A woman convicted of killing three of her family with a beef Wellington laced with toxic mushrooms allegedly tried to murder her husband with poisoned pasta, chicken curry and a sandwich wrap. Erin Patterson was convicted by a Supreme Court in Australia in July of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson at her home in Leongatha with a Wellington containing death cap mushrooms.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the meal but spent weeks in hospital. A judge on Friday lifted a gag order on pre-trial evidence that triple murderer Patterson, 50, had wanted kept secret as she tried to overturn her convictions.
The evidence included suspicions from Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, that she had previously tried to kill him.
Simon Patterson told a pre-trial hearing he declined the lunch invitation out of fear. In testimony not given before jurors, he told the court: “I thought there’d be a risk that she’d poison me if I attended.”
Estranged from his wife since 2015, Simon Patterson said he had stopped eating food prepared by his wife, but never thought others would be at risk.
Erin Patterson was initially charged with attempting to murder her husband by inviting him to the lunch in July 2023. He accepted the invitation but then cancelled.
She was also initially charged with three counts of attempting to murder him on three occasions between November 2021 and September 2022. Prosecutors dropped all charges relating to the husband before her trial began in April.
Simon Patterson testified before the trial that he suspected his wife had deliberately made him seriously ill with dishes including penne bolognese pasta, chicken korma curry and a vegetable curry wrap. However, no poisons were ever found.
He claimed the three alleged poisonings were made during family camping trips. Simon Patterson shared his poisoning suspicions with his doctor, who encouraged him to create a spreadsheet listing what he had eaten around the time he became sick.
Judge Christopher Beale ordered evidence jurors had not seen to be made public after appeals by the media. Erin Patterson’s lawyers had wanted all the evidence not deemed admissible at her trial kept secret until an appeals court decided whether to overturn her convictions.
Their reasons included that media interest in the case was unprecedented. Defence lawyer Colin Mandy argued that reporting of the suppressed evidence as well as references to it in books, podcasts and a planned TV mini-series would “leave an indelible impression on the minds of potential jurors in the event that there is a retrial”.
A sentencing hearing is due to begin on August 25. She faces a potential life sentence for each of the murders and 25 years for attempted murder.
Prosecutor Jane Warren told Judge Beale on Friday that “a lot” of victim impact statements would be presented at that two-day sentencing hearing.
Once Erin Patterson is sentenced, she will have 28 days to lodge an appeal. Her lawyers say they will appeal against her convictions.