July 30, 2025
Flashback: Erin Patterson, Small Town, Big Story: When Tragedy Meets Social Media
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This episode is from 2024. A court update reveals the accused mushroom cook will return to court earlier than expected, as we explore the Facebook life of those involved and how social media reveals the community's grief and reaction to unwanted media attention. • Erin Patterson, charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, will appear in court on April 22 for a case management hearing • Ms Patterson denies all allegations and is entitled to a fair trial without p...
This episode is from 2024.
A court update reveals the accused mushroom cook will return to court earlier than expected, as we explore the Facebook life of those involved and how social media reveals the community's grief and reaction to unwanted media attention.
• Erin Patterson, charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, will appear in court on April 22 for a case management hearing
• Ms Patterson denies all allegations and is entitled to a fair trial without prejudice
• Facebook has become a key investigative source, with police reportedly examining deleted social media content
• Local Facebook groups reveal the community's grief over their lost members, including tributes to Don Patterson as a beloved teacher
• The South Gippsland community feels unfairly portrayed as "cult-like" by media, with Mayor Nathan Hersey describing it as "just a regular country town"
• Simon Patterson's Facebook posts provide insight into his past business experiences and health challenges
• The Facebook trail shows a community struggling with tragedy while trying to maintain privacy from media scrutiny
If you enjoyed this episode and would like to support our independent podcast, please consider donating $5 via the Buy Me A Coffee platform - link in the show notes. Follow us on Instagram at Erin Podcast, on Twitter at Lisa Podcast, or visit our website for updates and to submit
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Mushroom Murder Trial Website
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Erin Patterson Mushrooms
Here it is in summary.
WEBVTT
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Hello, I'm here today to tell you a story that has fascinated Australia and the world.
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Firstly, today we are going to update you on upcoming court appearances.
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The accused mushroom cook will return to the court very soon, almost two weeks earlier than expected, after a special mention date was set down.
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The 49-year-old mother of two was originally due to reappear in the La Trobe Magistrates Court on May 3, almost six months after her arrest in November last year.
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Ms Patterson is now listed to return to the court on April 22 for a case management hearing before her committal mention the following Friday.
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We will have full coverage of both appearances, but today we are here to divulge what we can about the woman we knew, justice Erin, albeit with caution due to the ongoing legal matter in Victoria, where our words must tread lightly so as not to sway any potential jurors.
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Furthermore, ms Patterson denies all allegations and we are in no way implying she deliberately poisoned her relatives with beef, wellington and mushrooms.
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She had the right to a fair trial.
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But keep in mind this narrative is grounded in real life tragedy involving the deaths of three very loved individuals.
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Miss Patterson is accused of murdering her former in-laws, don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, and Gail's sister, heather Wilkinson, aged 66.
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Back in November, ms Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
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Today we examine how Facebook is a key player in the Beef Wellington with Mushrooms tragedy, and it's important for us to say firstly, we know Ms Patterson from the social media platform, but we found out in recent news that police were reportedly scouring Ms Patterson's Facebook activity for information.
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According to the Herald Sun, officers are set to scour the deleted social media.
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Now, getting back to news, this is what truly matters.
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The South Gippsland community was truly shaken by the allegations concerning Ms Patterson, which she denies.
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And it's inside a local Facebook group where the devastation caused by the loss of three very loved people is laid bare.
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It even provides context to Simon Patterson, erin's ex, and his health challenges.
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About a year ago, a woman replied to Simon saying thank God, you're okay, simon.
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Simon responded amen to that going great, just need to strengthen the arms back up.
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And when the news broke of the deaths of Don, gail and Heather, there was an absolute outpouring of grief.
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Quote I still remember Mr Patterson pinging me for throwing the ball over my head in a school football game.
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It was clearly a hand pass.
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I yelled as a 15-year-old 29 years ago.
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The one thing I remember was his massive calf muscles LOL, he was always one of the good teachers back in the day.
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The next, thinking about the whole community during this difficult time.
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Next, our hearts are heavy for these dear people.
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We have continued praying daily for all involved in this family and for the extended family as well.
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On the 28th of August 2023,.
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This appeared on a local notice board Hi there.
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As a member of the local Baptist Church, I have been asked to pass on this message to our wonderful community.
