Latest news with #DrChrisWebster
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
‘You did it': Doc who treated mushroom killer Erin Patterson tells how he knew she was a ‘heinous' murderer in minutes
THE doctor who treated Australian mushroom killer Erin Patterson has revealed how he knew she was a "heinous" murderer within minutes. Dr Chris Webster treated the Leongatha, Victoria, mother and now- convicted killer after she took herself to hospital following the infamous lunch. 9 9 9 9 Patterson, 49, had cooked a beef wellington with lethal death cap mushrooms and intentionally fed it to four guests, killing three, for lunch in July 2023. Webster he had spent the next morning treating two of the poisoned four only for Patterson to turn up complaining of gastro, he told the BBC. Within minutes, Webster knew she was a cold-blooded killer. The doctor said: "I thought, 'Okay, yep, you did it, you heinous individual. You've poisoned them all'." Patterson was convicted on Monday of killing her 70-year-old in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather, 66. The at-home chef was also convicted of one count of attempted murder against local pastor Ian Wilkinson - Heather's husband - in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Webster had first treated Heather and Ian at Leongatha Hospital the next morning after the lunch with intense gastroenteritis-like symptoms. He initially believed it was a case of mass food poisoning and through quizzing his patients suspected the meat in the beef wellington was the culprit. Webster said: "I did ask Heather at one stage what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious." The doctor took Heather and Ian's blood samples and then sent them for analysis to a larger town with better facilities than the small rural Leongatha Hospital. 'Mushroom killer' Erin Patterson GUILTY of murdering three relatives with deadly beef wellington Soon after, he received a call from the doctor treating the other two who were poisoned - Don and Gail - at Dandenong Hospital. She said it was the mushrooms, not the meat, and Webster's stomach dropped. Webster had hooked Heather and Ian with fluids, but quickly changed tack as he realised their life was on the line. He knew he needed to save their failing livers and prepared to send them to a larger hospital where they could get better care. 9 9 But then a person presented themselves to the hospital claiming they had gastro symptoms. Webster asked Patterson for her name and said when he heard it: "The penny dropped… it's the chef." The doctor quizzed the chef about where the mushrooms had come from - Woolworths, she said. It was with that answer that Webster knew she was guilty. But the doctor said that made no sense as the supermarket giant would have stringent food safety standards. Webster also said Patterson didn't seem worried about the danger Heather and Ian - lying only metres away - were in. He then sent Ian and Heather off in an ambulance to Dandenong Hospital, saying he tragically knew they wouldn't return. When he returned, Patterson had checked herself out against medical advice. After desperately trying to call Patterson but being unable to reach her, Webster called the cops. He said: "This is Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha Hospital. I have a concern about a patient who presented here earlier, but has left the building and is potentially exposed to a fatal toxin from mushroom poisoning." 9 9 At the trial, Patterson said she had been caught off guard by the information about the deadly mushrooms and went home to pack an overnight bag and feed the animals. She also had a "lie-down" before returning to the hospital. When she finally did, Webster tried to get her to also bring her children, who the chef claimed had eaten leftovers. In court, Patterson said she was "concerned that they were going to be frightened." Days later, Patterson was caught on CCTV trying to cover her tracks by dumping the food dehydrator she used in her twisted murder plot. Wearing a long coat and sunglasses, Patterson is seen unloading the food dehydrator at the Koonwarra Transfer Station on August 2, 2023 - an apparent attempt to erase evidence linked to the deadly beef wellington meal. And in a chilling image also released by the court, the meal that left her family dying in agony is laid out next to forensic evidence bags. The annotated photo was taken during toxicology testing at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. 9
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Staight-talking doctor whose key evidence helped bring mushroom lunch murderer Erin Patterson to justice reveals how he now faces losing his JOB
