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'Death mushrooms' found in 'seeping' brown paper bag after woman 'poisoned ex husband family'Erin Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted

murder after she served meals of beef Wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her homeNewsLiam Buckler Senior News Reporter10:21, 20 May 2025Erin Patterson is on trial A woman accused

of poisoning and killing her ex-husband's family with a beef wellington dumped "death mushrooms" in a "seeping" brown paper bag, a court heard.

Erin Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after she served meals of beef Wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her home in

the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023.

Her former parents-in-law Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, died in the week alongside Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, after eating the meal. Wilkinson’s husband, Ian

Wilkinson, 68, was poisoned but survived after a liver transplant. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

All four guests were hospitalised the next day with poisoning from death cap mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, that were added to the beef and pastry dish.

The mushrooms were found discarded (Image: Nine) And now, after investigators started to probe the horror meal, new details have emerged about what happened to the leftovers after lunch.

Article continues below Dr Chris Webster, who works at Leongatha Hospital, told the jury he was surprised Ms Patterson had discharged herself from the hospital against medical advice. “I had

just informed her that she’d been exposed to a potential deadly death cap mushroom poisoning and I thought that being in hospital would be a better place for her to be,” he said.

The doctor was called by police who told him they had attended Ms Patterson's home for a welfare check, and to look for any leftovers. “I had no idea but I figured there was a chance. Strike

while the iron is hot; the police are there,” he said.

Erin Patterson's parents-in-law Gail and Don Patterson died from the poisoning(Image: Nine) Constable Martinez-Villalobis said Ms Patterson was “co-operative throughout the exchange” and

told him that leftovers would either be in her indoor or outdoor bin.

The leftover food was discovered at the bottom of her outdoor red-lidded bin in an “seeping” brown paper Woolworths bag, the officer said. “It was primarily maybe one-and-a-bit beef

wellingtons,” he said.

“I used another one of the bags that were in the bin … because it was seeping a bit from the bottom and I didn’t want to get dirty.”

Ian Wilkinson survived after an emergency liver transplant(Image: Nine) The officer took the bag to the hospital where he handed it over to a nurse at around 10.19am.

Leongatha Hospital’s Dr Veronica Foote told the jury she was in contact with another hospital for guidance on how to treat Ms Patterson’s suspected death cap mushroom poisoning.

Article continues below “So I, with gloves on, I took the samples out of the bag, put them on a clean A4 sheet of copy paper and took the photos,” Dr Foote said. She said there was “finely

chopped and cooked mushrooms”.

The trial continues.