An Australian woman, Erin Patterson, has told a Victorian court that she did not mean to poison anyone during a lunch that killed three of her former in-laws and left a fourth fighting for his life.
Patterson, 50, is standing trial for the alleged murder of her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after they ate a beef wellington she served at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, on July 29, 2023.
Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, a well-known pastor, was the only one to survive the meal, though he became critically ill.
Speaking tearfully in the witness box for the second day on Tuesday, Erin admitted that toxic death cap mushrooms were in the meal.
“Yes, I do,” she said when asked if she accepted the mushrooms were in the beef wellington.
However, Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, insisting the tragic lunch was a terrible accident, not a planned act.
The court heard how Patterson had a long-time interest in mushrooms, often picking wild ones and adding them to meals.
“I’ve always loved mushrooms,” she told the jury. “They just taste more interesting, more flavour.”
She said she became more involved in mushroom picking during COVID-19 lockdowns when she noticed mushrooms growing around the botanical gardens and her property.
After using Facebook groups to identify different types, she began testing them herself.
“When I got to a point I was confident what they were, I cut a bit off, fried it up with butter, ate it and saw what happened,” she said.
“They tasted good and I didn’t get sick.”
She said she would often chop them very small and include them in meals “we all ate.”
The court also heard details about Patterson’s finances. She told the jury that she inherited money after the deaths of her grandmother in 2006 and her mother in 2019.
With this money, she and her former husband Simon Patterson were able to buy property and give interest-free loans to Simon’s three siblings and their partners.
“It was in the order of $400,000… maybe a little less each,” she said. “It was understood that it would be regular but the amount and timing were of their choosing.”
She added that Simon’s brothers and their wives had repaid the loans, but she was “not sure” about the repayment status of Simon’s sister Anna and her husband Josh.
Another part of her inheritance was used to run a second-hand bookshop in Western Australia, she added.
Patterson said she continued to care deeply for Simon and hoped to reunite the family, even after they separated in 2015.
In 2019, she added Simon’s name to a property title in Mount Waverley as a sign of commitment.
“I always thought we would bring the family back together… that’s what I wanted,” she said.
She also spoke warmly of her relationship with Don and Gail, saying they treated her like a daughter even after the separation.
“It never changed,” she said. “I was just their daughter-in-law and they just continued to love me.”
But in messages shared with the jury, Patterson was seen expressing frustration with her in-laws.
In a Facebook group she joined with other women who bonded over true crime stories, she wrote in December 2022:
“This family I swear to f–king god.”
In another message, she wrote, “sick of this s–t I want nothing to do with them.”
Explaining the messages, she said she was frustrated and desperate after a disagreement over child support with Simon.
“I needed to vent… I regret the language I used,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I feel ashamed for saying it… I wish the family didn’t have to hear that. They didn’t deserve it.”
Patterson also revealed she believed she had several illnesses over the years, though none were ever diagnosed.
“I have not [had cancer],” she confirmed.
Still, she told the court she believed at different times she had ovarian cancer, a brain tumour, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases.
Her mistrust in the medical system pushed her to rely on online searches.
“I think I wasted a lot of time, not just my time but medical people’s time, through all my Dr Googling,” she said.
The high-profile case has drawn public interest, with people lining up outside the Latrobe Valley Magistrate’s Court as early as 6am on Tuesday to watch the trial.
Erin Patterson’s emotional testimony continues as she fights to clear her name in a case that has shocked Australia and the world.
The trial is ongoing.
