Latest news with #mushroommurder
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Irish Times
Why is everyone around me obsessed with the Australian mushroom murder case?
Are we okay? I ask this because water-cooler chat in Australia has changed in recent times from the AFL (Australian Football League), Survivor, the Australian Open and Married at First Sight to: 'Yeah, nah, she definitely did it, didn't you hear about the dehumidifier the cops found?' 'She literally served the beef wellington on an orange plate, everyone else had grey plates, it's sooo obvious.' READ MORE 'She pretended to have cancer, that's so Belle Gibson .' I once pretended to like AFL (although I hate sport) to connect with potential Australian mates, why not a mushroom murder case? I googled details from the above snippets and began to weigh in. I ran out of steam promptly. Frankly, I believe I'm above true crime as a source of entertainment. It's ethically ambiguous at best and downright abhorrent at worst. Podcast hosts, series makers, book writers always start their piece with something along the lines of: 'Remember that the victims were real-life people, okay.' One of the top five podcasts in Australia, Mushroom Case Daily, began its series with: 'We know people are obsessed with this case, it's really captured the imagination of so many people, it shouldn't be forgotten that three people died, and all the people that loved them in the community are devastated by their loss.' By episode eight of Mushroom Case Daily, the hosts gleefully finish proceedings with, 'We got some plans to catch up with some pretty 'fun guys'.' So begins the reality-TV-esque content marketing wheel. Interviews with biologists, foragers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, one individual who had served on a jury in Texas that one time. True crime as entertainment can only prosper if we maintain a safe distance from those most affected. We mustn't think too deeply about the victims to really enjoy it. It doesn't matter how reverently anyone approaches this subject matter, it's all about profit, ratings, ad spend. Erin Patterson on trial: Latest in mushroom poisoning murder case Listen | 26:35 Three days before Erin Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, it was reported that the Mushroom Case Daily podcast producers received the green light for a new drama series called Toxic which will be based on the true story of Patterson. It's a media frenzy, a multimillion-dollar industry with a primed audience. Some 53 per cent of Australians engage with true crime content and the lion's share of the audience are female, reports B&T, which describes itself as Australia's leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries. The reasons for such high engagement with the genre have been studied to some extent. One psychological study, Out of the Dark – Psychological Perspectives on People's Fascination with True Crime by academics at the University of Graz, Austria, cites morbid curiosity, defensive vigilance and emotional regulation. [ Death cap mushrooms: Are they in Ireland and how do you spot them? Opens in new window ] Melbourne-based clinical psychologist at Integrate Therapy and Psychological Services, Mel O'Shea, unpacks these concepts: 'Cases like Patterson's allow us to psychologically stare into the abyss and get close to events that are shocking and unthinkable in a safe way. Essay author Hannah Kingston, a freelance writer living in Melbourne since 2020. 'Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung theorised that we have a 'shadow self' which is a part of our selves that holds thoughts, feelings and impulses that are unacceptable and shameful and that we deny and disown. Keeping an eye on the Erin Patterson case allows us to project our own shadow self impulses on to someone else and means that we can explore our own hidden feelings like rage and envy and control without acting on them.' There's more, and it's primal: 'From an evolutionary psychology perspective, humans have a desire to pay attention to people who violate social rules and norms as a way to protect ourselves by internalising what not to do. 'It means that we can protect our place in the group – society – and reinforce group norms and safety and keep the population populating. This stuff harks back to caveman days when our very survival meant relying on being part of a group, and conforming to group norms as there was safety in numbers against all those predators we faced in our early existence.' According to a study by Pennsylvania State University, sci-fi movie watchers fared better during Covid-19 because they had effectively lived and relived their new reality many times before. The study states that 'after factoring out personality influences, which were actually quite strong, we found that the more movies about zombies, alien invasions and apocalyptic pandemics people had seen prior to Covid-19, the better they dealt with the actual, current pandemic.' Mural by street artist Jarrod Grech of Erin Patterson - now stamped with a guilty sign - after she was found guilty of murdering three members of her husband's family with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington lunch. Photo by William West/AFP) O'Shea says: 'There is a level of preparedness that comes with the engagement. Exploring true crime helps us identify what the risk factors were of victims, and more closely understand the modus operandi of perpetrators so that we can make adjustments and ensure our own safety. True crime engagement easily and readily gives us a long list of red flags that we can draw on to keep ourselves safe.' I cast my mind back to waking up on a couch one Saturday morning at a friend's house. I have The Fear, and I think it's caused by Pinot Noir until I notice that there's a podcast about Ivan Milat (commonly known as the Backpacker Murderer) softly playing in the background. My friend needs gore to sleep. She can't exactly put her finger on it, but she says it helps her to relax. For me, not so much. Milat had pierced my veil of sleep, leaving me full of anxiety before I even started the day. Who needs to be making a concerted effort to feel anxious when the majority of us already spend our lives in fight or flight, because we have access to the internet? I need to know why everyone around me is obsessed with the 'mushroom case', why one of my best friends who offers only kindness and light loves the gritty details. I ask O'Shea for details on the function of true crime. She says: 'I think the level of engagement in true crime by Australians speaks to that morbid curiosity and collective fascination with the darker parts of human nature. With disbelief also comes a desire to understand those who are unable to inhibit and control the shadow parts of themselves. 