May 8, 2025
A Mother's Denial and a Family's Tragedy: Inside the Mushroom Murder Trial
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The Mushroom Murder Trial podcast provides detailed coverage of Erin Patterson's court case, featuring testimony from healthcare workers about her condition after the deadly mushroom lunch and video evidence from her daughter about the events surrounding the poisoning. • Erin Patterson, 50, is facing, but denies, three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for allegedly serving death cap mushrooms to her former in-laws • Don and Gail Patterson (70) and Gail's sister Heather Wilk...
The Mushroom Murder Trial podcast provides detailed coverage of Erin Patterson's court case, featuring testimony from healthcare workers about her condition after the deadly mushroom lunch and video evidence from her daughter about the events surrounding the poisoning.
• Erin Patterson, 50, is facing, but denies, three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for allegedly serving death cap mushrooms to her former in-laws
• Don and Gail Patterson (70) and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson (66) died after the lunch, while Heather's husband Ian survived
• Nurse testimony revealed Erin Patterson "didn't look unwell" when she sought medical attention two days after the beef Wellington meal
• Nurses reported Erin Patterson was reluctant to receive medical treatment and initially resisted having her children assessed
• Erin Patterson's daughter testified in video evidence that she and her brother ate leftovers from the meal the next day
• The daughter stated Erin Patterson claimed to have "scraped the mushrooms off" before serving the leftovers to the children
• The court heard Erin Patterson became ill with diarrhoea but her symptoms were less severe than the victims who had died, according to the nurses
Visit mushroommurdertrialcom for updates and information about the trial. Follow the podcast on Instagram, YouTube , Facebook , Blue Sky, and Twitter. Support the production through Buy Me A Coffee membership for exclusive content – just $5 helps cover editing, studio hire, liability insurance, equipment, and production costs.
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Here it is in summary.
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Hello and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial podcast, your go-to source for detailed updates on this grouping legal case.
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I'm Lisa, your host and podcaster, who's been tracking this case since 2023.
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Before we dive in, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter, mushroommurdertrialcom.
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It's packed with insights and developments from the trial.
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When you subscribe, you'll receive the second issue right away.
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Now let's quickly handle a few formalities before we go into what unfolded in court yesterday.
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Erin Trudy Patterson, 50, yesterday.
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Erin Trudy Patterson, 50, from Leongatha, is facing, but denies, three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
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She stands accused of intentionally serving a dish made with death cap mushrooms to her former in-laws and extended family during a lunch at her home on July 29, 2023, allegations she denies.
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Ms Patterson is facing three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and is pleading not guilty to all.
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Following the tragic family lunch at her home, don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, along with Gail's sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson, later passed away.
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Ian Wilkinson, heather's husband, was also hospitalised in a critical condition but managed to survive.
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But managed to survive.
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The testimony presented in court yesterday focused on Miss Patterson's condition.
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Two days after the meal, a nurse from a local hospital reported.
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The mother of two did not seem visibly ill when she presented in hospital two days after the meal, as I said, which included the beef wellington with mushrooms.
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Later in the day, video of Erin Patterson's daughter being interviewed by law enforcement was also played in the courtroom, so we'll catch up with that in a moment.
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The Supreme Court session held in Warwell focused on the mum of two's medical treatment in the days following the lunch.
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By July 31, all four other guests had already been admitted to various hospitals with symptoms like severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
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Cindy Munro, a nurse at Leongatha Urgent Care, said quote she didn't look unwell like Ian and Heather.
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Ms Munro stated Aaron was sitting up in bed in the trolley and she didn't look unwell.
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To me she said Anne being so unwell that he could barely lift his head off the pillow, and Heather was a little bit unsteady on her feet, but Erin was sitting up in bed and she didn't look unwell.
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The nurse added that Ms Patterson initially appeared reluctant to undergo treatment involving intravenous fluids and liver support medication.
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Quote Erin sort of stressed she didn't want any of this, this meaning medical attention.
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She didn't understand why she was having IV fluids.
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She didn't understand the medication that was going to be given.
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She didn't want any intervention so I had to.
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Yeah, I sort of had to reassure her to say, because you've had the mushroom poisoning, we would give you the NAC, that's an enzyme that protects the liver, to help protect your liver, and also the IV fluids for rehydration, because she had had those gastro symptoms so she could have been dehydrated.
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Healthcare workers were becoming increasingly convinced that mushroom poisoning was to blame, raising concerns about possible exposure to Ms Patterson's two children, who had reportedly eaten leftovers from the meal.
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At that stage Ms Munro said no, I scraped off all the mushrooms and the children were not unwell.
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She didn't want to take them out of school and that was when she became quite teary, quite worried.
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Ms Munro told Erin that even trace amounts of toxins could have been present in the meat which might have been consumed by the children.
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Eventually Ms Patterson consented to having them medically assessed.
