Erin Patterson claimed cancer but by accident served death cap mushrooms instead

Today we dive deep into the testimony of Erin Patterson, the accused in the mushroom murder trial, who admits under questioning that her Beef Wellington may have contained death cap mushrooms, while also revealing a web of lies about medical conditions. Ms Patterson's testimony reveals her attempts to reconnect with the Patterson family through meals, and fabricated medical issues to gain sympathy.

• Ms Patterson hosted a lunch on June 24th 2023 to reconnect with her ex-in-laws
• She admitted fabricating a medical issue including a lump requiring biopsy and MRI
• Ms Patterson confessed she lied to maintain the care and concern the family showed her
• The fatal Beef Wellington recipe came from Recipe Tin Eats cookbook with "deviations"
• She claimed to add dried mushrooms from her pantry because the mixture tasted "bland"
• Patterson acknowledged those mushrooms may have included foraged death caps
• She claimed to become ill after eating Gail Patterson's orange cake after guests left
• Patterson admitted lying about having ovarian cancer to hide gastric bypass plans
• She's pleading not guilty to three counts of murder and one attempted murder charge

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Transcript

Welcome and Newsletter Reminder

Speaker 1 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial podcast. My name is Lisa and I'm a true crime podcaster and journalist. Most weekdays we deliver detailed coverage of one of Australia's most closely watched legal trials. Now a quick reminder before we launch into today's updates and there are a lot. It just keeps coming and coming. Head to mushroommurdertrialcom to subscribe for my newsletter. You will not regret it. I have some exclusive content coming which is going to be amazing. You'd be really, really glad that you signed up, even if I do say myself so. Please also subscribe to this podcast on your preferred platform so you never miss an episode.

Speaker 1 0:49

Now, today we had more of the mushroom cook's testimony, and it was about the lunch and about the lies. And even though the accused, erin Trudy Patterson, is the final witness, we still have a few weeks to go. I can't say when it will end, but we might know more tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've been sitting through every hearing over the past six weeks and I've barely left home. So I'm starting to feel and look a little like Bridget Jones when she was stuck in a Thai prison, but moving along. Enough about my complaining. Stuck in a Thai prison, but moving along. Enough about my complaining. I need to tell you what happened today.

Speaker 1 1:28

We heard again from Ms Patterson about the lunch before the lunch, so that was on June 24, 2023. It was a meal of shepherd's pie and it was hosted at her Leangatha home with Don and Gail Patterson attending and her children. She had also invited her ex-husband, simon, to the gathering. The 50-year-old told the Supreme Court of Victoria at Morwell she had grown concerned that there may have been some distancing between her and the Patterson family, noting that in the past Simon would usually mention family events, but Miss Patterson said there had recently been one or two gatherings she was not invited to, so in about May or June she decided to make more of an effort to reconnect, hence the lunch on June 24. Erin described Don and Gail's relationship with their grandchildren as strong and she said the children enjoyed spending time with them.

Speaker 1 2:29

Later, the court referred to a text message from Gail about a medical appointment. Erin said she may have mentioned the appointment to Gail before or during the lunch. At the time she told the older woman she had a lump in her arm, had undergone a needle biopsy and would be returning for an MRI the following week. However, she confirmed to the court that this was not true. There had been no biopsy and no MRI that was scheduled. She admitted to fabricating the story. Ms Patterson explained that some weeks earlier she had experienced pain in her elbow and the Pattersons had shown her care and concern. She found that support comforting and acknowledged that this influenced her decision to continue the deception. She said she did not want their care to stop. On July 6, she falsely told Gail via SMS that there was a quote a bit to digest from the MRI. In reality she had been considering gastric bypass surgery but had chosen not to disclose this. She stated she may have let the family believe the situation was more serious in order to get secure assistance with the children during her recovery.

Speaker 1 3:49

Ms Patterson told the court her mother had always made beef Wellington as a special occasion recipe when she was a child. So after a lot of consideration she chose that dish for the July 29 lunch Quote. It was in my recipe book Recipe, tin Eats I think that's where I found it. Initially she said Ms Patterson bought the majority of the ingredients from Woolworths in Leangatha. She said she may have also got some ingredients at the IGA or Aldi. Her barrister, colin Mandy SC, asked if she'd followed the recipe for Beef Wellington in the Recipe Tin Eats cookbook followed the recipe for Beef Wellington in the recipe tin eats cookbook. She said quote roughly but says she made some quote deviations. Miss Patterson said she could not buy a single beef tenderloin so she bought individual eye fillet steaks instead.

Speaker 1 4:45

On the morning of July 29, she began preparing the mushroom mince paste, frying garlic and shallots before chopping the mushrooms in a thermomix and cooking them to reduce the moisture so your pastry doesn't get soggy. She began cooking with the aim to serve the meal at 12.30pm and made six individual beef Wellington portions 30pm and made six individual Beef Wellington portions. Miss Patterson said she accepted the Beef Wellington she served. Her lunch guests contained death cat mushrooms. She had primarily used mushrooms from Woolworths and an Asian stall. But Miss Patterson said the mince paste tasted a little bit bland. I tasted it a few times and it seemed bland to me so I decided to put the dried mushrooms from in the pantry, she said At the time I believe it was just mushrooms I got from the grocer in Melbourne but now I think there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well. She noticed that the Pattersons had been holding quarterly family gatherings to celebrate birthdays and Gail had, on that day, invited her to the next one. She was pleased to agree to attend.

Speaker 1 6:01

Ms Patterson said she used her normal dinner plates and stated that she did not own grey plates. As well as this, she did not finish her portion of food at the Beef Wellington lunch, mainly because she was talking a lot. She said after the guests left she ate two-thirds of an orange cake that Gail Patterson had brought over to the lunch. After eating the cake she fell ill, she said, and threw up the food. The jury was told that she had a history of disordered eating.

Speaker 1 6:36

Ms Patterson said she planned for the gastric bypass surgery but was embarrassed to tell anyone. She told the court she instead lied to her guests about having ovarian cancer so she wouldn't have to reveal the weight loss surgery and they could help her with logistics. Around the kids, she said Quote. They showed a lot of compassion. Why don't we pray for Erin? And I lied to them, quote. I was really embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't have control over my body or what I ate. I shouldn't have lied. Now we will continue tomorrow reporting on this in a special bonus episode. But just keep in mind Ms Patterson is fighting three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, but she's pleading not guilty. So thank you so much for listening today.

Speaker 1 7:28

For more information, go to the website. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter, mushroommurdertrialcom. It's jam-packed with anything you could want in a newsletter. I'm also on Instagram at erin underscore pod. I'm on Facebook. I've put all the in the show notes are all the links anyway, so you'll find me. And if you feel like rewarding me for the thousands of hours I've spent on this work, I have a Buy Me A Coffee membership. Thank you to everyone who has donated. Cannot tell you how great it is to get some feedback like that. But you don't have to donate, it's only if you would like to. Now it's $5 and it's just a thanks, and it's in the show notes as well, the link. And there's exclusive membership material on the Buy Me A Coffee site, just for you as well, if you decide to go down that path. But thank you so much. I'll be putting something out in the morning for you because there was a lot that went on today and we'll chat soon. Thanks Bye.