June 2, 2025

From Spiritual Awakening to Mushroom Murder Suspect: Erin Patterson Takes the Stand

From Spiritual Awakening to Mushroom Murder Suspect: Erin Patterson Takes the Stand
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From Spiritual Awakening to Mushroom Murder Suspect: Erin Patterson Takes the Stand
From Spiritual Awakening to Mushroom Murder Suspect: Erin Patterson Takes the Stand

Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of Australia's mushroom poisoning case, takes the stand as a defence witness in her murder trial. She provides detailed testimony about her personal life, relationships, and the deterioration of family ties with her in-laws who later became alleged victims in the case. • Living a relatively stable life in July 2023 with her children in her new "final home" in Leangatha • Experiencing increasing emotional distance from the wider Patterson family, partic...

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Season 1

Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of Australia's mushroom poisoning case, takes the stand as a defence witness in her murder trial. She provides detailed testimony about her personal life, relationships, and the deterioration of family ties with her in-laws who later became alleged victims in the case.

• Living a relatively stable life in July 2023 with her children in her new "final home" in Leangatha
• Experiencing increasing emotional distance from the wider Patterson family, particularly her in-laws Don and Gail
• Meeting Simon at work in 2004 and transforming from "fundamentalist atheist" to having a spiritual awakening in church
• Marrying in 2007 and embarking on a road trip around Australia where she gave birth to their first child
• Brief separation from Simon in 2009 after growing tired of travelling, though they continued co-parenting

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Erin Patterson Mushrooms

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Erin Patterson Mushrooms

Here it is in summary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

00:01 - Mushroom Murder Trial Introduction

00:36 - Erin's Life in July 2023

01:57 - Meeting Simon and Spiritual Awakening

04:22 - Family Travel and Relationship Tensions

06:29 - Trial Updates and Closing Remarks

WEBVTT

00:00:01.241 --> 00:00:08.153
Hello, and today we are continuing our coverage of the Erin Patterson trial in Morwell, australia.

00:00:08.153 --> 00:00:11.930
I'm Lisa and thank you so much for your time today.

00:00:11.930 --> 00:00:21.890
The news we've received is the mushroom cook was giving evidence in her murder trial today, after she was called as a defence witness.

00:00:21.890 --> 00:00:36.505
The woman at the centre of the Leangatha mushroom poisoning case gave a detailed account of her personal life, relationships and family history In a testimony that spanned years of major life events.

00:00:36.505 --> 00:00:46.133
Ms Patterson, now age 50, recounted her life in July 2023 as a period of relative stability.

00:00:46.133 --> 00:00:53.372
Her children had recently started at a new school earlier in July and they were acting better than she expected.

00:00:53.372 --> 00:01:06.293
They were living with her full time, seeing their father, simon Patterson, on weekends and evenings, although recently one of her children was only seeing their father at church or youth group.

00:01:06.293 --> 00:01:20.147
Ms Patterson told the jury she had deferred a 2023 university offer for a Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery but had intended to begin the course in early 2024.

00:01:20.147 --> 00:01:33.912
She told the court she had moved into a new house on Gibson Street, leangatha, in June 2022, which she described as a quote final home, a place where she would.

00:01:33.912 --> 00:01:37.629
She hoped her children would grow up and she would grow old.

00:01:37.629 --> 00:01:44.730
She spoke warmly of the house she helped design, saying she enjoyed living there and had landscaped the block.

00:01:44.730 --> 00:01:50.367
Financially she said she was comfortable by 2023,.

00:01:50.367 --> 00:01:53.373
Cracks had begun to appear in her personal life.

00:01:54.040 --> 00:02:05.635
Ms Patterson's testified to feeling an increasing emotional distance from the wider Patterson family, in particular Simon's parents, don and Gail Patterson.

00:02:05.635 --> 00:02:12.432
She claimed Simon had been ensuring she was excluded from the family events allegedly.

00:02:12.432 --> 00:02:20.169
Despite this, their relationship remained quote functional, but it had noticeably deteriorated.

00:02:20.169 --> 00:02:22.800
Physically, she said she was struggling.

00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:31.669
She had ongoing self-esteem issues that left her exhausted and she was no longer able to exercise like she once had.

