The Beef Wellington Lunch That Ended in Murder
A quiet Saturday lunch in Leongatha, Australia, spiraled into international headlines after three guests died from suspected mushroom poisoning — and one woman found herself at the center of a homicide investigation.
Death Cap, Deadly Intentions?
Erin Patterson, 50, hosted the July 29, 2023, gathering that brought her ex-husband's family together. But by the end of the week, her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and her ex-aunt-in-law, Heather Wilkinson, 66, had all died. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68, survived after weeks in the hospital.
Investigators believe the dish — Beef Wellington — contained death cap mushrooms, one of the most poisonous fungi on earth. Authorities didn't buy the idea that this was a tragic kitchen mistake. In November 2023, police arrested Erin and charged her with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
According to PEOPLE, they also accused her of trying to poison her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, on three separate occasions in 2021 and 2022. He skipped the fatal lunch at the last minute. A friend of his told local media that Simon had once been hospitalized with a mysterious stomach illness and suspected she had tried to poison him before.
A History of Foraging — and Mistrust
According to TIME, Erin claimed she cooked the Beef Wellington with button mushrooms from a supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store. However, a family friend reportedly told Daily Mail Australia that Erin had a reputation for foraging and often picked wild mushrooms when they were in season. The government in Victoria, Australia, had previously warned locals about poisonous mushrooms growing in the area, including the deadly Amanita phalloides.
Her Story Keeps Shifting
In an August 2023 statement provided to police, Erin insisted she "had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved," as reported by TIME. She also admitted to disposing of a food dehydrator — an item investigators later found at a landfill — after her ex-husband confronted her at the hospital. She claimed she panicked, fearing she'd lose custody of her children.
She also reportedly told authorities she experienced symptoms after the lunch and visited a hospital, where doctors treated her for suspected food poisoning and gave her a saline drip. Local healthcare services confirmed a fifth person had been admitted to the hospital on July 30, 2023, and transferred to a Melbourne medical center the next day.
The Kids Got a Different Meal
Two children also attended the lunch, but neither became ill. Police believe Erin served them a different dish. She later told police she gave her children leftovers the next day but scraped off the mushrooms because the children didn't like them, TIME reports.
A Town in Shock, a Trial on the Horizon
The deaths devastated the small Leongatha community. Locals held a vigil in August 2023 to remember Don, Gail, and Heather.
Erin, a former newsletter editor and stay-at-home mom, told The Australian that she had been "painted as an evil witch" and that the media made it "impossible for me to live in this town," as reported by TIME.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges during an April 2025 court appearance and will reportedly face trial under a fast-track process, skipping a committal hearing.
As the courtroom prepares for testimony and evidence, the community still asks the one question no one has answered: was this a culinary catastrophe — or something far more sinister?
References: She Made Beef Wellington — with a Side of Poison? After 3 People Died, Police Say It Was No Accident | Woman Accused of Killing Ex-Husband's Family With Poisonous Mushrooms Pleads Not Guilty