A quick-thinking doctor who gave key evidence at Erin Patterson 's trial fears that he will lose his job after he called her a 'crazy b***' and a 'disturbed sociopathic nutbag' in a newspaper interview following the verdict. Dr Chris Webster has been in the headlines since Patterson was found guilty on Monday of murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and her sister, Heather Wilkinson, with death cap mushrooms hidden in beef Wellingtons on July 29, 2023. The straight-talking doctor has now been gagged from speaking to the media after his clinic received official complaints about the way he described Patterson. Dr Webster was a key medical witness early in the 10-week trial, telling the jury he first encountered Patterson at Leongatha hospital at about 8am on Sunday, July 31, 2023 - two days after her deadly lunch. At that stage, Don, Gail, Heather and her husband, Ian Wilkinson, were fighting for life in various hospitals. Dr Webster was already aware that her four guests may have been poisoned with death cap mushrooms when he first laid eyes on Patterson at the hospital. The experienced doctor, who now owns Leongatha Healthcare clinic, told the jury he apologised to Patterson before he recognised her as the lunch cook. 'I apologised (that) she had been kept waiting, I asked why she had presented and she said "gastro",' he said. 'I asked her where she got the mushrooms and she said, "Woolworths".' Dr Webster, who doubted Patterson's Woolworths claims, said he told her that he needed to commence treatment on her for possible death cap mushroom poisoning. The doctor later said he became aware Patterson had left the hospital. After the verdict, Dr Webster told the Herald Sun he thought Patterson was a 'crazy b***h'. 'If she said she picked them (the death caps), it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was all a tragic accident,' he told the newspaper. 'But once she said that answer (that she bought the mushrooms from Woolworths), my thoughts were, "holy f**king shit, you f**king did it, you crazy b***h, you poisoned them all." 'The turning point for me was that moment.' Dr Webster also described Patterson as a 'disturbed sociopathic nutbag'. The doctor, who serves the medically under-resourced Gippsland region of Victoria, now faces the possibility of losing his job. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, Dr Webster said his clinic has received numerous formal complaints which may need to be investigated by the medical board. The doctor said he will work to clear his name and get on with treating patients after numerous people accused him of being a 'misogynist'. 'I'm not that at all, that's not me,' Dr Webster told Daily Mail. 'I stand by what I've done, this is very important. I'm happy to do all the media but it's become all too much now and I have engaged a lawyer and now gagged from any future media (in the short term). 'It's one thing copping these accusations on social media and Instagram but now it's formal complaints. I need to get home and back to work and sort this out, and once things are sorted I will speak again.' Dr Webster said the complaints had drained his and his family's energy. 'One of the complaints accused me of talking about a "patient of mine", they referred to Patterson as a "patient of mine", not as a convicted killer,' he said. 'I go back to work next week and hopefully I'll be able to get back to the work required of a rural doctor.' Dr Webster also said he feared the medical board would need to investigate the complaints if they were 'substantiated'. An adverse finding by the board, if it got that far, could result in a suspension, or, in an extreme measure, disqualification for Dr Webster. During the trial, Dr Webster told the court that Patterson had discharged herself against medical advice. 'I was surprised, well, I had just informed (her) she had just been exposed to a deadly death cap mushroom and I thought hospital would be a better place to be,' Dr Webster told the court. 'I rang Erin's mobile three times and left three voicemails. 'I was apologetic, and I informed the voicemail that I would have to inform police for her health and safety to bring her back to hospital.' Dr Webster rang triple-0 and that call was played to the jury. The doctor later said he became aware Patterson had left hospital. 'Erin had discharged herself against advice,' he said. 'I was surprised, well, I had just informed (her) she had just been exposed to a deadly death cap mushroom and I thought hospital would be a better place to be. 'I rang Erin's mobile three times and left three voicemails. 'I was apologetic, and I informed the voicemail that I would have to inform police for her health and safety to bring her back to hospital.' Dr Webster rang triple-0 and that call was played to the jury. 'This is Dr Chris Webster calling from Leongatha Hospital and I have a concern regarding a patient that presented here earlier and has left the building and is potentially exposed a toxin from mushroom poisoning and I've tried several times to get hold of her on her mobile phone,' he commenced the call. The operator informed Dr Webster that police would drive to Patterson's home in Leongatha to perform a welfare check. Dr Webster said he encountered Patterson again just before 10am that same day after she returned to the hospital. At 10.04am, police called the hospital and said they had arrived at Patterson's house. 'I told them she was here (at hospital) but I asked them to grab some of the leftover Wellington,' Dr Webster said. 'I had no idea, but figured there was a chance, strike while the iron is hot.' Dr Webster said he became concerned about Patterson after warning her that her children could be in dire trouble. 'I stressed the importance of getting them to hospital,' he said. 'Erin was reluctant to inform the children and I said it was important, she was concerned they were going to be frightened. 'I said, "they can be scared and alive, or dead."' Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, drove Ian and Heather Wilkinson to Leongatha Hospital on July 30 before the couple were transferred to the Austin ICU. Patterson's guilty verdict ended one of Australia's most intriguing homicide cases. The mother-of-two, who pleaded not guilty to the murders, sat defiantly throughout her 10-week trial, glaring at the media, members of the public and the family of the people she murdered with callous disregard. Only Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived her plot - a blunder Patterson would live to regret, and will now serve time for after also being found guilty of attempting to murder him. Patterson, who is on remand at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, will be sentenced at a later date.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
