ON MONDAY, July 7, 2025, Leongatha mother of two, Erin Patterson, was found guilty on four charges, three counts of murder against her in-laws Gail and Don Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, and one of attempted murder against Ian Wilkinson.
But originally, when the charges were first filed by police on Friday, November 3, 2023, there were eight charges; four where her husband Simon Patterson was the alleged victim.
These were later reduced to three charges of attempted murder, as follows:
- Charge 1: The accused in the State of Victoria (trip to Wilsons Promontory) on November 16, 2021, did attempt to commit an indictable offence namely the murder of Simon Patterson.
- Charge 2: The accused in the State of Victoria (trip to Howqua) on May 25, 2022, did attempt to commit an indictable offence namely the murder of Simon Patterson.
- Charge 3: The accused in the State of Victoria (trip to Wilsons Promontory) on September 6, 2022 did attempt to commit an indictable offence namely the murder of Simon Patterson.
One of the original four charges, relating to Simon’s invitation to attend the deadly lunch at Leongatha on July 29, 2023, had been discontinued well before the start of proceedings.
Everyone knew about the allegations that Erin had attempted to kill her husband three times before trying to compel him to attend the family lunch, even going so far as to prepare a sixth beef Wellington pastie for him, according to the prosecution, laced with death cap mushrooms, should Simon have a change of heart and attend.
At the time the charges were laid, wide publicity was given to these additional attempted murder charges, including in the Sentinel-Times, because, while the community was aware by then of the suspicion surrounding Erin Patterson as the cook of the deadly mushroom meal, few knew of the allegations that she had tried to kill her husband on three prior occasions.
The Sentinel-Times reported on November 3, 2023, the day Erin Patterson was charged on eight counts, including the four counts of attempted murder where Simon was the alleged victim, that while Simon had not spoken publically at the time, the previous year, he had revealed on social media that he had nearly died from a mysterious gut illness that left him in a coma.
“I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation,” he wrote on social media in May 2022, in a message to basketball friends who had wished him well.
“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live.”
He was in intensive care for 21 days before starting to recover.
So, what happened to those three attempted murder charges?
They were buried in legal proceedings and officially dropped on Day One of the trial.
There was hardly any reference to the charges during the trial, because of a suppression order, although Justice Beale acknowledged during his instructions to the jury on Day One that most if not all of the jurors were probably aware of the attempted murder charges in relation to Ms Patterson’s estranged husband.
“Those charges have been discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions. In other words, those charges have been dropped, and you must put them out of your mind.”
One person who wasn’t able to put them out of his mind, while giving evidence on the first few days of the trial, was Simon Patterson.
In an aside to the judge during his first session in the witness box, while the jury wasn’t in court, Mr Patterson said he had been left in a difficult position as a result of the charges being dropped, not being able to give evidence about them or even refer to the alleged incidents.
“All the hearings that have led up to this, all the discussions about the way we got to this point here, where I'm sitting here, half thinking about the things I'm not allowed to talk about and I understand, I don't actually understand why, it seems bizarre to me, but it is what it is.”
In fact, the police and the prosecution wanted to proceed with the charges relating to Simon Patterson and took the objections of the respondent’s defence counsel, Colin Mandy SC, agreed to by Justice Beale in pre-trial hearings, to the Court of Appeal on April 3, 2025 for a ruling. They lost. They were not given leave to appeal Justice Beale’s ruling that the probative value of coincidence evidence, around the alleged poisoning of Simon Patterson, was substantially outweighed by the prejudicial effect on the accused.
“His Honour considered that a finding that the respondent deliberately poisoned the four lunch guests would create a very significant risk of the jurors misusing or overvaluing the evidence in relation to the charges concerning the events allegedly relating to Simon Patterson."
This matter, the video recording of Erin Patterson’s police interview on Saturday, August 5, 2023 and a whole host of other material, not presented to the jury and previously not made public were released last Thursday, August 8 by the trial judge when he lifted a suppression order on almost all of the remaining matters covered by the order, on application by the media, but against the objections of Erin Patterson.
The ABC ‘Mushroom Daily’ podcast “All the times Erin allegedly poisoned Simon – and much more” provides an excellent summary and explanation of the complex nature of the issues involved. You can access it HERE.
