Australia Has Never Cared So Much About Mushrooms: The Erin Patterson Case and Verdict

Section Editor Chantelle Mackintosh retraces every twist and turn in the Erin Patterson mushroom case that gripped a nation.

Victorian woman, Erin Patterson, has been charged with murder and attempted murder following the fatal lunch she hosted in July 2023, which left three people dead and one critically ill. With so many contrasting layers, how could it not grab the nation's attention? Here’s a wrap of all the important events leading to the final verdict. 

The Important People

Erin Patterson: The accused. Hosted the lunch and survived. 

Don and Gail Patterson: Erin’s ex-in-laws. Both attended the lunch and passed.

Heather Wilkinson: Gail’s sister. Attended the lunch and passed.

Ian Wilkinson: Heather’s husband. Attended the lunch and survived after sickness.

Simon Patterson: Erin’s ex-husband (separated). Son of Don and Gail Patterson. Did not attend the lunch. 

The Lunch

Erin invited five guests to her house for lunch on 29 July 2023. Her ex-husband, Simon, declined to attend. Erin reportedly made a big deal over her expensive beef wellington and her desire to connect with her in-laws before her battle with cancer. Her claim of a cancer diagnosis has been proven false. 

Later that day, Erin claimed to have binge-eaten some cake and thrown up, seemingly explaining her lack of symptoms. All four other guests became ill the following day. Three of the guests died, leaving Ian alive after a lengthy battle with the effects of the poisoning. Erin allegedly fed the leftovers to her kids the next day after scraping off the mushroom coating.

The Initial Investigation

Detectives started investigating when the guests were still in hospital after getting a tip-off from a hospital doctor. The Department of Health interviewed Erin about the lunch where she claimed she bought a dried mushroom pack from an Asian grocery store outside Melbourne, but no trace of accidental death-cap mushrooms were found.

Erin’s Unusual Movements Before and After the Lunch

Phone location records show Erin visiting the website iNaturalist and her travelling to the locations where death-cap mushrooms were growing in her area. The phone records additionally reveal Erin discussing with her Facebook friends her new food-dehydrator and her desire to use it to dry mushrooms. A few days after the lunch, phone records show Erin travelling to Koonwarra Transfer Station and Landfill to dispose of items in an e-waste bin, which later investigations discovered to include a food dehydrator with Erin’s DNA and traces of death-cap mushrooms. Erin also attempted multiple factory resets of her phone, including when it was in police custody. Police were unable to recover Erin's second phone. 

The Charges

On 2 November 2023, Erin was arrested and charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Erin protested her innocence.

The Trial

The trial began on 29 April 2025 on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The four counts of attempted murder against her ex-husband, Simon, were dropped. 

The Lies

In statements leading up to and throughout the trials, Erin admitted to lying to investigators on multiple occasions, but remained steadfast, insisting it was all a terrible accident, not a calculated move. Erin admitted to lying about owning and then dumping her dehydrator after the lunch. In her initial police interview, she  claimed to have never foraged for mushrooms, but later admitted to picking up the hobby during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It was also revealed that Erin had both led her guests to believe as well as directly telling them that she had ovarian cancer, which she had never been diagnosed with. Erin also denied visiting the death-cap mushroom section on the iNaturalist website despite phone records indicating otherwise. One of the guests (Heather) accused Erin of using a different coloured plate for herself. Erin conceded to this as she did not have a matching five-plate set but refused to admit if it was intentional or not.

The Verdict

Erin was formally found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on 7 July 2024 after eleven weeks at trial.

References:

Dunstan, Joseph. Chwasta, Madi. And Ortolan, Mikaela. See the evidence used to convict Erin Patterson in the mushroom murder trial. July 20 2025. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-08/erin-patterson-murder-guilty-verdict-trial-evidence/105504308 

Dumas, Daisy. ‘Fungi fatale’ and ‘death cap start’: how the world’s media reported Erin Patterson’s guilty verdict. July 9 2025. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/08/mushroom-murders-australian-world-media-front-pages-erin-patterson-guilty-verdict-ntwnfb.