‘You crazy b**ch': Doctor reveals moment he knew Erin Patterson poisoned her victims
The doctor who alerted police to Erin Patterson has revealed the moment he realised she had poisoned her victims. Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on Monday over a beef wellington lunch she served at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, all fell critically ill after the lunch. Don, Gail and Heather died of multiple organ failure caused by death cap mushroom poisoning. Dr Chris Webster, a doctor at Leongatha Hospital who initially treated Ian and Heather, told the Herald Sun that he knew Patterson was a calculated murderer when she told him the mushrooms in the meal were from Woolworths. 'If she said she picked them, it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was all a tragic accident,' he said. 'But once she said that answer, my thoughts were, 'holy f**king shit, you f**king did it, you crazy bitch, you poisoned them all'. 'The turning point for me was that moment.' In the candid interview after testifying, which was published by the newspaper on Tuesday, Dr Webster said Patterson was a 'disturbed sociopathic nut bag'. Mushroom cook found guilty Jurors took seven days to return unanimous verdicts, finding Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the country Victorian town of Morwell on Monday. Patterson appeared in court dressed in a paisley top, and appeared nervous as the packed courtroom waited for the verdict to be read out. She tried to meet the eyes of the jurors as they entered the room about 2.16pm, but not one met her gaze. She remained expressionless as the forewoman softly said 'guilty' in response to each charge. Members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families were absent during the hearing despite attending every day of the trial, which began in late April. Outside the court, about 200 people were gathered. Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world's most lethal fungus. The court will soon set a date for a sentencing hearing to determine the length of Patterson's jail term. Her legal team has 28 days after sentencing to appeal both her criminal convictions and her sentence. Patterson's lawyers have not yet indicated whether they will appeal. How the triple murder unfolded The guests' blood was swiftly coursing with deadly amatoxin, a poison produced by the death cap mushrooms known to sprout under the oak trees of Victoria. Don, Gail and Heather died of organ failure within a week. Detectives soon found signs that Patterson had dished up the meal with murderous intent. Patterson told her guests she had received a cancer diagnosis and needed advice on breaking the news to her children, prosecutors alleged. But medical records showed Patterson received no such diagnosis. The prosecution said this was a lie cooked up to lure the diners to her table. She also lied about owning a food dehydrator which police later found dumped in a rubbish tip. Forensic tests found the appliance contained traces of the fatal fungi. 'I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible,' Patterson told the trial. A computer seized from her house had browsed a website pinpointing death cap mushrooms spotted a short drive from her house a year before the lunch, police said.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- ABC News
More witnesses give evidence at Erin Patterson's mushroom murder trial
The triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson continues at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. She's accused of murdering three relatives by serving them a beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms. Follow the trial in our live blog. Key Events 25m ago 25 minutes ago Thu 8 May 2025 at 12:05am Live updates Latest Oldest 2m ago Thu 8 May 2025 at 12:27am What happened in the trial yesterday? T By Tim Callanan On Wednesday, Dr Chris Webster gave evidence about his interactions with Erin Patterson when she presented to hospital. The court heard Dr Webster's triple-0 call asking police to find the Leongatha mother and return her to hospital. Footage was also shown to the court of another doctor, Veronica Foote, trying in vain to stop Ms Patterson from leaving the hospital. You can catch up on yesterday's court proceedings here: 22m ago Thu 8 May 2025 at 12:07am Catch up on yesterday's blog T By Tim Callanan If you want to take a more in-depth look at the witness testimony in court yesterday, you can have a look back at how it all unfolded here: Key Event 25m ago Thu 8 May 2025 at 12:05am Welcome to today's blog T By Tim Callanan More witnesses are due to give evidence today as Erin Patterson's murder trial continues in Morwell. Kristian Silva will again provide us with updates from inside the courtroom at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts.
