On a quiet Saturday afternoon in Leongatha, Australia, Erin Patterson invited her in-laws over for lunch. It seemed like a gesture of peace, a homemade meal, prayer, and dessert.
But within days, three of her guests were dead, one was in critical condition, and Erin stood accused of a shocking crime.
The lunch, served on 29 July 2023, included Erin’s former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70; Heather Wilkinson, Gail’s sister, aged 66; and Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband and a local pastor. Erin’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited but canceled the day before.
That cancellation may have saved his life.
What Was On the Plate
According to Ian Wilkinson’s testimony, Erin served individual portions of beef Wellington, steak, mushroom paste, and pastry, alongside mashed potatoes, green beans, and gravy.
He recalled something odd:
“The Wellingtons went onto four grey plates… and an orange one for Erin.”
That orange plate — different from the others — would later stir suspicion. After the main course, Erin offered dessert. Then she made an emotional announcement:
“I have cancer.”
But even her own lawyers would later admit that this was a lie. The group closed their gathering with another prayer and warm farewells. But by that night, all four guests fell violently ill.
The Illness That Raised Alarms
The following day, Don Patterson told a doctor:
“I’ve vomited 30 times in a few hours.”
All four guests were hospitalized with severe symptoms consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning, a diagnosis that would later be confirmed in three deaths. Only Ian Wilkinson survived after weeks in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Erin said she felt unwell, too, but never showed symptoms consistent with poisoning. She told the court she ate a portion of the meal but later binged on orange cake brought by Gail and purged it due to her history of bulimia:
“I ate another piece of cake, and then another… I felt overfull, so I went to the toilet and brought it back up. After that, I felt better.”
Doctors who saw her were confused, her condition didn’t match the others. One even called police out of concern for her children.
Mounting Evidence and Unanswered Questions
In court, Erin claimed it was all a tragic mistake, that she accidentally used foraged mushrooms she had mixed in with store-bought ones.
But the jury heard about a trail of lies and suspicious behavior:
- Erin threw away a food dehydrator, later found to contain toxic mushroom residue.
- She denied ever owning such a device, but an instruction manual was found in her kitchen, and old Facebook posts showed her boasting: “I’ve been hiding powdered mushrooms in everything. Mixed into chocolate brownies yesterday, the kids had no idea.”
- Photos recovered from her devices showed what appeared to be death cap mushrooms being weighed on kitchen scales.
- She used multiple phones, two of which vanished after the lunch. The one she handed over to police had been repeatedly wiped, even during police searches.
When asked by police about where she got the mushrooms, Erin gave vague answers:
“I bought them dried from an Asian grocery… I don’t remember which suburb. They were in plain packaging. I probably paid cash.”
Why Would She Do It?
Perhaps the most confounding element was motive. Erin insisted she loved her in-laws:
“My parents are gone. My grandparents are gone. They were the only family I had left… I loved them a lot.”
Simon Patterson testified:
“She especially got on with Dad. They shared a love of knowledge and learning… I think she loved his gentle nature.”
But texts and Facebook messages told a different story. Under questioning, Erin was forced to read her own words aloud in court, messages where she called Simon a “deadbeat” and labeled his parents as “a lost cause.”
Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers told the jury:
“She has told lies upon lies because she knew the truth would implicate her… When her lies were uncovered, she constructed a narrative to fit the evidence, almost.”
Even Erin’s claim of having cancer, the prosecution said, was fiction. She attempted to prove it by claiming she had booked a weight-loss surgery consultation, but the clinic she named didn’t even offer that type of procedure.
Her lawyer Colin Mandy argued:
“This is not a court of moral judgment. She’s not on trial for lying.”
He said Erin was scared and made bad choices out of panic, but was not a killer.
The Verdict
After nine weeks of testimony and a week of deliberations, the jury decided.
On Monday, Erin Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She now faces a potential life sentence. A simple meal meant to bring people together ended in death, suspicion, and one of the most disturbing criminal cases in modern Australia.
What drove Erin Patterson to prepare that meal, and whom she truly intended to serve it, may never be fully known.