Australian Woman on Trial for Allegedly Serving Death Cap Mushrooms in Fatal Family Lunch

Erin Patterson, the woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms, is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025

Erin Patterson, 50, is at the center of a high-profile triple murder trial in Victoria, Australia, after three of her relatives died and a fourth became critically ill following a family lunch she hosted in July 2023. The case has drawn national attention due to its shocking allegations, complex details, and Patterson’s rare decision to testify in her own defense.

Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and their relative, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them a beef Wellington dish containing deadly Amanita phalloides, commonly known as death cap mushrooms. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was also poisoned but survived. Erin Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Authorities allege Patterson lured the family to her Leongatha home with a false claim that she was suffering from cancer, using it as a pretext for the gathering. Prosecutors say she knowingly served toxic mushrooms and later attempted to cover her tracks. They argue she avoided poisoning herself and faked illness to avoid suspicion.

Ian Wilkinson departs the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, Australia, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, during a break in a trial of a woman accused of his attempted murder

Patterson, who formally separated from her husband Simon Patterson in 2015, denies all charges and claims the tragedy was a horrific accident. She told the court that she purchased dried mushrooms from an Asian supermarket and may have unknowingly mixed them with foraged mushrooms she had previously stored in her pantry. Patterson admitted to collecting wild mushrooms for years, though she initially denied this to investigators.

During her emotional testimony, Patterson admitted she lied to her in-laws about having cancer, explaining that she had actually planned to undergo weight loss surgery but was too ashamed to admit the truth. “I was ashamed of the fact that I didn’t have control over my body or what I ate,” she said, fighting tears. “I didn’t want to tell anybody, but I shouldn’t have lied to them.”

Patterson claimed she was not spared from the effects of the meal. She said she vomited shortly after the lunch, having binged on cake and then induced vomiting—a behavior she stated she had struggled with for decades. She also reported experiencing diarrhea and sought hospital treatment, but recovered quickly.

According to her account, she disposed of a food dehydrator used for drying mushrooms after Simon Patterson asked her about it in the hospital, allegedly accusing her of poisoning his parents. At the time, she denied owning a dehydrator and claimed all mushrooms used in the meal were store-bought. She also admitted to remotely wiping her cell phone while it was in an evidence locker to delete photos of mushrooms she had foraged, citing fear that her children would be taken from her.

Prosecutors maintain that Patterson’s actions—preparing the meal, isolating her children by sending them to a movie, lying about her health, and destroying evidence—demonstrate premeditation. The motive remains unclear, but if convicted, Patterson faces life imprisonment for the murder charges and up to 25 years for attempted murder.

The trial resumes Thursday with cross-examination by the prosecution.