'At one point in our lives, we'd all like to tell a boss or a family member what we really think of them, but we disavow this and we repress it so that we can maintain our jobs, meet our basic needs, and maintain our connection to kin. When we engage in true crime, we really let the Jungian shadow self come out to play and we can look into the mirror of another who shows us what it would really be like for us should we let our inhibitions go. True crime reinforces to us why we repress those dark parts of ourselves along with our own moral position of never letting the shadow of ourselves creep out.' Would it not be better that we swap society's current insatiable appetite for brutal content that will entertain us, with empathy for a wider brutal reality that begs for, deserves, our attention? True crime is steeped in reality. Is that where the crossover comes from, the selective detachment from those affected? I think of reality TV shows centred around love and dating; the ones where you get to see someone's full naked body before deciding if they're the one for you; the one where you don't see them until you're standing at the altar; the partner-swapping one; the island one. There's no denying that reality is a ripe market but don't be silly enough to forget that while Machiavellian brands clean up on the misery of others, the families and friends of the individuals will need to relive the horror afresh with each new repackaging of their real life, through each hot-take and TikTok video. What bearing does this have on our collective future? Is it time for a risk-benefit analysis? O'Shea says: 'Constant exposure can activate the brain's threat system, making it a little more sensitive and resulting in increased hypervigilance, anxiety and mistrust. This might become a problem if it impairs functioning such as not going out after dark, which has implications for social and occupational functioning if you have to work the night shift as part of your regular routine. 'On the other hand, constant exposure to murder case details and true crime might actually result in a bit of a desensitisation. When we are desensitised we can become apathetic. If nothing shocks us any more, that apathy can lead to a learned helplessness and may stop us from believing that our actions matter, maybe making it less likely for us to intervene or speak out or show empathy when others are hurt. These are constructs that we call bystander effect and compassion fatigue.' Bystander effect and compassion fatigue? The data keeps the score, as this graph comparing online searches in Australia for true crime and the situation in Gaza shows. I asked as many people as I could why they think they care about the mushroom case. The majority of them 'don't know', just think 'it's mad', or were hooked because 'everyone's talking about it'. I believe I'm well versed to comment on this case because I know everything about it. They got me. I even tuned in while I was on the way to a Palestine protest. Would it not be better that we swap society's current insatiable appetite for brutal content that will entertain us, with empathy for a wider brutal reality that begs for, deserves, our attention? I'm saying this because this case, the frenzied excitement around it and the detachment from its devastating realities , makes me wonder if we as a society are okay, that's why I asked. Hannah Kingston is a freelance writer living in Melbourne since 2020
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- RNZ News
Australia: Correspondent Annika Smethurst
The jury was shown these images during the trial. Photo: ABC / Supplied / Supreme Court of Victoria Australia correspondent Annika Smethurst looks at how the verdict in the mushroom murder trial fixated media around the world, as attention now turns to whether Erin Patterson will appeal her conviction. The childcare centre which employed an alleged abuser is promising to rollout CCTV, and all eyes on the upcoming Reserve Bank monetary policy decision.
ABC News
08-07-2025
- ABC News
How the world reacted to Erin Patterson's guilty verdict
It's an extraordinary mystery that has captivated not just Australia, but the world. In 2023, five people sat down to a beef Wellington lunch — only two survived. One of them was Erin Patterson. The 50-year-old would be charged with murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth by lacing their meals with poisonous death cap mushrooms. Over a mammoth trial, this case — and the tiny regional Victorian town of Morwell — were thrust into the global spotlight as a jury heard evidence from more than 50 witnesses. Overseas journalists joined local media in bringing the high-profile matter to an international audience, working to appease enormous global appetite for details of the infamous "mushroom murder". Associate professor Xanthe Mallett, a criminologist from Central Queensland University, told the ABC the trial had attracted extraordinary global interest. "I can't actually remember an Australian case which has garnered quite this much international attention," she said. On Monday, after 10 marathon weeks, Erin Patterson was found guilty of all charges. International publications immediately lit up with the news, with several sites including Reuters, CNN, the BBC, Washington Post and New York Times alerting the verdict. Many outlets also published reports on the trial's outcome, including a number of detailed explainers offering step-by-step accounts of the case. The BBC poured its resources into covering every moment of the trial's long-awaited outcome in a live blog that led its online page. The global media heavyweight also published an in-depth breakdown of the trial, which it said had "gripped the world". The report outlined the weeks of evidence, including that Patterson, a "self-described mushroom lover and amateur forager", had told the court the deaths were a "tragic accident". "But over nine weeks, the jury heard evidence suggesting she had foraged death cap mushrooms sighted in nearby towns and lured her victims to the fatal meal under the false pretence that she had cancer — before trying to conceal her crimes by lying to police and disposing of evidence," the BBC reported. Caroline Cheetham, who hosts The Trial of Erin Patterson podcast for Britain's Daily Mail, travelled to the remote town of Morwell to cover the story and spoke to the ABC about the case. "It just resonated. It resonated with an audience all over the world," she said outside court. Al Jazeera and the Washington Post also published detailed explainers of the almost two-month trial, described by the Post as "replete with family drama, fungal ingredients and allegations of deception". "The 'mushroom murder case', as it is known in Australia, transfixed the country," the Washington Post report said. Meanwhile an online piece from the New York Times detailed the "overwhelming media attention" on the case, which saw the jury carefully sequestered during deliberations. The US publication highlighted Patterson would now be facing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, adding it "was not immediately clear" when she would be sentenced.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
How the mushroom murder trial gripped Australia
