'Shakespearean' mushroom murders spark mass obsession

Perth Now

08-07-2025

An enduring obsession with female killers, the podcast boom and "Shakespearean" elements of the mushroom murder trial are feeding the ongoing fascination with the case.
And there is little sign of it slowing down.
A media frenzy surrounded the near 11-week trial, including a week of jury deliberations before Erin Patterson was found guilty on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Her estranged husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and aunt Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died after Patterson served them beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole survivor.
The 50-year-old mother of two's defence team had unsuccessfully argued her lack of motive was a reason the jury should find her not guilty.
"I don't know what her motive is, I think the only person (who) does is her and she's maintaining her innocence, so we may never know what drove this," criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told AAP.
Patterson faces the possibility of life behind bars and her legal team will have 28 days to file an appeal after she is sentenced later in 2025.
Mr Watson-Munro pointed to Patterson's age, gender, lack of prior convictions, seemingly quiet country life and the fact one person survived the lunch as key areas of intrigue for people fascinated with true crime.
"All of that, without being flippant, is a bit Shakespearean," he said.
It became the biggest true crime story in Australia and interest in the case was driven by a boom in podcasts covering the trial, RMIT University journalism professor Alex Wake said.
"It has every single element of intrigue and drama that people love," she said.
"It's got betrayal, it's got murder, it's got family dynamics."
Traditional news outlets have invested heavily in podcasts because they bring in new audiences, Professor Wake said.
"The people who are most avoidant of news tend to be young women, and young women seem to really like podcasts," she said.
Renowned author Helen Garner was spotted at court while several television series are in development, including a documentary from streamer Stan and ABC drama Toxic, told from Patterson's perspective.
Other offerings include a Nine documentary, Murder By Mushroom and Seven's "deep dive" Spotlight special, with both ready for release days after the verdict.
The trial was a "pop culture moment" driven by the absence of an obvious motive and by the method of killing, University of Melbourne associate professor Lauren Rosewarne said.
"There was a genuine mystery at the heart of this story," she said.
"She did it using the method that women (use to) kill people in crime novels: poison."
Much attention was paid to Patterson's appearance and lack of emotion in court, with Dr Rosewarne drawing parallels to Lindy Chamberlain who was eventually exonerated over the death of her daughter Azaria.
It came at a time of booming interest in Australian true crime stories exported overseas, including Netflix documentary series Last Stop Larrimah and ABC drama Bay of Fires.
"Crime narratives, filmed in isolated locales with quirky characters, that's something that Australia kind of does pretty well," Dr Rosewarne said.
"It's saying something about how Australians are perceived overseas, that small town quirky, weird character thing."