Why did Erin Patterson commit death cap mushroom murder? Motive explained

Cosmopolitan

12 hours ago

It is quite possibly one of the strangest court cases in modern times, but the jury has reached a verdict on Erin Patterson and her deadly beef wellington.
The 50-year-old, based in Victoria, Australia, was accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder another at a family lunch in 2023. Patterson had served up a beef wellington which, it transpired, had been laced with fatal death cap mushrooms. Patterson's in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, died in hospital just days after consuming the meal, as did Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, who was also at the lunch. Heather's husband, local pastor Ian Wilkinson, survived, but was in an induced coma for weeks following the meal.
The trial, which took nine weeks and ended today (July 7), unspooled the events that led up to that fateful lunch — but even though the jury has found Patterson guilty on all counts, what possessed her to actually kill her in-laws remains somewhat unclear.
Here, we look back on the key points of the trial, and outline what will happen next for Patterson.
Patterson had worked a series of different careers before meeting her husband Simon Patterson in the early 00s. The pair married in 2007 and went on to have two children, before ultimately deciding to split in 2015. Although they were originally amicable after going separate ways, their relationship quickly turned sour as they started to disagree over finances and child support.
That's not to say Patterson was hard up for money; the court heard of her generous inheritances from her grandmother and her mother, as well as a portfolio of properties.
What's more, Simon — who was also meant to be attending the lunch but pulled out at the last minute — told the court that his ex-wife did not seem to have any feelings of ill-will towards his family, despite the divorce. 'She especially got on with dad. They shared a love of knowledge and learning,' he said. 'I think she loved his gentle nature.'
It has been the question at the very heart of this extensive case — why did Erin Patterson do it?
The fact she had no clear motive was central to her defence team's arguments. Patterson, who foraged wild mushrooms in her spare time and also ate the beef wellington, claimed that the event was a tragic accident.
Speaking on the stand, Patterson offered an explanation of what could have happened. She initially claimed that she bought the mushrooms used in the dish from an Asian grocery store in Melbourne, but couldn't say where or when she bought the mushrooms, nor could she provide any proof of purchase. She insisted, however, that she had never picked wild mushrooms.
Later, after photos showing what looked like death cap mushrooms being weighed on her kitchen scales emerged, Patterson admitted she lied about her foraging hobby, because she was 'scared'.
While Patterson did eat the beef wellington, she did not suffer the same symptoms because, she told the court, she had made herself sick after the dinner, as she has been battling bulimia since her teens.
After waving off her relatives, Patterson said she had cleaned up the kitchen, before rewarding herself with a slice of the orange cake Gail had brought. '[I ate] another piece of cake, and then another piece,' she said. After bingeing on the cake, Patterson then told the court she 'went to the toilet and brought it back up again', adding: 'After I'd done that, I felt better.'
While she admitted herself to hospital two days after the lunch, reporting feeling ill, she was initially reluctant from worried staff to receive treatment. In court, Patterson said she discharged herself against medical advice because she has a long dislike of hospitals.
Weeks after the lunch, police also found Patterson's dehydrator, which she had dumped at a tip. The dehydrator had traces of death cap mushrooms and Patterson's fingerprints
On the stand, Patterson said she decided to ditch the machine was out of panic, as the serious impact of the lunch became clear. '[It was this] stupid, knee-jerk reaction [from me] to just dig deeper and keep lying,' she told the jury.
There were also questions of why Patterson had opted to serve lunch in the first place. Ian Wilkinson, who survived the poisoning, said neither he nor his wife had ever been to her house before.
Meanwhile, Simon Patterson said it was rare for his estranged wife to host this sort of event.
The jury heard that Patterson had invited the guests over on the false pretence that she had cancer, with those who attended offering to 'say a prayer' for her.
Patterson had also claimed she loved her in-laws like her own parents. In early police interrogations, Patterson said: 'My parents are both gone. My grandparents are all gone. They're the only family that I've got… I love them a lot.'
However, the court also heard how she had spoken critically of them online. In Facebook messages read out by the prosecution, Patterson called Simon a 'deadbeat' and his parents 'a lost cause'.
The defence tried to explain this away as 'venting', as well as her cancer lie as a cover-up about weight-loss surgery she was planning to have but was too embarrassed to disclose.
The prosecution opted not to disclose one particular motive for Patterson's actions, and instead urged the jury to look at the evidence.
After a week's worth of deliberations, Patterson was found guilty on all counts.
Patterson is yet to be sentenced, but likely faces the rest of her life in prison.
According to Australian law, Patterson now has 28 days to appeal her conviction.
Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper's Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.