The 'mushroom murder trial', as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it's prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed 'body language experts' assessing defendant Erin Patterson's every move. There's an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom. But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has? On 29 July 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef wellington. She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian. Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend. Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either. Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted. Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms. Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant. The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister? These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention. Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50. That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began. This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist. The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive. Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend. The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It's hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live. However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth. One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture. For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1,244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas. Then there was Erin Patterson's unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone. There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable. The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance. Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident. The jury took six-and-a-half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page. Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold. There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn't. The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial. It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide. The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday 7 July. The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier. Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the 'bodies in the barrel' murder case), Kendall in New South Wales (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes. While the trial is over, there's much more content still to come, the public's appetite yet to be satiated. But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally. Amid the spectacle, it's easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve. Xanthe Mallett is a Criminologist at CQUniversity Australia This article was originally published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Georgia Love scrambles as she reports on Erin Patterson guilty verdict and records updates in her Jetta for radio segment after losing plum Channel Seven TV gig
Georgia Love has been avidly covering the Erin Patterson trial over the past week - all from her car. Patterson was on Monday found guilty of murdering her three in-laws with death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington that she served them for lunch at her home. Former Bachelorette star Love has shared updates from outside the Supreme Court of Victoria, where she has been stationed in her Volkswagen Jetta with a trunk full of microphones and recording gear in her assignment for radio station Gold FM. In video shared to Instagram, Love panned past her open laptop computer, which sat on her centre console. She also recorded a segment while seated behind the wheel of her parked car, captioning one image: 'Who needs a professional recording studio?' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'A day in the life of a radio reporter covering the mushroom murder trial,' Love captioned her post. When not in her car, Love was seated on an outdoor bench, furiously working on her laptop and chatting with other reporters. The verdict ends one of the nation's most intriguing homicide cases. Patterson sat defiantly throughout her 10-week trial, glaring at the media, members of the public and the family of the people she murdered with callous disregard. The mother-of-two had pleaded not guilty to the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. They died after consuming death caps in the beef Wellingtons during lunch at Patterson's Leongatha home in southeast Victoria on July 29, 2023. Only Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived her plot - a blunder Patterson would live to regret, and will now serve time for after also being found guilty of attempting to murder him. Asked to deliver a verdict, the jury foreperson - one of only five women to sit on the original 15-person panel - simply stated, 'guilty'. The verdict produced an audible gasp from those within the packed courtroom, which included members of the Patterson clan. While clearly excited by her assignment, Love's less than glamorous gig comes after she was ditched from a television reporting role at Channel Seven after just five months on air, back in 2021. The former reality star was moved to a behind-the-scenes role after she received backlash for a 'racist' Instagram post. Prior to the scandal, Love worked as a news reporter and presenter for the network. At the time, she left Seven to join storytelling agency Enthral as a senior public relations and content manager. Love began her career in journalism at WIN News before her profile skyrocketed in 2016 when she was cast on Channel 10's The Bachelorette. She went on to become a casual reporter for Ten Eyewitness News in Melbourne, which was later rebranded as 10 News First, but was let go due to budget cuts in early 2021. The role was what she described as her dream job, before jumping ship to rival network Channel Seven in February 2021. But Love's TV career came to a grinding halt after she made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The journalist had sparked backlash for sharing footage of a cat behind the window of an Asian restaurant and writing: 'Shop attendant or lunch?!' She deleted the video an hour later and apologised for causing 'offence', but at the time denied the post had any racist 'insinuation'. Georgia also posted a similar 'joke' about pets and Chinese restaurants in 2013. Following a workplace investigation, Seven alerted staff via email that Georgia had been 'counselled' and reassigned to an off-camera role 'effective immediately'. Love last year returned to Melbourne radio with a plum role on the Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS FM as a newsreader. She currently works for the Australian Radio Network as a reporter and newsreader across various stations. Georgia rose to fame when she joined Channel 10 as their official Bachelorette for season two in 2016. In addition to her journalism career, Love also dabbles as a podcast host and social media influencer.
