Australia's infamous 'Death Cap Mushroom Murder'
The Death Cap Mushroom Murder is a highly publicised case that involves toxic mushrooms. The case took place in Australia and revolves around Erin Patterson, the woman charged with poisoning four family members and killing three of them during a lunch. Patterson used the Death Cap mushroom – also known as Amanita phalloides – to poison the beef Wellingtons that she cooked for lunch.
The case took the world by storm due to the everyday setting of a family meal turning into a tragic crime scene. Join us here at Crime+Investigation as we dive deeper into the background of an ordinary family gathering that turned fatal.
Who is Erin Patterson?
Erin Patterson was born on 30th September 1974, growing up in southeastern Melbourne. Despite the high-profile nature of the case, little is known about her life before the murders.
However, it’s reported that she held a variety of jobs, including as an accountant, air traffic controller and later an animal welfare worker for RSPCA Australia. It was here that she met her husband, Simon Patterson, in the early 2000s.
Erin and Simon’s relationship
Erin and Simon had two children together, but after a few short-term breaks in their relationship, they permanently split in 2015. Their relationship remained amicable at first, but it became strained over the years due to financial issues stemming from a 2022 mistake with Simon’s tax returns.
In the return, his accountant allegedly listed Simon as single in an error, which changed his relationship to Erin. Erin had been claiming child support via the government, and this error meant that Simon was told to stop covering medical and school bills. This caused further friction in their already deteriorating relationship.
Family tensions
Erin and her in-laws were somewhat estranged in the few years that led up to the poisoned lunch in 2023. She posted several times on social media to make jabs at both her ex-husband and his parents. She also missed various family gatherings, and when she did attend others, she was said to often outstay her welcome.
During her testimony in court, she stated that she felt hurt by an invitation to her ex-mother-in-law's 70th birthday. She said that she felt she had been a last-minute invite, and had originally not been invited at all. These tensions seemed minor, but they would lead to the deaths of Simon’s parents and his aunt.
The poisoned beef Wellingtons
Erin invited her in-laws to her home in Leongatha, Victoria, for lunch on 29th July 2023. The invitation was somewhat surprising to Ian Wilkinson – the sole survivor and Simon’s uncle – and his wife Heather, but they were 'happy to be invited'. Simon was also meant to attend the meal, but he cancelled at the last minute. He’d had several bad experiences with Erin’s cooking and had ended up in hospital three times after consuming her meals. This led many to believe that Erin had been trying to poison Simon for years. Simon himself had this fear, which is why he did not want to go to the lunch Erin prepared.
By the following day, Ian, Heather, and Simon’s parents Don and Gail were hospitalised. What was thought to be gastroenteritis turned out to be severe poisoning from alpha-amanitin, a toxin found in Death Cap mushrooms. Five days later, 66-year-old Heather and 70-year-old Gail died in the hospital. 70-year-old Don also passed away the next day.
Police investigation
Erin argued that the poisonings were accidental, but police built a case against her. She had been looking up the Amanita phalloides on a website called iNaturalist for over a year. She’d also researched how to dehydrate and cook certain mushrooms. This suggests that she knew full well what the mushrooms could do, and still chose to use them.
Erin also attempted to get rid of her food dehydrator, which was a crucial piece of evidence. In court, Erin admitted that she disposed of it because she was 'scared of the conversation that might flow about the meal and the dehydrator.'
Inconsistency in her statements was also a vital piece of evidence. Erin gave contradictory statements as to where she got the mushrooms from. She initially said they were bought from an Asian grocery store, but then said that they could have been mixed up with wild foraged mushrooms.
Ian’s testimony was also crucial, as he provided statements about her behavior at the meal. He said that Erin refused any help to plate up the food, and she ate from a smaller, different colored plate than everyone else. She had also arranged for her children to be away at the cinema during lunch.
The verdict
On 7th July 2025, Erin Patterson was found guilty on three murder counts and one attempted murder count. She was given three life sentences and 25 years in prison on 8th September 2025.
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