Beef wellington ‘poisoner’ accused of 14 ‘incriminating’ actions as in-laws died

Prosecutors allege Erin Patterson, 66, deliberately served a beef wellington laced with deadly mushrooms to her in-laws – while her defence insists it was a tragic accident

Jurors in the murder trial of Erin Patterson – accused of killing three people by serving them a beef wellington laced with deadly mushrooms – have been taken through 14 alleged acts of incriminating conduct the prosecution claims point to the Aussie’s guilt.

Prosecutors allege Erin, 66, deliberately used poisonous mushrooms in the dish, while her defence insists it was a tragic accident involving mushrooms she had foraged. Her in-laws – Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66 – were hospitalised after eating the beef wellington and died days later. Ian Wilkinson, the uncle of Patterson’s estranged husband, also fell seriously ill but survived after weeks of treatment. Summing up the evidence on Wednesday, trial judge Justice Christopher Beale listed the incriminating acts the prosecution argues are “implied admissions of guilt”.

He added that the prosecution argues the only reasonable explanation for the conduct is that Ms Patterson knew she was guilty.

The allegedly incriminating conduct includes:

1. She lied about being unwell and faked death cap mushroom poisoning;
2. She lied that she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery;
3. She refused treatment on her first presentation at Leongatha Hospital and discharged herself against medical advice;
4. She was reluctant to accept treatment for herself on her second presentation at Leongatha Hospital;
5. She was reluctant to obtain medical treatment for her children on July 31;
6. She lied that she had fed her children the leftover beef wellingtons with the mushrooms and pastry scrapped off;
7. She reset Phone B multiple times commencing on August 2;
8. She disposed of the dehydrator at the local tip;
9. On August 5 she provided police Phone B instead of her usual mobile phone which has never been recovered;
10. She lied to police during her record of interview on August 5 that the SIM in Phone B was her usual service;
11. She lied in her record of interview that she’d never foraged for mushrooms;
12. She lied in her record of interview about never using a dehydrator or dehydrating things;
13. She lied in her record of interview about owning a dehydrator;
14. She lied in her record of interview by saying she may have owed a dehydrator years ago.

Ms Patterson, 50, is now at the centre of one of Australia’s most gripping murder trials, having pleaded not guilty to murdering her in-laws. She also denies a charge of attempted murder for Ian Wilkinson – the uncle of her estranged husband.

Prosecutors allege the poisoning was no accident, pointing to online searches made more than a year earlier. Senior police forensic expert Shaman Fox-Henry told the court that a computer linked to Patterson had been used to search the iNaturalist webite for death cap mushtoom sightings in Victoria in May 2022 – narrowing in on a park in Moorabbin.

Her defence, led by Colin Mandy SC, argues the case is an accidental poisoning and his client did not intend to harm anyone.

The prosecution claims Patterson deliberately searched for death cap mushrooms using the website. Justice Beale said the jury can reasonably infer it was her who accessed the site on a computer found at her home, though there’s no evidence she viewed the exact posts prosecutors allege led her to the deadly fungi.

The defence agrees it was likely her using the site – but say it was a brief visit to check if death caps grew in South Gippsland.

Photos of mushrooms on a dehydrator tray were also found on a Samsung tablet. A fungi expert said one was “consistent” with a death cap. Prosecutors say the timing of the images matches her purchase of a dehydrator on April 28 and suggest the mushrooms were picked at Loch. But the defence argued there’s no way to confirm when the photos were taken.

Another key detail included a phone handed to police that had been factory reset multiple times – on August 2, August 5 and remotely wiped on August 6. The prosecution says one reset happened while police searched her home, and another while the phone was in police custody.

Justice Beale reminded jurors that Patterson accepted someone accessed the mushroom map, “possibly” her, but claimed she didn’t remember. “I don’t remember this internet search, it was possibly me, I remember wanting to find out at one point if death cap mushrooms grew in South Gippsland and finding out they did not,” he quoted her as saying.

She also told the court she didn’t recall using iNaturalist and had no real “interest” in death caps beyond local curiosity.

During his charge on Tuesday, Justice Beale told jurors they must focus only on the evidence – and must “scrupulously guard” against feelings of sympathy for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. “Any decent person would feel great sympathy… but you must scrupulously guard against that sympathy interfering with the performance of your duty,” he said.

He also urged jurors to ignore media coverage and outside opinions. “You and you alone are best placed to decide whether the prosecution has proven their case beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

As his charge to the jury continued, he joked, “No need to bring your toothbrush” on Wednesday.

The trial continues.