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Meanwhile, kylie Ashton, the Director of Nursing at Landgather Urgent Care, said Miss Patterson quote wasn't ready or willing to come through to obey for a more formal assessment.
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Knowing what we knew about the other four members, it was pretty important to do a thorough assessment.
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She was asked in court what were her responses?
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Or what did she tell you?
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She had told me she had been the fifth member of the lunch and that she had consumed the meal that was prepared and that she also had diarrhea and nausea since that occasion, but no vomiting.
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And what were her responses?
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Or what did she tell you?
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She told me she'd been the fifth member of the lunch and she'd consumed the meal that was prepared and that she had diarrhea and nausea since that occasion, but no vomiting.
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What, if anything, did you say to her about the seriousness of the risk that was there, that her life was at risk?
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These guys were really unwell, meaning Ian and Heather, who were also in the Landgather facility.
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I think we had two members in ICU at the time.
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I was trying to communicate that as quickly and as seriously as I could, try and make sure she understood that this was quite serious for her own health and wellbeing Question.
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Despite that, did she decline to move into a bay for examination and did she give you any other reason?
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Or did she provide similar reasons?
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The nurse said it was just the same reason on repeat.
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I haven't come prepared to be at hospital.
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I'm not ready to be admitted.
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I need to go away and get things organized.
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She did agree she would come back.
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I did get her to agree that it was important enough for her to come back.
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I asked her how long she needed to go away and do things and get her in a position where she could come back and consent to care and she said about 20 minutes.
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We agreed to that and that was documented in the nurse's notes for the day.
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Ms Ashton was asked what, if anything, did you say to her about the assessment or treatment that would be required for the children?
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I also asked her to, on return, bring the children back with her that it was really important that the children were medically assessed, given the risk.
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She said that she had scraped the mushrooms off.
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I suggested you couldn't scrape the mushrooms off.
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I suggested you couldn't.
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That wouldn't guarantee that they wouldn't have ingested the same toxin and that they would need thorough assessment as well.
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Later in the day, erin's daughter told an interviewer that she and her brother were out of the house on the day of the lunch.
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She in brackets.
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Erin told us that we were going to the movies in the morning.
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She said the daughter recalled the morning of the lunch and seeing her mother preparing the meal.
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She says she didn't know what her mum had made for lunch but she remembered eating it.
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It was in the oven and there was some I don't know what kind of meat it is.
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She said I know that my brother and me we had some of the leftovers the next day.
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The interviewer asked her about what else happened on the day of the lunch.
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Erin's daughter says she doesn't really remember.
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She says she was taken to McDonald's in Leangatha at about midday.
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She described eating lunch and playing on the playground before walking to the cinema After the movie.
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She says her father picked her up, her brother and a friend, and drove her brother back to Erin Patterson's house.
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Her father, simon Patterson, then dropped the friend off in Corrumburra and she stayed with her father and spent the afternoon with him.
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At about 9pm Erin's daughter returned to her mother's home.
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How was mum that night?
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The interviewer asked she?
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Um, I don't remember when she started to feel sick.
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Erin's daughter said but I think she started feeling sick the next day.
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The daughter says the next morning her mother needed to go to the toilet a lot and her daughter told her daughter she had diarrhoea.
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How many times do you think she went to the toilet.
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The interviewer asks I saw her go about.
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10 times, said the child.
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10 times, said the child.
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In addition, church plans were cancelled.
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Erin's daughter says she did not go anywhere the day following the lunch.
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She says in the middle of the day they played Monopoly together and had dinner.
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Quote we were going to go to church but mum was feeling too sick, the daughter said.
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When asked if she went for a drive with her mum and her brother, she said she cannot remember.
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But they did eat leftovers for lunch her mother, her brother and the daughter.
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We had some kind of steak that they had.
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We had mashed potatoes and some beans, the daughter says.
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The interviewer asks Erin's daughter to describe the steak, but she cannot.
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Did it have anything else on it?
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He asks no.
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The interviewer asks about the plates that the children ate from.
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There's a black and red one and there's some white ones and I think that's all the colours that we have.
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She said as well.
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Erin did not finish her meal of leftovers and told the children she felt ill.
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She wasn't very hungry, so she didn't eat that much at all and my brother ate the rest of hers.
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According to reports, as the video came to a stop and the jury was led out of the room.
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Erin Patterson stood in the dock and looked upset.
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She took a deep breath, looked up and quietly said a few words to herself.
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Thank you so much for listening to the Mushroom Murder Trial podcast.
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My name's Lisa.
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Make sure you get that newsletter, mushroommurdercom.
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My social media, those details are in the show notes.
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And don't forget to buy me a coffee to continue these reports, daily reports on the trial.
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I've got a link in the show notes there too.
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I would really appreciate it.
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It's only $5 and it's a fabulous reward.
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But have a great weekend.
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I'll be back very, very soon and thank you.
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