Erin Patterson is currently in her sixth week of trial, facing charges for the murders of three individuals, allegedly by serving a toxic mushroom dish to her estranged husband’s family. The 50-year-old is under scrutiny as her defence team continues to interrogate the primary investigator in the case, Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall, who spent considerable time detailing the evidence collected both prior to and following the meal she prepared on 29 July 2023.
During the trial, the jury examined Patterson’s shopping history, revealing that she purchased approximately 1.7kg of mushrooms days before the fatal lunch. In addition, she acquired over 4kg of various pastries and five beef eye fillet steaks intended for individual beef Wellingtons, adhering to a recipe from a popular cookbook.
The prosecution also presented video evidence from Patterson’s police interview, conducted shortly after two of her guests, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, passed away in hospital, while their husbands remained critically ill. In the footage, Eppingstall questioned Patterson about her lack of illness following the meal. Despite the gravity of the situation, Patterson asserted that she had never encountered such circumstances before and claimed to have cooperated fully with health authorities during the investigation.
Contradicting herself under police questioning, Patterson initially denied owning a food dehydrator, later claiming her enthusiasm for cooking from scratch with a Thermomix might have been misleading. The defence acknowledged that these statements were fabrications, including her assertion that she had “never” foraged for mushrooms.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, with her legal representatives contending that the deadly meal, containing death cap mushrooms, was the result of a tragic accident. The trial has garnered significant attention, as Patterson’s former in-laws, Don and Gail, aged 70, along with Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, aged 66, died shortly after consuming the dish. Ian Wilkinson, however, survived.
The proceedings, led by Justice Christopher Beale, are taking place in Morwell, regional Victoria, as the jury prepares to deliberate on the complex and distressing case.