It's all of it's been talked about in living rooms across the world. Yeah, the Australian mushroom poisoning fatalities made headlines far beyond the sleepy Aussie town in which they happened, and the small amount of information that's been shared with the public proved enough to turn us all into those armchair detectives.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast, an account of a mass killing that has shocked the world. I'm Lisa, a journalist who once knew Erin Patterson from a Facebook true crime group. Today I will bring you the epic tale known to me as Erin Patterson versus the media. It's the story of the chaos from after the deadly lunch to before her arrest. From after the deadly lunch to before her arrest, it's August 7, 2023, when Erin answers a knock at her door. The 48-year-old, who lives in a semi-rural part of South Gippsland, knows impromptu visits here are rare. She's exhausted today and completely overwrought. The stakes couldn't be higher because she was a suspect in a fatal food poisoning and her children had been removed from her care. Since then, she'd been battling community services for days to have her son and daughter returned to her custody. Today she tentatively opens her door and finds the man behind one of the country's most talked about stories.
Speaker 2:John Ferguson, an award-winning reporter for the Australian, is the journalist who first uncovered the tragic Beef, wellington and Mushroom story. He is familiar with high-stakes stories and came to Leon Gatha to meet the woman now known as the Mushroom Lady. The reception was far from welcoming. John told me later that Erin had become defensive. She said she was now a wicked witch and launched into a tirade about media ethics. This is ironic because Erin used a witch on a broomstick as her profile pic on social media, including Facebook. Indeed, every now and then, when I logged onto TikTok, it suggested I follow her. So because TikTok is a stalker and likes to find absolutely everyone you know, it realised that Erin and I were linked on Facebook, but from 2019 to 2020, I was in a true crime group with the Mushroom Cook.
Speaker 2:Now I'm doing an entire episode on this, so it will be coming up in later episodes. I knew her as someone who was smart, eccentric, funny and longing for connection until she wasn't, but, to be honest, I used to quite like her in the before. She was funny until she wasn't, but, to be honest, I used to quite like her in the before she was funny until she wasn't. John Ferguson's reception tells you a lot about this mother of two, but, erin, you ain't seen nothing yet, because in a few hours she will be surrounded by more reporters as well as news cameras. Erin, returning home from shopping, was recorded, storming around her car, sobbing with no apparent tears and theatrically telling her side of the tragedy scenes that became some of the defining images of the case. This is from the Australian's YouTube channel.
Speaker 3:It's a tragedy, what's happened.
Speaker 4:Can you tell us about the meal that you cooked?
Speaker 3:I'm kind of devastated by what's happened, by the loss of Donnie Donnie's still in hospital the loss of Ian and Heather and Gail, who were some of the best people that I've ever met. Gail, who was some of the best people that I'd ever met, Gail was like the muff that I didn't have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail's never been anything but good and kind to me and Anne and Heather were some of the best people I've ever met.
Speaker 3:They never did anything wrong to me and I'm so devastated about what's happened and the loss to the community and to the families and to my own children who've lost their grandmother.
Speaker 1:Can you tell us a bit more about the lunch?
Speaker 3:What I can tell you is that I just can't fathom what has happened. I just can't fathom what has happened that Ian and Emma have lost their lives and Gail has lost her life and Dawn is still in hospital and I pray. I pray that he pulls through, because my children love him.
Speaker 4:And you must be pretty shaken up by this as well.
Speaker 3:I'm devastated. I love them and I can't believe that this has happened, and I'm so sorry that they have lost their lives.
Speaker 2:Under the relentless stress of the police and the media spotlight, she was determined to grasp control in her own mercurial way. The situation then escalates into a shite, as we say. Erin, looking up to the sky as though she hoped it would swallow her up, wipes away invisible tears and then checks her fingers for those pretend tears. These unforgettable viral moments offered the world glimpses into Erin's unpredictable character. As the media set up camp across the road from her home, erin continues with her sporadic and increasingly bizarre interventions. Her dishevelled appearance, quaint choice of words I cannot fathom. I cannot fathom Now. As someone who used to be a media trainer, that's not a natural thing to say. I think she'd been practising in her head what she would say if she was approached by media. But I think the panic, the lack of experience, just ended up being a disaster. Erin is screwing up her cover-up.
Speaker 2:Chris Watts is another family murderer whose TV interviews put a flashing guilty sign above his head. On camera he was giggling, licking his lips and talking about his victims in the past tense. Here's a portion of one of his interviews. He thought he'd get away with killing his family because he didn't care about them. Therefore, he thought no one would notice if they went missing, but what seems to be of low intelligence, whereas Aaron is likely at genius level. Not that I'm a psychologist. What they both got wrong was the massive impact their murders would have on their families and local communities. Their victims meant nothing to them, but they were cherished. With that love comes the police, scrutiny and the media, which loves telling stories of mystery, light and shade. I don't blame the media for Erin's outbursts. She was just giving them her best version of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth Out down spot Out, down spot.
