Leongatha mushroom murders
Three died from death cap mushrooms served at a family lunch.
A jury found Erin Patterson guilty of killing three family members and trying to kill a fourth by giving them beef Wellington with death cap mushrooms during a meal in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2025.[1]
Quick Facts
- Date of lunch
- 29 July 2023
- Location
- Leongatha, Victoria, Australia
- Perpetrator
- Erin Trudi Patterson
- Victims
- Don Patterson
- Gail Patterson
- Heather Wilkinson (died); Ian Wilkinson (survived)
- Charges
- Three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder
- Conviction date
- 7 July 2025
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
In 2004 she began working in animal management for the RSPCA and met Simon Patterson, a council engineer.[2][3][1] She inherited approximately AU$2 million from her grandmother in 2006, paid over eight years from 2007.[3][1] Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died on 4 August, Don Patterson died on 5 August, and Ian Wilkinson survived after over seven weeks in hospital.[4][5] Her father worked as a civil servant, while her mother, Heather Scutter, was a lecturer at Monash University and an academic.[6][1]
In 2007, she wed Simon Patterson; the couple relocated to Western Australia, where she operated a second-hand bookshop in Pemberton.[3][1] Death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) were present in the meal.[7] Authorities took Patterson into custody on 2 November 2023, accusing her of three murders and five attempted murders.[8]
What the cited sources add
The ABC News article by Kinsella reports that Patterson's mother Heather Scutter was a respected lecturer in children's literature at Monash University.[1] The same source states that Patterson's father Eitan Scutter held director roles in multiple Australian companies.[1] The CNN article notes that Don Patterson arrived at hospital with a container of his own vomit for testing, so certain was he that he had been poisoned.[9] According to Silva's ABC News article, the prosecutor stated that Patterson's phone data indicated she visited Loch and Outtrim, locations where death cap mushrooms had been recorded on the iNaturalist website.[10]
Key facts and action
At her Leongatha residence on 29 July 2023, Patterson prepared separate beef Wellingtons for a lunch attended by Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's spouse Ian.[11]
References
- Kinsella, "Who is Erin Patterson, the host of Australia's infamous mushroom lunch?", ABC News, 8 July 2025. facts only, no text reused. abc.net.au
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Australian mushroom poisoning: Texts detail Erin Patterson's 'horrible' upbringing, details of past revealed", The New Zealand Herald, 24 November 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kinsella, "Who is Erin Patterson, the host of Australia's infamous mushroom lunch?", ABC News, 8 July 2025 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lunch guests' illnesses were 'not survivable', doctor tells mushroom trial", ABC News, 2025-05-23; Al Saafin, "Timeline: How the Australia mushroom poisoning saga unfolded", 1News, 2 November 2023; "Mushroom killer Erin Patterson to serve at least 33 years behind bars", 1News, 8 September 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Turnbull, "Toxic mushroom meal was 'terrible accident' says woman on trial for murder", BBC News, 30 April 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McNab, "Recipe for Murder: The poisonous truth behind Australia's Mushroom Murderer", Headline, 2025-10-14; McNab, "Recipe for Murder: The poisonous truth behind Australia's Mushroom Murderer", Headline, 2025-10-14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Al Saafin, "Timeline: How the Australia mushroom poisoning saga unfolded", 1News, 2 November 2023; Turnbull, "Toxic mushroom meal was 'terrible accident', says woman on trial for murder", BBC News, 2025-04-30 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Police charge Erin Patterson with murder over deadly Leongatha mushroom lunch", ABC News, 2 November 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Australian mushroom murderer also allegedly served poisoned pasta to her husband", CNN, 8 August 2025. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com
- Silva, "Erin Patterson's lawyer tells jury mushroom poisoning deaths were 'a terrible accident' - as it happened", ABC News, 30 April 2025. facts only, no text reused. abc.net.au
- Wikipedia, "Leongatha mushroom murders" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Callanan, "Erin Patterson interviewed by police over Leongatha mushroom poisoning deaths", ABC News, 2 November 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Leongatha mushroom murders (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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