MELBOURNE, Australia — Erin Patterson, the woman at the center of a high-profile murder trial in Australia over a deadly mushroom lunch, told a Victorian court Tuesday she began foraging wild fungi during the COVID-19 pandemic because they offered “more flavour” than store-bought varieties. Patterson, 49, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder stemming from a July 2023 lunch that left three family members dead and a fourth critically ill.
During her second day of testimony, Patterson admitted to the presence of death cap mushrooms in the beef Wellington dish she served but insisted their inclusion was accidental. She described a long-standing interest in mushrooms and said she had cooked wild fungi for years without incident.
“I mainly picked field mushrooms,” Patterson said, noting she would often forage with her two children in places like local botanic gardens, nearby trails, and her own property. Recalling her first attempt at eating wild fungi, she told jurors she sampled a small portion cooked in butter. “It tasted good and I didn’t get sick,” she said.
The fatal meal took place at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, southeast of Melbourne. Among the guests were her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in the days following the lunch. A fourth guest, 68-year-old Ian Wilkinson—Heather’s husband and the uncle of Patterson’s estranged husband Simon—survived after a lengthy hospital stay.
The prosecution alleges Patterson knowingly served the toxic mushrooms in an effort to kill the victims. Her defense team maintains the incident was a tragic accident, pointing to her history of mushroom consumption and preservation.
Under questioning, Patterson testified that “the vast majority” of the mushrooms used in the meal were purchased at a Leongatha supermarket. She said additional mushrooms may have come from an Asian grocery store in Melbourne months prior, though she could not recall exact purchases. She noted she often bought “wild mushroom mix” or “forest mushrooms” with unspecified contents and stored them alongside foraged varieties in the same container.
Patterson also explained her purchase of a food dehydrator in April 2023, which she said was intended to preserve seasonal wild mushrooms for later use.
Addressing her relationships with the victims, Patterson recounted a generally positive dynamic with her in-laws despite separating from Simon Patterson in 2015. “I was just their daughter-in-law—they just continued to love me,” she said, adding that her bond with Don and Gail Patterson remained strong until tensions arose over financial matters in late 2022.
The court was shown private, profanity-laced Facebook messages in which Patterson criticized her ex-husband and in-laws. She described them as an emotional outburst in a chat with her close friends, whom she referred to as her “cheer squad.” “I needed to vent… to get my frustration off my chest,” she told the court tearfully. “I wish I had never said that.”
Patterson also detailed her health anxiety, telling jurors she often researched medical symptoms online, leading her to mistakenly believe she had conditions like multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and ovarian cancer. She acknowledged she had never been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, despite allegedly inviting guests to the fatal lunch to discuss such a diagnosis. She defended the claim by pointing to a family history of the disease.
Following the lunch, Patterson said she discharged herself early from the hospital against medical advice due to a deep-seated mistrust of the healthcare system, which she said stemmed from past experiences involving her children’s health being dismissed by clinicians.
The trial, which has gripped public attention across Australia and beyond, is expected to continue Wednesday with further testimony from Patterson.