Speaker 2:Out, I say the media was finding Erin's emotional outbursts captivating. Indeed, some of YouTube's biggest news channels were soon following the story. Her theatrics were born for an online world. To say that interest was high is an absurd understatement. After the arrest, victorian homicide boss Detective Inspector Dean Thomas was urging everyone to calm down. This is what he said and it was used in a previous episode of this podcast.
Speaker 4:Over the last three months, this investigation has been subject to incredibly intense levels of public scrutiny and curiosity. I cannot think of another investigation that has generated this level of media and public interest, not only here in Victoria, but also nationally and internationally. I think it's particularly important that we keep in mind that, at the heart of this, three people have lost their lives. These are three people who, by all accounts, were much beloved in their communities and are greatly missed by their loved ones. These deaths also continue to have a significant impact on the media, on the immediate families of those involved, and I ask that people are particularly mindful of this over the coming days.
Speaker 2:And I ask that people are particularly mindful of this over the coming days. Meanwhile, back in time to August 2023, erin is retreating inside her Gibson Street home, the same house where she fantasised, planned and executed her homicides, or attempted to. Can you see her farewelling her in-laws, gathering up their deadly plates and washing them as though everything was normal? Despite Erin's attempt to control the media, her efforts continue to backfire and are making things worse. Her words were riddled with contradictions and denials, including the infamous remark where she mistakenly declared one of the victims survivor, ian Wilkinson, dead. The mum of two didn't look like a multimillionaire, as the media were describing her. But who does when you're at home? As the days went on, erin's interactions with reporters drew more scrutiny as her world spiralled out of control. Despite her attempts to control the media narrative. The efforts made everything worse. Now I've got to tell everyone here lawyers always say to you do not speak to the media in this kind of situation. But the point that Erin's at now, something needs to happen and lawyers are risk adverse and they can't control the media. But she's certainly making it difficult for herself. But she was told not to speak to the media even though she has, so it's a hard one to think about. The second time she addressed reporters, Erin was again messy in appearance. But looking good is probably not a priority when you're at the centre of a deadly food investigation. Having known Erin, it's my opinion that her children are the only things she truly cares about. The fact that they had been taken from her just days before looms large in her mind. As she spoke to reporters she was very distressed that her children had been removed from her.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile, the mushroom cook's chaotic interactions with reporters drew more scrutiny as her world spiralled out of control. When Erin left her Leon Gather home on August 8, taking a bulky suitcase, it was suggested the luggage was for the kids' clothing there was confusion too across Australia. Surely all of this is an accident. It's too bizarre to be deliberate. But if Erin had stayed inside or left town after the Australian first turned up, she might have avoided such a spectacle. But there's no room for sympathy.
Speaker 2:As an extreme introvert, erin didn't have anyone close by who could help her with everyday essentials. She was leaning heavily upon members of our group. I believe the carport statements she made were indicative of her ability to create drama wherever she went. Erin should have shut her door, streamed several of her shows and held tight. The second time she addressed reporters, she was in a red sweater and beige pants. There's footage of her also yelling from her front door wearing a blue sweater and beige pants. It's very hard to line all this up, but I'm doing my best. It's crazy For someone who wanted to avoid journalists.
Speaker 2:She was spending August battling interview requests at her semi-rural home, the one where she murdered three people, according to the age. She complained she wasn't able to leave her house to feed her sheep or go to the supermarket. From the start, the main Patterson and Wilkinson families had a public relations representative working for them. This was smart because they had media knocking on their windows, leaving notes in their letterbox and ringing their doorbells. For days. Erin's property allowed for her to have much more privacy. She had to learn not to react, but now it doesn't matter. What she didn't realise was the journalists had every right to ask questions, but she had every right not to answer them.
Speaker 2:This heated exchange coming up was distributed on screens worldwide. In Leon Gatha, the media wasn't backing down and Erin reasonably felt trapped, but every now and then she throws us a curveball and we find out who she really is. She'd locked reporters inside her property in a probable attempt to exert some sense of control over a situation that was spiralling. Following the homicide squad's declaration of her as a suspect, everything is going off the rails when it comes to Erin. Didn't she want the media to leave, then? Why lock the reporters in? That's absolutely creepy.
