May 19, 2025
Digital Footprints in the Death Cap Mushroom Trial: Erin Patterson's Phone
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Telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorrell's analysis reveals Erin Patterson's phone connected to towers near Outtrim and Loch after death cap mushrooms were allegedly spotted in those areas. Two of the phone data analyses allegedly place Ms Erin Patterson’s device at these locations weeks before the deadly lunch.
• Three alleged trips on three separate days at different times, two connecting to areas where death cap mushrooms were allegedly spotted
• Dr Matthew Sorrell from Digital Forensic Science Australia analysed four years of Patterson's phone records
• Ms Erin Patterson's phone allegedly appears stationary in Outtrim for 25 minutes on May 22, 2023, near where death caps were documented
• Phone data shows connections to Lock area on April 28, potentially linking to mushroom sightings reported April 18
• Enhanced Event-Based Monitoring (EBM) data strengthened conclusions about the phone's stationary positions
• Police specifically requested analysis of phone movements on July 31, two days after the fatal lunch
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Erin Patterson Mushrooms
Here it is in summary.
00:00 - Phone Data Connects to Mushroom Sites
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Three alleged trips on three allegedly different days at three different alleged times.
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What does Erin Patterson's phone data say, if anything?
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And what was Erin Patterson's phone doing on these seemingly random days?
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Well, today was the day where we found out part of the story.
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Welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast.
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I'm Lisa and I've been tracking this case since 2023.
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And most weekdays we deliver detailed coverage on one of Australia's most closely watched legal dramas.
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Here's everything you need to know from the supreme court in morewell proceedings today, and, as always, they're a little bit complicated.
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Now, just a quick reminder.
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I need you all to sign up to my newsletter, please.
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It's at mushroommurdertrialcom.
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Every week, you get a new summary of what's been going on, so please go over there and you can also skip through the next bit if you'd like, and go straight to the phone hearings.
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Otherwise, here is a rundown of the charges and the people involved.
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Now our defendant is Erin Trudy Patterson.
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She's age 50 and is from Leangatha, victoria, and she was going to be a maths teacher.
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She was studying.
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That was her occupation.
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The charges are three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
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Her plea is not guilty.
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On the 29th of July 2023, during what was meant to be a friendly family gathering.
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Ms Patterson allegedly served a homemade beef wellington containing the deadly toxins from the Amanita filates, commonly known as the death cat mushroom.
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Within hours, three family members, within days, I'm sorry, three family members died Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70.
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They were Erin's in-laws and Heather Wilkinson, aged 66.
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Heather's husband, ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but survived after an extended stay in intensive care.
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This trial has gripped our nation not only because of the tragic loss of life, but due to the scientific complexities surrounding toxins and phones and mushrooms and plants, and it's compounded by questions about how samples and phone data are handled and analysed.
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So let's start.
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A telecommunications expert said today Ms Thadde Patterson's phone connected to towers near Otram and Loch after the poisonous mushrooms were reported growing into local areas.
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In summary, today Dr Matthew Sorrell was asked to analyse four years now that'd be a lot of phone records related to a number listed to Miss Patterson.
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Dr Sorrell said the phone number in question was recorded, connecting to Otram and Locke close to the dates where the death cap mushroom observations were recorded online.
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So that's the iNaturalist references we've made to in previous episodes, episodes.
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Now the expert told the court the phone may have made multiple trips to the areas, but was likely to be stationary in Otrum for 25 minutes on May 22, a day after a death cap was observed in the area.
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Prosecutor Jane Warren said police asked Mr Sorrell to help identify connections that Ms Patterson's phone was making to those particular areas and he was also asked to identify movements of the device on July 31, 2023, two days after the lunch between 8am 10am.
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We don't yet know yet why that request was being made.
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Dr Sorrell is the principal at Digital Forensic Science Australia and he told the court he was asked to identify periods where the phone could have been in the Ultram area, which at that stage was a very broad definition.
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In his revised opinion, including something called an EBM analysis, he believed Erin's phone could have been in the Osham location between 11.24am and 11.49am on the 22nd of May 2023.
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The data, which showed a quote sequence of soul connections, was indicating her phone was quote more likely to be relatively stationary during that time period.
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The jury was also shown Ms Patterson's call charge records.
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Oh, I'm sorry if you can hear the wind.
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We're in the middle of like some kind of downpour here and I can't do anything about it.
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I'm sorry Now.
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The prosecutor also asked about the connections that started at Landgather at 10.30.
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So at 11.18am and 11.19am there was a connection to Otram, followed by connections to Kunwara and Kardella.
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There was also a connection to Otram at 11.21.
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Meantime there was all this discussion going on at the time about what a connection is and it's very complicated.
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But he again said that there was that 13-minute period of connection to Otram.
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He said that at first it might have indicated a visit to the area, but that was purely a conclusion based on the call charge records.
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But when he got the additional data, the EBM, which is event-based monitoring, he was more convinced that there was a stop there.
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Well, the phone stopped there Once he used the EBM.
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The records now become somewhat more detailed and specific.
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Now Dr Sorrell added, just to give you a bit more context, it fell within the coverage of an antenna at the Otram base station.
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And as a reminder, on day 10 of the trial, fungi expert Dr Thomas May told the jury that he submitted a post to the iNaturalist website about some death caps he had spotted near Nielsen Street, otram.
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Again, he said it was.
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Now, after looking at the extra data, it was possible that there was a visit to Nielsen Street.
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He's put it at 11.24 to 11.49.
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He's put it at $11.24 to $11.49.
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Now we're moving on to Locke, which is another small area there in the South Gippsland.
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He analysed the call charge records again to determine if they were consistent with Miss Patterson's phone passing through or visiting Locke.
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He also analysed the EVM records and the particular date was the 28th of April 2023.
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Now, earlier the jury had heard from retired pharmacist Christine McKenzie, who posted a reported death cap mushroom sighting in Locke on the iNaturalist website on the 18th of April.
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On the iNaturalist website on the 18th of April, mr Sorrell said Ms Patterson's records were consistent with the phone having moved into the vicinity of the lock postcode by 9.09am on that day.
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Next time we see that phone is at 10am.
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So he said look, there's a potential for a visit between 9.14 and just short of 10am, but there's an absence of records in this time period so it does not definitively point to the device in and remaining in the lock area during this time.
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So we'll probably hear more from him tomorrow, I think so.
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Thank you so much for your time and for listening.
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I really appreciate it.
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Until next time.
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I'm Lisa.
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This is the Mushroom Murder Trial podcast.
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Don't forget to subscribe and follow and tell your friends and, for more information, visit my website and sign up for my newsletter, please.
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Mushroommurdertrialcom.
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My socials are all linked as well in the show notes and if you're thinking you'd like to reward me for the millions of hours, see now, I'm saying millions.
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I would never be an expert in a telecommunications call case, would I?
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No, no.
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Anyway, the millions of hours I'm spending on this podcast, you can buy me a coffee through the buy me a coffee website.
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The link is in the show notes and I'd appreciate it.
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It's just one or five dollars if you can afford it.
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I don't expect it.
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If you can't, just your your time.
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You actually your time is really valuable, um, and I'll never forget that.
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So I'm very appreciative.
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Thank you, so I shall speak to you tomorrow.
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Have a fabulous evening and, yeah, I'll speak to you soon.
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Thanks, bye.
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