July 19, 2025
Simon & Erin Patterson: Toxic Relationship Behind the Mushroom Murder Trial - Part One
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This is a replay of a previous episode that had a few gremlins in it. My apologies. The marriage between Erin and Simon Patterson deteriorated over years despite multiple reconciliation attempts, leading to their separation and financial division. Despite maintaining strong ties with Simon's family and co-parenting their children amicably, this marriage ended in an act so horrific no one saw it coming. • Erin maintained strong relationships with Simon's family even as her own marriage was f...
This is a replay of a previous episode that had a few gremlins in it. My apologies.
The marriage between Erin and Simon Patterson deteriorated over years despite multiple reconciliation attempts, leading to their separation and financial division. Despite maintaining strong ties with Simon's family and co-parenting their children amicably, this marriage ended in an act so horrific no one saw it coming.
• Erin maintained strong relationships with Simon's family even as her own marriage was falling apart
• The couple separated many times by the end of 2015 with Erin moving into a rental property
• They divided assets without lawyers
• Female mass killers are statistically rare, with only 11 homicides involving extended family annually in Australia
• Research shows marital conflicts can extend to in-laws when they intervene in troubled marriages
Check out my website at mushroommurdertrialcom for the latest news. Find me on Instagram at erin_pod or on Facebook by searching for "The Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast".
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Mushroom Murder Trial Website
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Erin Patterson Mushrooms
Here it is in summary.
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behind closed doors.
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Once they were back, they originally stayed with Don and Gail Patterson while trying to find somewhere to rent.
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Erin was pregnant throughout 2013 and 2014, and she maintained contact with David's wife, jane, who was pregnant at the time.
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Their babies were also born around the same time, so they had that bond in common.
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Despite the cracks in their relationship, erin remained involved in organising family events.
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One such occasion was organising an Airbnb trip to Macrae, victoria, where Simon's siblings came together for a weekend, a gathering that Erin had planned.
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Oh God, there's so much left.
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Oh no, these gestures weren't just about being social.
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They were about obligation and keeping family bonds intact, even as her own marriage was fraying.
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Despite the strain between her and Simon, erin maintained strong ties with his siblings and their children.
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Her relationship with Simon's family never wavered, but in January 2014, there was Joy at the birth of their second child, a girl, a much-wanted girl.
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At the end of that year, they bought another house, a family home at 3 Anthony Court, corrumburra, in Erin's name only.
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In total, there were two separations by the end of 2015, and Erin moved into a rental in Lower Gordon Street, corrumburra at the end of that year.
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During the pre-trial recordings, simon told the court the marriage had never fully recovered after the reconciliations in 2015, and this is sadly why we are here today.
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In my opinion, they recoupled in the middle of that year when Erin moved back into the family home on Mason Street, corrumburra, in an effort to reconcile.
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However, by the end of 2016, the relationship reached what they described in court no-transcript.
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Erin again had little to say about the reasons for the split at the time, other than admitting she didn't feel comfortable with them living together.
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I do know a lot of it was about housework.
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They decided to move forward with their division of finances.
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Simon said it was straightforward and handled without lawyers, an arrangement they both considered fair.
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Erin kept some cash and took on the house loan debts owed to her by two of Simon's siblings, while her ex-partner retained the Mason Street home and the repayments of death owed to them by two other siblings.
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Simon told the court he had received about $800,000 along with Erin each from the property pool.
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Erin bought a property at Anthony Street, corrumburra, for $400,000.
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The family dynamic remained cooperative.
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Despite the separation Custody arrangements for the children.
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They adapted over, with each parent striving to maintain stability for the children.
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There were shared family outings and projects, such as Erin involving her ex in designing the Gibson Street home, which had a focus on creating a comfortable space for their children.
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Four attempts, four near misses what drives someone to cross the line between frustration with their spouse and fatal intent?
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At the start, simon did not suspect Erin as the cause of his near-fatal illnesses.
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I think I joked with Erin before our here we go again, lisa haqua trip that she might put something in the food and poison me.
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No one who knew Erin would predict she was capable of such evil.
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But to understand her you need to consider the nature of her crimes.
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Female killers, mass killers as Erin is, they are rare.
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According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, on average 11 homicides occur in Australia annually involving extended family members, including in-laws, grandparents and cousins, with most incidents happening in residential locations.
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Marital conflict and violence, particularly involving in-laws, are common themes in these homicides.
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Men are responsible for 88% of these and the gender distribution of victims is similar to that of general homicides 63% male and 37% female.
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This research discusses the roles of parents-in-laws and family homicides, specifically relatives, on the involvement of these family members in lethal violence stemming from those marital conflicts and disputes.
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So Erin it is a fact was upset with her in-laws, don and Gail, for not intervening into her marriage with Simon wallace 1986, highlights this pattern where a domestic dispute within a marriage spreads to include in-laws who may step in to protect the abused spouse.
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I don't think anything like that happened here.
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I'm not sure, but I didn't hear about it in court.
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This protective involvement can intensify tensions and result in fatal outcomes during clashes between the in-laws and the abuser.
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The research also touches on the broader dynamics of family homicides involving parents, where the lethal violence is not limited to spouses but extends to other family members, such as in-laws, reflecting complex and often long-standing familiar disputes.
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This demonstrates that this type of conflict, especially when there's a history of abuse and there is no evidence Although Erin with her attempted murders that's abuse, trying to kill someone with your food they could spiral outwards, implicating other families into violent acts.
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Well, that is exactly what happened here.
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I think I'm nearly finished, thank you.
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And that was part one of simon and erin.
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My name is lisa.
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Thank you so much for listening today.
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Please make sure you check out my website and subscribe for the latest news there.
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My website is mushroommurdertrialcom.
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Any Thank you for more information.
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I'm on instagram at erin underscore pod.
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You can find me on facebook.
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Just search for the podcast name the mushroom murder trial podcast.
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I also will put links in the show notes to these social media accounts.
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And if you're feeling like rewarding me for this podcast, I have a Buy Me A Coffee membership which allows you to pay $5 as thanks and I get a coffee, because writing this part of the series was really a balancing act of reporting the trial and I had to be at the trial for a week because I live interstate, so it was a little bit expensive with airfares, car hire, food, accommodation.
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So I would really appreciate that.
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Thank you, and I hope you have a fabulous week and I will see you on the socials or back next week for part two of Simon and Erin.
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Thanks, bye.
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