One weekend in July 2023, a group gathered for a lunch in the Victorian town of Leongatha.
Their beef wellington would hit headlines around the world when three were left dead and another fighting for their life after a suspected mushroom poisoning. Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of the so-called mushroom lunch, has since been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder and is expected to face court again on 23 May. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
But the story stretches back years before the fateful July 2023 lunch. Here’s everything you need to know about how the case has unfolded so far.
Around 2020: Erin Patterson and her husband, Simon, separate.
Between 16 and 17 November 2021: Patterson allegedly attempts to murder Simon for the first time.
Between 25 and 27 May 2022: Patterson allegedly attempts to murder Simon for the second time.
6 September 2022: Patterson allegedly attempts to murder Simon for the third time.
29 July 2023: Patterson hosts lunch for Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Simon was also invited but was unable to attend. Patterson serves beef wellington at her home in Leongatha. Erin and Simon’s two children are not home.
30 July 2023: All four lunch guests are admitted to hospital with gastro-like symptoms. Patterson later says in a police statement that she went to hospital with similar symptoms.
4 August 2023: Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson die in hospital. Erin Patterson’s food dehydrator is found at a local tip by police.
5 August 2023: Don Patterson dies in hospital. Victoria police search Erin Patterson’s home and interview her. She gives a “no comment” interview, which she later says she regrets.
7 August 2023: Patterson speaks to media outside her home, and says she felt as though she had been painted as an “evil witch”.
11 August 2023: Patterson provides a written statement to Victoria police. In it, she gives her first detailed account of the lunch and the events afterwards. She denies wishing to harm anyone, saying “I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved”.
23 September 2023: Ian Wilkinson is discharged from hospital after weeks in intensive care.
2 November 2023: Police again search Patterson’s home, and she is arrested and interviewed.
She is charged with three counts of murder relating to the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and five counts of attempted murder: one relating to Ian Wilkinson, and four relating to Simon Patterson. All of the charges except for three attempted murder offences relating to Simon are alleged to have occurred at the lunch on 29 July.
3 November 2023: Patterson faces court for the first time. She has not been required to enter a plea.
22 April 2024: Patterson appears in the Latrobe Valley magistrates court for a brief hearing.
7 May 2024: Patterson’s lawyers tell the court she has elected to have her matter fast-tracked to the supreme court. In order to do this, she must enter a plea. She pleads not guilty to all eight charges.
23 May 2024: Patterson is due to face the Victorian supreme court for a directions hearing.