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Baptist Church would like to express our sincere appreciation for the outpouring of love and support from our local churches and communities during this difficult time.
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As we share grief and commemorate the lives of those we have lost, we also continue to uphold our pastor in prayer.
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Most of you may know that is the local pastor, ian Wilkinson, who was fighting for his life in hospital at that time.
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He's now back and out of hospital, which is good news for him.
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We continue to uphold our pastor in prayer for God's healing and restoration.
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We pray for God's comfort and strength for all those who need it at this present time.
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Thank you for all those who need it at this present time.
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Thank you Now.
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The locals understandably do not like all the attention, but I think this is a dilemma many small towns face when they're forced into the media.
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This is from the Herald Sun how silence cost town at the centre of Mushroom Mill.
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The Herald Sun revealed that residents say they were unfairly portrayed as cult-like and country folk when three beloved community members died from an alleged mushroom poisoning last year, a fact South Gippsland Shire Mayor Nathan Hersey said led to them being wrongly labelled as cult-like.
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I think there was a narrative there for a while of overly religious, cult-like people, but it's just a regular country town filled with great people in a very picturesque and beautiful place.
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The Herald Sun Facebook comments were interesting that day.
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The first one go ahead, make our town folk look bad.
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I had a reporter turn up at my door.
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God knows how they found out where I lived.
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Well, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that.
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And journalists?
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In a situation like this, we're just going to knock on every door.
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Someone responded white pages probably.
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Look, that's an option, but I think it was old-fashioned journalism.
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Then someone said they should rename and cash in on it like they cashed in on Ned Kelly.
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Someone responded clever thing to do, really.
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Ah yes, small town, local Victorians not wanting to be dragged into the spotlight for something that has nothing to do with them.
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So you make them a story anyway for not wanting to be part of the story.
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Class act guys, real class act.
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He'd probably not like my podcast.
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I thought it happened in Leon Gatha.
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When you don't roll out the red carpet I hate this phrase fake news journalists.
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It's not fake news, it's actual news.
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They go into a cult-like fake news frenzy.
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Okay, thanks for that.
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Now, moving right along back to Facebook, amongst the reports of missing dogs, pizza reviews and photos of a haunted house, there's a glimpse into the life of Miss Patterson's estranged husband, simon Patterson.
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So not a lot is known about him publicly.
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I do know a few things, but I am not going to say because I have to respect the legal process.
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What we know from Facebook is that he was a project manager and he coached kids' basketball.
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It's also that he'd taken himself and his kids out of town to avoid the media storm, but inside Facebook, the posts that he shared were getting dark in retrospect.
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As we mentioned in a previous episode, simon and Erin once owned a bookstore in Western Australia.
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Here's what Simon said on Facebook in 2020 about the challenges of owning a business.
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Running your own business is hard.
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It means sticking your neck out and going for something you believe in.
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Some people will knock you and no matter what you're doing, no matter what it is, there's no shying away from that.
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This person so is responding.
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This person is more likely to be successful if she comes out and says this is my name, here's my idea.
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I think it has real merit.
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Please help me with my market research.
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Come along for the ride with me as I try to get going.
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That's very good advice.
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Actually, the great thing about it is that it's not possible to fail.
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The worst thing that can happen is you don't make enough money, or you decide to close down, or you decide this don't stack up and you decide to not pursue a dream right now.
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None of this is failure.
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It's just a heap of amazing lessons to help you for the rest of your life.
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So that's all we have for you today.
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Thank you so much for listening.
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It's amazing.
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If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our independent podcast, please consider donating $5 to the Buy Me A Coffee A Platform, the links in the show notes, because editing the podcast, hosting the podcast and maintaining a website are all very expensive.
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Plus, we want you to get the best show possible and to continue to employ Australian voiceover artists.
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Meanwhile, to get the latest from that, you can follow us on Instagram at Erin Podcast.
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I'm on Twitter at Lisa Podcast or you can go to our website.
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So thanks again, and if you have any news tips, please contact us via the website and I will see you next time.
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Thank you so much for listening today.
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Follow the podcast on Apple, spotify and all other platforms.
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Plus, go to the link in the show notes to sign up to our email list.
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That way, you will always know when there's a new episode.
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