Erin Patterson, 50, of Leongatha, Victoria, has been charged with the murder of three family members. She’s charged with attempted murder of one other family member. Little did we know at that family lunch in July 2023 what would transpire. Patterson is said to have prepared one that featured death cap mushrooms, a poisonous variety that’s well known for its lethality.
The lunch menu was beef wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans. Unfortunately, each of them turned out to be filled with toxic mushrooms. Prosecutors allege Patterson drew her family to the reunion by telling them she had bad health news. Among many other lies, she claimed to have been diagnosed with cancer. This false siren call would lead to a horrific crash that changed the lives of everyone involved, including victims, family members, and even the perpetrator, forever.
Patterson’s defence team argues she “panicked” after mistake of serving toxic mushrooms to people close to her. Indeed, they claim that her actions were the result of true good faith, lack of intent to harm. In interviews, friends reported that she was fiercely protective of her family. As damaging comments obtained through discovery confirm, the prosecution’s strategy zeroes in on the events surrounding the lunch and the chain reaction that followed.
Patterson is claiming that Patterson committed murder in the first degree. On top of all this, she has a massive inheritance from her husband’s family that has only recently been revealed. However, over the next few years, the executors of the estate released this inheritance piecemeal. This behavior would make anyone question their true financial motivations. Siblings Erin and Simon Patterson first connected in 2002 while both working at Monash City Council. They married in 2007 and grew their family with the addition of two children. In the years after, though they were initially reported as having an amicable, non-confrontational separation, they split for good in 2015.
In 2022, things turned sour when Erin became alarmed after Simon indicated he was separated on his income tax return. This fallout even extended to child support payments. Simon Patterson remembered looking at their partnership prior to the wars started. To get just a little personal, he said “One of the things that first drew me to her was of course her smarts. She’s extremely clever and very sharp, very funny.”
The incredibly sad lunch took place at Erin’s house. She reportedly collected death cap mushrooms after noticing them mentioned in the news on a website for naturalists. Investigators subsequently uncovered inconsistencies in her story about where she had gotten the mushrooms. At first, she said some were sourced from an Asian grocery in Melbourne and that she didn’t forage any wild ones.
Simon’s father was one of the people who had enjoyed that fateful lunch and paid dearly for eating the dish. He struggled significantly after the incident, with Simon noting, “Dad was substantially worse than mum. He was really struggling.”
Erin’s actions have led to some truly shocking revelations about her true character and motivations. Prior to the tragic event, she had expressed a desire for her family to gather, stating, “That’s really disappointing. I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow… It’s important to me that you’re all there tomorrow and that I can have the conversations that I need to have.”
Erin had previously enjoyed happy family Christmases and life celebrations with Simon’s family. Recent storms have taken a serious toll on her relationship with them. Simon’s reflections offer a glimpse into how those close to Erin perceived her before this incident: “She especially got on with dad. Both of them had an insatiable intellectual curiosity about the world. I think she loved his gentle nature.”
As Erin Patterson awaits trial, the case raises profound questions about familial relationships, trust, and the devastating consequences of deceit.
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