News.com.au
07-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Erin Patterson trial: Leongatha Hospital doctor Veronica Foote details chef's effort to leave
Just five minutes after attending hospital and announcing 'I've got gastro', alleged mushroom killer Erin Patterson left the building against medical advice, a jury has been told. Two doctors working at the Leongatha Hospital in July 2023 gave evidence at Ms Patterson's murder trial on Tuesday. She has pleaded not guilty to murdering three of her in-laws with a poisoned beef Wellington lunch and the attempted murder of a fourth who recovered, arguing the incident was a tragic accident and not deliberate. Taking the stand, Dr Chris Webster told the jury he first encountered Ms Patterson in the waiting room of the hospital about 8am. 'I apologised that she had been kept waiting … and I asked her why she had presented to hospital,' he said. 'She said, 'I've got gastro'.' Dr Webster said he then recognised her as the 'chef of the meal' his two patients, Don and Gail Patterson, suspected had made them sick. He told the court he explained they would need to start 'emergency treatment of suspected death cap mushroom poisoning' and left her with a nurse to be triaged. But five minutes later, he said he learned, Ms Patterson had discharged herself against medical advice and he called triple-0 for a wellness concern. Another general practitioner at the hospital, Dr Veronica Foote, said she was approached by the nurse, Kylie Ashton, who advised her Ms Patterson wanted to leave. In two minutes of CCTV footage played to the jury, Dr Foote can be seen approaching Ms Patterson and standing between her and the exit as the pair talked. 'I talked to Ms Patterson and relayed our concerns for her health and the potential that she could become very unwell and that it was our medical advice that she stay and be further assessed and treated,' she said. 'She told me that she wasn't able to stay at that point in time. She had to go home to do some things … make some preparations for her animals and children and that she would return to the hospital.' Ultimately, Ms Patterson left the hospital at 8.10am after signing a form acknowledging she was self-discharging against medical advice. Ms Patterson returned at 9.48am the same day and was admitted into the hospital, the jury was told. Dr Foote said after Ms Patterson advised her two children had eaten leftovers of the meal, the meat with the mushrooms and pastry scrapped off, she was told they needed to be examined. Dr Foote said Ms Patterson wanted to leave and collect her children from school, but was advised against it. 'My advice was I thought she could become very unwell very quickly and that it was not safe for her or her children for her to drive them there and possibly other road users,' she said. The doctor suggested her husband, Simon Patterson, could pick up the children. 'Ms Patterson told me that she didn't think that that was in the best interests of her children,' she said. Dr Foote will return to the witness box when the trial resumes on Thursday morning. Simon's parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital in the week after the gathering. Ms Wilkinson's husband, Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell gravely ill but recovered. Her barrister Colin Mandy SC told the jury Ms Patterson did not deliberately serve poisoned food to her guests. 'The defence case is that what happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident,' he said. The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.