00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:36.451
She eventually wanted to go and have weight loss surgery.

00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:42.893
In tracing the origins of her relationship with Simon, erin described how they first met at work.

00:02:42.893 --> 00:02:51.194
She was an admin assistant from the RSPCA, located at Monash Council in Victoria.

00:02:51.194 --> 00:02:55.120
Simon was a traffic engineer in late 2004.

00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:01.032
They became friends and started a romantic relationship in mid-2005.

00:03:01.032 --> 00:03:09.425
She met his parents in that same year and travelled with him to Corrumburra and other camping trips with groups of friends.

00:03:09.425 --> 00:03:19.931
At the time Ms Patterson identified as a quote fundamentalist atheist and recalled trying to persuade Simon away from religion.

00:03:19.931 --> 00:03:29.310
However, she experienced what she described as a spiritual awakening during a church service in Corrumburra which left her overwhelmed.

00:03:29.310 --> 00:03:42.393
Ms Patterson recalled that inside the church there was a banner on the wall behind where Ian Patterson, the pastor, and one of the attendees at the lunch, was preaching.

00:03:42.393 --> 00:03:44.824
It said faith, hope and love.

00:03:44.824 --> 00:03:49.917
Ms Ms Patterson was offered communion and was welcomed to the church.

00:03:49.917 --> 00:03:54.856
I had what can basically be described as a spiritual experience.

00:03:54.856 --> 00:03:59.314
She said it had been an intellectual experience up until then.

00:03:59.314 --> 00:04:06.758
The couple later joined a Bible study group at their church which lasted about 18 months to two years.

00:04:06.758 --> 00:04:12.598
They became engaged in February 2007 and married in June of the same year.

00:04:13.504 --> 00:04:22.168
During that time, ms Patterson was living in a rural hamlet near Corrumburra, while Simon remained working in Melbourne.

00:04:22.168 --> 00:04:27.987
She recalled the warm hospitality from Don and Gail during visits Following their wedding.

00:04:27.987 --> 00:04:42.129
The couple briefly lived in a Melbourne unit owned by Don and Gail before giving away almost everything they owned and embarked on an ambitious road trip around Australia, starting in Sydney.

00:04:42.129 --> 00:04:49.509
Miss Patterson gave birth to their first child in Perth, western Australia, in January 2009.

00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:58.595
She described it as a traumatic delivery involving forceps, a lost heartbeat and an eventual C-section.

00:04:58.595 --> 00:05:11.237
Their son spent time in neonatal intensive care and, despite doctors' advice that she wasn't healed enough to leave, simon and Erin wanted her to go home.

00:05:11.237 --> 00:05:16.052
She expressed gratitude to Gail Patterson, who came later, for her support.

00:05:16.052 --> 00:05:27.310
During that time, her mother-in-law helped her settle her son after a feed and when he cried, and she offered good advice on how to relax and quote enjoy her baby.

00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:35.870
After this, the family continued travelling along Australia's coast, meeting friends and family in Broome and Tennant Creek.

00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:52.185
By November 2009, ms Patterson said she'd had enough of travelling and flew home to Perth from Townsville, which is in Queensland, while Simon and their son drove back over the course of a week.

00:05:52.185 --> 00:06:05.038
During that time apart, she had rented a cottage for herself and her son during the brief separation, which lasted about two to three months, and Simon was nearby at a caravan park.

00:06:05.038 --> 00:06:16.177
Despite the tensions, she said, it remained important for her and Simon to cooperate as parents, even if communication between them often broke down during conflict.

00:06:16.985 --> 00:06:26.384
The trial continues and I think tomorrow will be very, very interesting and I will be updating you as soon as I can via my social media.

00:06:26.384 --> 00:06:32.990
So today I was on Twitter and Facebook doing updates, but I'll make sure you get an episode around this time tomorrow.

00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:34.915
So thank you so much.

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Make sure you head to mushroommurdertrialcom.

00:06:38.329 --> 00:06:49.165
Make sure you subscribe to my fabulous newsletter and if you haven't yet, please subscribe and review this podcast on your preferred platform so you never miss an episode.

00:06:49.165 --> 00:06:51.411
So thank you for your time.

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My name is Lisa and I hope you have a fabulous evening.

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Thanks, bye.