Estranged Husband Feared Wife’s Poisoning Over a Year Before Fatal Mushroom Meal

Pretrial Evidence Reveals Long-Held Suspicions in Australian Triple Murder Case

Melbourne, Australia — The estranged husband of a woman convicted of a fatal mushroom poisoning believed his wife may have been trying to kill him more than a year before the deadly lunch, an Australian court has heard. Judge lifted a gag order on evidence previously kept secret by triple murderer Erin Patterson.

Husband’s Fear of Poisoning

Simon Patterson testified at a pretrial hearing that he declined a lunch invitation from his estranged wife due to a genuine fear of being poisoned. He told the court, “I thought there’d be a risk that she’d poison me if I attended.”

Despite being estranged from Erin Patterson since 2015, Simon Patterson stated he did not believe others would be at risk from her. He had stopped consuming food prepared by his wife.

Convicted of Mushroom Murders

Erin Patterson was convicted last month by a Victoria state Supreme Court for the murders of her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail‘s sister, Heather Wilkinson. The victims died after consuming beef Wellington pastries contaminated with deadly death cap mushrooms at Patterson‘s home in Leongatha.

She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather Wilkinson‘s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the meal but required extensive hospital care. Initially, Erin Patterson faced charges for attempting to murder her husband by inviting him to the fateful July 2023 lunch, an invitation he accepted before ultimately canceling.

Prior Suspicions of Poisoning

Simon Patterson had also lodged suspicions with his doctor about his wife potentially poisoning him on three separate occasions between November 2021 and September 2022. These allegations were dropped by prosecutors before her trial. His doctor had advised him to document his food intake around the times he fell ill.

He recounted an incident in 2022 where he felt unwell after eating chicken korma prepared by Erin Patterson during a camping trip. He described experiencing heat, nausea, and vomiting, eventually falling into a coma and requiring surgery to remove a section of his bowel.

While no poisons were ever discovered, Simon Patterson‘s suspicions led him to create a spreadsheet detailing his meals. The circumstances of these alleged prior poisonings occurred during family camping trips.

Public Release of Evidence

Justice Christopher Beale ruled that pretrial evidence, including Simon Patterson‘s suspicions, which Erin Patterson sought to keep secret, should be made public. Her defense team argued that publicizing this suppressed evidence could prejudice potential jurors should a retrial be ordered.

A hearing scheduled for August 25 will determine Erin Patterson‘s sentence. She faces a potential life sentence for each murder conviction and a 25-year term for attempted murder. Prosecutors indicated numerous victim impact statements would be presented during the two-day sentencing hearing. Following sentencing, Patterson has 28 days to file an appeal.