Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial updates: Jury finds mother-of-two guilty of killing relatives with beef wellington

A jury took just seven days to find the mother-of-two did deliberately lace a beef wellington with toxic death cap mushrooms to kill three people and almost murder a fourth.

Erin Patterson found guilty on all four counts

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial updates: Jury finds mother-of-two guilty of killing relatives with beef wellington

A jury took just seven days to find the mother-of-two did deliberately lace a beef wellington with toxic death cap mushrooms to kill three people and almost murder a fourth.

A mother accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth at a family lunch by serving up beef wellington with poisonous death cap mushrooms has been found guilty on all four counts.

Erin Patterson, 50, had pleaded not guilty to murdering her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, after the trio died days after attending a July 2023 lunch at her Leongatha home.

She also pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder Heather’s Baptist pastor husband, Ian, 68, who spent months in hospital, but survived.

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You can read all of our updates on the guilty verdict of Erin Patterson below.

Patterson’s ‘foraged’ mushrooms

This photo shows one of the images of mushrooms that were found on an SD inside Patterson’s home.

Patterson’s defence team showed them to the court as evidence of her testimony that she had a hobby foraging mushrooms.

Photos of mushrooms recovered from Patterson’s SD card.
Photos of mushrooms recovered from Patterson’s SD card. Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

Photo of mushrooms on scales recovered from Patterson’s device

This photo shows mushrooms on scales which were recovered by police from one of Patterson’s devices.

Photo of mushrooms recovered from Patterson’s device.
Photo of mushrooms recovered from Patterson’s device. Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

Analysis of the photo found the last modified date was in autumn 2023.

Mycologist Dr Thomas May told the court the mushrooms appeared to be highly consistent with death cap mushrooms.

During the trial, the prosecution put to Patterson that the mushrooms pictured were death cap mushrooms and she was weighing them to determine a lethal dose.

Patterson denied that was the case, saying she did not think they were death cap mushrooms.

Pictured: Patterson’s phone that was never recovered by police

A photo has emerged of Patterson in hospital on 31 July, 2023, with a phone in a pink case.

The phone, which was dubbed Phone A during the trial, was never recovered by police.

The prosecution had argued it was the phone Patterson primarily used from February 2023 until August 2023, which Patterson agreed was the case.

The court heard Patterson gave police Phone B when they searched her home on 5 August 2023.

She had claimed she did so because she was in the process of changing her phone after the lunch because she didn’t want her estranged husband Simon to contact her.

Erin Patterson is pictured in hospital with her primary phone.
Erin Patterson is pictured in hospital with her primary phone. Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

CCTV footage captures Patterson dumping food dehydrator

CCTV footage shows the moment Patterson dumped her food dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station.

CCTV footage captured Patterson dropping off the food dehydrator.
CCTV footage captured Patterson dropping off the food dehydrator. Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

Patterson disposed of the drying device at the local tip on 2 August, 2023 - just one day after she was discharged from Monash Hospital.

The court heard bank records show that she paid for the drop off via eftpos.

The transaction lead police to contact Koonwarra Transfer Station, with staff telling officers they had located the dehydrator.

Testing on the dehydrator determined it contained traces of death cap mushrooms.

First pictures emerge of Patterson’s beef wellington lunch

Photos have emerged of one of the beef wellingtons Patterson cooked at her deadly mushroom lunch.

The beef wellingtons were cooked into individual pasties.

The recipe she was using, from Recipe Tin Eats, directed the beef wellington be cooked into a log, however, Patterson claimed she made individual serves as she could not find the right cut of beef.

The photos were taken during examinations of the lunch leftovers, which were subjected to various scientific tests.

Toxicology reports found the leftovers contained death cap mushrooms, while the fungi was not detected in plant virology and microscipy analysis.

Remnants of Erin Patterson’s beef wellington lunch.
Remnants of Erin Patterson’s beef wellington lunch. Credit: Supreme Courts of Victoria
The lunch leftovers underwent several scientific tests.
The lunch leftovers underwent several scientific tests. Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

CCTV shows Patterson’s short first visit to hospital

CCTV footage has been released of Patterson’s first visit to Leongatha Hospital two days after her deadly lunch.

Patterson arrived at Leongatha Hospital on the morning of 31 July, 2023, complaining of gastro symptoms.

She was complaining of suffering from diarrhoea and a gastro-like illness.

She was complaining of suffering from diarrhoea and a gastro-like illness.

The footage shows her talking to staff before quickly turning around to walk out the door.

A nurse then frantically runs after her to hand her a form, which she signs, before she leaves.

The court heard Patterson arrived at hospital, but left only a few minutes later, telling staff she was had not arrived prepared to be admitted.

The prosecution argued Patterson left after learning medics suspected there were death cap mushrooms in the meal, so she could have time to work out how to cover up her crimes.

Medical staff said they urged her to stay, and when she declined, they made her sign a “discharge against medical advice” form.

Patterson returned to the hospital about two hours later, at which point she was admitted.

CCTV shows Patterson’s ‘nine-second’ toilet break while claiming to have diarrhoea

CCTV footage has been released of Patterson’s nine second stop to a service station BP while reportedly suffering from diarrhoea.

The footage was captured the day after Patterson’s deadly 29 July 2023 lunch, when she claimed to have been experiencing death cap mushroom poisoning symptoms, like her victims.

Erin Patterson visits BP a day after the lunch

Erin Patterson visits BP a day after the lunch

In the clip, Patterson can be seen walking into the toilet area at BP Caldermeade before abruptly coming out seconds later.

She then walks around the store, perusing the shelves, before buying a sandwich and lollies, then exiting to return to her car.

At the time, Patterson had been driving her son to a flying lesson in Tyabb - which was later cancelled as they neared their destination.

Patterson told the jury during her testimony that her she had to pull over during the drive to relieve her diarrhoea in bushland.

She said she then cleaned herself up with tissues, placed them into a dog poo bag, then disposed of them in the BP toilet during her “nine-second” stop.

CCTV shows doctor examining the lunch leftovers at Leongatha Hospital

Evidence shown in court during Erin Patterson’s trial has been released.

CCTV footage shows Dr Veronica Foote examining the lunch leftovers after they were taken to Leongatha Hospital.

Footage shows Dr Foote photographing the remains of the poisonous dish.

Footage shows Dr Foote photographing the remains of the poisonous dish.

The jury heard doctors had asked where the leftovers could be found after her four lunch guests became ill.

Patterson spoke over the phone to police officers as they went to her home, where they collected the leftovers from a bin outside her home.

The leftovers were then taken to Leongatha Hospital then transported to Melbourne for scientific testing.

Homicide squad detective speaks out

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas has spoken out after Erin Patterson was found guilty of murder and attempted murder.

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas addresses the media
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas addresses the media Credit: 7NEWS

Speaking outside Latrobe Valley Law Court in Morwell on Monday afternoon, Thomas thanked everyone who had worked on the case over the past two years.

“I‘d just like to acknowledge the decision of the jury today and I’d also like to acknowledge the investigators that have worked on this investigation since July 2023 right through to today,” he said.

“I’d also like to thank specialist services that have assisted us through the course of this investigation. I’d also like to acknowledge and thank the office of public prosecutions, the prosecution team in particular for the work that they have put in in the lead up to this trial and obviously during this trial.

“I think its very important that we remember that three people have died and we’ve had a person nearly die and was seriously injured as a result and that has led to these charges.

“I’ll ask that we acknowledge those people and not forget them. I ask also that the Patterson family and Wilkinson family have asked for privacy during this time and i ask that the media please respect that”