Convicted murderer Erin Patterson allegedly tried to tamper with an inmate’s food while she was being held in custody awaiting her trial.

The 50-year-old has been held at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne‘s west since she was charged with the murder of three former in-laws and the attempted murder of another in November 2023.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Inmate alleges convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson tampered with her food

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

There were reports in early 2024 that Patterson was threatened by inmates and had to go into a protected unit on her own.

A fellow inmate then accused Patterson of tampering with her food, claiming she fell ill after eating a meal prepared by the mother-of-two.

The claim was investigated however it’s unclear if any further action was taken.

During Patterson’s nine-week trial in Morwell she was driven to the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court every Monday morning in a prison van.

Patterson attended court and slept in a police cell next door before returning to the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on Friday morning to spend the weekend there.

She spent her first night back at the prison as a convicted murderer on Monday night after a jury found her guilty of killing former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.

The trio died and Ian became gravely ill after attending a lunch at Patterson’s Leongatha home in which she served them a meal of beef wellington containing toxic death cap mushrooms.

Don, Gail and Heather were all beloved members of the small town of Korumburra, where Ian is the pastor of the local Baptist church.

Following the verdict on Monday afternoon, a note was put up on a noticeboard outside the church which read:

“From the Korumburra Baptist Church: We all greatly miss Heather, Don and Gail, whether we were friends for a short time or over 20 years. They were very special people who loved God and loved to bless others.

“It’s been a long journey, and we continue to lovingly support Ian, Simon and all the Wilkinson and Patterson family members through this difficult time.

“We appreciate all the care from our local communities, special support from individuals and from the Baptist Union of Victoria and the churches and people from all over the world who have been praying for us.

“As our Pastor Ian has said ‘Life can be hard, but God is faithful, and He is always with us.’

“The Wilkinson and Patterson families have asked that people respect their privacy at this time. Please also respect the privacy of our church family.”

Speaking to 7NEWS, one churchgoer said they didn’t hate Erin Patterson and they felt sorry for her.

Within hours of the verdict, the Supreme Court released dozens of pieces of evidence that helped prosecutors secure the convictions.

This included CCTV of Dr Veronica Foote from Leongatha Hospital examining the leftovers of the poisoned beef wellington.

Foote could be seen putting on gloves before taking the leftovers out of a Woolworths bag and putting them on a white piece of paper and taking photos.

A triple-0 call a doctor made in the wake of the deadly lunch was also released, in which Dr Christopher Webster called police after Patterson discharged herself from hospital.

Patterson abruptly left Leongatha Hospital moments after arriving at the emergency department on the morning of July 31, 2023.

Patterson had arrived complaining of gastro symptoms but was told by medics that her guests — Don, Gail, Ian and Heather — were suffering from suspected death cap mushroom poisoning.

Medics told Patterson that she would also need to be admitted to hospital for treatment, but she replied that she would return later as she had not arrived prepared to spend the night there.

Webster rang Patterson’s phone several times urging her to return and when that failed, he contacted police.

In court, Patterson claimed she had inadvertently foraged the deadly death cap mushrooms and accidentally added them to the beef wellingtons.

She said she did not begin to suspect her foraged mushrooms had made their way into the meal until after she and everyone became sick.

Patterson claimed she then “panicked” and began destroying evidence and lied to authorities out of fear she would be blamed for the poisonings and lose custody of her kids.

But the jury panel — of seven men and five women — did not believe her.

Patterson did not show any emotion when the verdict was handed down and it is not yet known whether she will launch an appeal.

She will be sentenced at a later date.

In Victoria, the maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment while attempted murder carries a sentence of up to 25 years behind bars.