Speaker 2:Erin, again, was completely self-centred and bothered by the perceived inconvenience brought about by the deaths and the resultant media coverage. Here she reminds me of a character from Stephen King's Misery series. Annie Wilkes is a cunning, brutal and devious woman who, like Erin, hides her malice. Both the novel and the film portray her as paranoid. Plus, she has an unhealthy obsession with romance novels Coming up too. In my episode about the group, we'll find out what type of non-fiction material Erin Patterson read. By the way, erin looks a lot like the actress who played Annie Wilkes. It was Kathy Bates.
Speaker 1:You dirty bird. How could? You were good, paul, but you're not good. You're just another lying old dirty birdie.
Speaker 2:Back to August. Erin comes out her front door, gets into her car and drives to the gate where she has a discussion with a TV journalist. She was asked if she had any support within the community. I've got tons of friends who've offered me help, but I've told them to stay away while the vultures are here. From what I know, that was going on in Erin's inner sanctum by August the 10th. There are a lot of people who are just taking notes and listening. There are a few people who strongly believe she was innocent and this was a terrible, terrible mix-up while there were others who were feeling suspicious. Erin then drove through the gate of the rural property and left off to Melbourne to see a lawyer. Apparently, the news of her visit to the barrister quickly spread. Then someone leaked her police statement. There's one way to fix that Don't engage in mass murder.
Speaker 2:Because when her scheme collapsed, the fallout was swift and intense. First the police named her as a suspect and there was blowback, partly due to a statement filled with lies issued by someone who had a relationship to this story and the case and the investigation. It read in part I now very much regret not answering some questions following the advice, given the nightmare that this process has become. Erin stated that she found the police interview terrifying and anxiety provoking. The mushrooms she used to cook the beef wellington were bought from a local supermarket. She said, as well as other dried mushrooms she'd bought from a local supermarket. She said as well as other dried mushrooms she'd bought from an Asian grocery store. She stated she too consumed the mushroom meal and was hospitalised at Melbourne Monash Medical Centre as she had stomach pains and terrible diarrhoea. I was put on a saline drip and stayed in hospital overnight. I was given some medicine. I was told it was a liver protective drug. Her statement read. I'm hoping this statement might help in some way. I believe if people understood the background more they would not be so quick to rush to judgment. By the end of August she'd encountered the media at least six times.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile, back in Facebook land, I was suspected for leaking Erin's screenshots to the Daily Mail. It wasn't me, because I didn't know Erin on an intimate level and these contained some very personal information about her childhood and family. I had, however, spoken with John Ferguson and Brooke Grebbit Craig from the Herald Sun. This was after I'd asked him on my podcast and I told Brooke what I knew about Erin's online. I didn't, however, speak with any police officers, but on August 29, 2023, one month after the fatal lunch, our mushroom cook was strutting through the Melbourne CBD with the media in tow. This is exhausting. Even talking about it, my goodness, it was again a peculiar sight. An ashen-faced Erin, dressed in grey animal jumper and khaki pants, declined to speak as she was followed by the media to a parked car. Now, before anyone complains about me describing outfits, this thing's so chaotic it's the only way I can make sense of it. Which was what day? What did she say? It's just a good kind of if you're someone who reacts well to colour. That's what I'm doing. According to the Daily Mail, it was unclear how some reporters were alerted to the meeting with her lawyers who, quote, have previously been suspected of leaking their client's police statement to select journalists. Ie the ABC Note, this legal team was not the pair who represented her in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Speaking to the Australian afterwards, erin denied she'd leaked the statement.
Speaker 2:Ultimately, erin's efforts to manage the crisis spiralled out of control. The media frenzy, her responses and her self-destructive handling of this bizarre situation became features of this tragic saga. Her blind panic. Now I can understand that it is a very difficult situation to be, but that blind panic took over and made things worse as she spiralled. This is what she should have done no media, but no, she couldn't help herself. But despite these efforts, she kept making a complete mess of her non-verbal communication. Her blind panic took over, only making things worse in front of the journalists.
Speaker 2:But one thing she'd be pleased about was to know that the prosecutors were, from the start of this pretrial process, closely monitored by the Department of Public Prosecutions to prevent any risk of mistrial due to potential jury contamination. Technically go to jail for this it's known as contempt of court. It's normal for any trial in Australia to be extremely careful during the pre-trial process, but this time there were many warnings straight from the Supreme Court of Victoria. This level of oversight created significant pressure and anxiety because no one wanted to stuff this up. So thank you so much for listening today to Erin Patterson versus the media. My name is Lisa and you can contact me on my socials. They're in the show notes and on top of that I'll be bringing out more episodes that I've been putting together. And thank you again so much and I will speak to you very, very soon. Bye.