson had lied about having cancer and did dump a dehydrator later found to have traces of death cap mushrooms. 'She panicked because she was overwhelmed, because there were four people that had become so ill because of the food she served them,' he said. But until the interview was shown to the jury, the lies had been just words. Now it was in their face, raw and ultimately damning. 'Obviously, we've got concerns in relation to these mushrooms and where they've come from,' Senior-Constable Eppingstall told Patterson. 'Is that something you've done in the past, foraging for mushrooms?' 'Never,' Patterson replied. 'All right. Do you preserve foods or anything like that?' 'No,' came the answer. 'Have you ever dehydrated food or anything like that?' 'No,' Patterson said. Senior Constable Eppinstall had made it clear to Patterson that she was in serious trouble. 'So, do you understand why we're interviewing you today?' he asked Patterson. 'Yep, I do,' she replied. 'But I'm sure you understand too, that, like, I've never been in a situation like this before. 'And I've been very, very helpful with the Health Department through the week because I wanted to help that side of things, as much as possible. 'Because I do want to know what happened.' Eppingstall thanked Patterson for being 'helpful' in pointing out a few items of interest during the search that morning despite his belief he was talking to a cold-blooded killer. In reality, Patterson had not helped health officials trying to find the non-existent Asian grocer where she claimed to have purchased the deadly mushrooms. Instead she had led them on a wild goose chase that delayed doctors from working out how best to treat her sick in-laws in the desperate hours after the lunch. The veteran detective spelled out to Patterson exactly what had happened after she served those poisoned beef Wellingtons. 'Following eating at your house, Donald, Ian, Gail and Heather all become so ill that they ultimately ended up in the intensive care unit at both the Dandenong Hospital and moved to the Austin Hospital, all right,' he told her. 'Following that, (Heather and Gail) had a deterioration in their condition and that they become so ill that their livers have failed, all right. 'Donald underwent a transplant last night and ... his condition is still extremely critical as of last report.' By that stage Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were both dead. Don Patterson would became the third to die, later that same day. The jury heard Patterson was questioned about the reason for the lunch and why she had invited her in-laws over. 'Because I've got no other family,' she said. 'I want to maintain those relationships in spite of what's happening with Simon, I love them a lot.' Patterson told the detective she had tried to maintain her relationship with Simon's parents for the good of her children despite their separation. 'Nothing that's ever happened between us, nothing he's ever done to me, will change the fact that they're good decent people that have never done anything wrong by me, ever,' she said. Senior Constable Eppinstall had been the last prosecution witness to be put before the jury. When he was done, there were few who had observed the trial from the beginning that had a reasonable doubt Patterson was guilty. With their case in dire trouble, the defence made the monumental decision to put Patterson in the witness box to try to talk her way out of the diabolical situation she was in. Again the jury saw through her lies. On July 7, the jury found Patterson, 50, murdered her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson in cold blood. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather's husband Ian, after a month-long trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria in the Latrobe Valley, in the state's east. Patterson will return to court on August 25 for a pre-sentence hearing. She faces life behind bars without parole.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dave Hughes loses it as he rips Carlton AFL team to shreds in wild TV outburst about poisonous mushrooms and machetes
Comedian Dave Hughes has launched a blistering and hilarious attack on his favourite AFL team in a wild appearance on Channel Seven on Wednesday night. The 54-year-old couldn't restrain his anger over the recent performances of his club, Carlton, as they struggle through yet another poor season and reel from last weekend's loss to North Melbourne. Hughes even referenced the murder trial of Erin Patterson, who stands accused of poisoning three people to death by feeding them deadly mushrooms, as he tore strips off the Blues on The Front Bar. 'I can't do it anymore, it's no good for my health. Every weekend from now I'm going to go to the Wonthaggi area and forage for mushrooms,' he said. 'I just think it's a healthier way. Cook them up and have a good time.' When host Mick Molloy pointed out that the Blues have a lot of players out hurt, Hughes went off again. 'Have we? Well, they're deliberately getting injured. Soldiers who shoot themselves in the foot to get out of wars,' he replied. 'Mitch McGovern, he went to hospital in an ambulance at halftime and the hospital said, "There's nothing wrong with you, mate". 'That ambulance could've been used for people who've had heart attacks.' Host Andrew Maher then played footage of Hughes leaving Carlton's shattering round-one loss to Richmond before the final siren, setting off another series of jokes, including one referencing Melbourne's crime crisis. 'We were premiership favourites that night playing against an under-12s side. We were 41 points up and we lost,' Hughes said. 'I left with 30 seconds to go, our team left at halftime. 'I walked home that night, I did, from the MCG to St Kilda, in the dark, on my own, true story. 'I was looking for guys with machetes, I couldn't find any.' Hughes then moved on to referencing the Israel-Iran war. 'If Donald Trump is interested, let's get one of his stealth bombers. We fully insured at [Carlton's headquarters] Ikon Park?' he said. The shattering loss to lowly North Melbourne last Saturday has led to furious fans - and Hawks and Swans great Buddy Franklin - calling for coach Michael Voss to be sacked. 'I'm going to put this out there, I know this is a big call, I don't think he sees out the year,' Franklin said on Monday's instalment of his podcast, The Buddy & Shane Show. 'I think they've got a pretty good list, I do. I think the issue is the messaging is not getting through to the players. 'I think there needs to be change and we've said it before, we're all about the players and coaches, but I think this is a change that needs to happen, and it needs to happen ASAP. 'All of the Carlton supporters would probably say the same. I'm probably speaking on behalf of them. 'I think there needs to be a change and it'll probably happen in the next few weeks, is my tip.'