Justice Beale also set the date for the plea hearing, on Monday and Tuesday, August 25 and 26, ahead of sentencing on a date yet to be fixed. The plea hearing, which is likely to feature a considerable number of victim impact statements, will be held in the Supreme Court in Melbourne as the Latrobe Valley Law Courts are not available while renovation works are in progress.
The Office of Public Prosecutions advised the following in relation to the charges where Simon Patterson was the alleged victim:
"The charges of attempted murder against Erin Patterson in relation to Simon Patterson were discontinued following the Court of Appeal ruling that they could not be prosecuted together with the charges arising from Ms Patterson’s conduct regarding the lunch on 29 July 2023. In the absence of evidence in relation to the lunch, it was determined that there were no reasonable prospects of conviction for those charges."
Summary of 'Simon poisoning' allegations
The prosecution provided the following summary of their allegations to the Court of Appeal:
The respondent and Simon married in June 2007 and had two children together. In 2015, they separated, but continued to communicate with one another, and with other members of the Patterson family.
Between 2021 and 2022, Simon suffered multiple episodes of serious illness, each of which resulted in hospitalisation following the onset of gastrointestinal illness. These illnesses were the subject of charges 1, 2 and 3.
Charge 1 – 16 November 2021 – Trip to Wilsons Promontory. In 2019, the respondent suggested that she and Simon go away to South Africa together without their children. They were scheduled to leave in March or April 2020, but the trip was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondent suggested that they go on a hiking and camping trip to Wilsons Promontory instead. This eventually took place in November 2021. On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, the respondent went to Simon’s house to pack for the hiking trip. She gave him a Tupperware container of penne Bolognese that she said she had made for the children.
After the respondent left, Simon ate the pasta before going to bed. The next morning, he felt unwell. He drove to the respondent’s house to pick her up for the trip and vomited a number of times shortly after arriving at the house. He attributed his condition to stress. Simon continued to vomit as they were driving to Wilsons Promontory. They stopped at Meeniyan for Simon to use the public toilets as he was suffering from diarrhoea.
The respondent booked an Airbnb near Wilsons Promontory where the pair stayed for two nights. Simon continued to vomit and suffer from diarrhoea. He suggested they go to the hospital, but the respondent told him that that might involve a long wait. She gave him electrolyte fluids and water.
On Friday 19 November 2021, the respondent eventually took Simon to the Urgent Care Centre at Leongatha Hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe dehydration due to gastroenteritis. A blood test showed that he was suffering from acute renal impairment (kidney injury) with elevated creatinine levels and modestly elevated lactate. He was treated with intravenous fluids and was discharged the following morning. He returned to hospital on November 21, 2021 as advised, and was transferred to Monash Medical Centre, where he remained until November 27, 2021.
While Simon was in hospital, medical staff undertook extensive testing to investigate the cause of his acute renal failure. They were unable to determine the underlying cause of his illness.
Charge 2 – 25 May 2022 – Trip to Howqua. Sometime after the November 2021 trip, the respondent suggested to Simon that they go camping again, as they had missed out on the trip to Wilsons Promontory. Simon agreed and they planned a trip to Howqua, again without their children.
About a week before the scheduled trip, Simon went to the respondent’s house one evening. The respondent was making chicken korma curry and wanted Simon and the children to taste test the various levels of spice in the curry. Simon tasted the curries and selected his preferred one.
On May 24, 2022, Simon and the respondent went camping near Howqua and stayed at a public campground. On the second evening, they ate chicken korma curry with rice that the respondent had brought pre-prepared. Simon did not see how the meal was packaged or prepared.
The next morning, Simon began to feel unwell. He vomited and had diarrhoea throughout the morning. The respondent drove him to Mansfield Hospital, stopping along the way so that he could vomit. Simon was treated with intravenous fluids and discharged later that day after he had stopped vomiting. The pair stayed in an Airbnb in Mansfield.
The next morning, they drove home. Simon was still feeling unwell, but he stayed the night alone at his house. On May 29, 2022, Simon was still feeling unwell and called the respondent for help. She went to Simon’s house and called an ambulance. He was taken to Monash Casey Hospital and was admitted in haemodynamic shock.
Initial blood testing revealed severe lactic metabolic acidosis, hypothermia, multi-organ failure, marked elevation of ALT suggesting liver ischemia and a blood film consistent with severe sepsis. He was admitted to the intensive care unit and intubated. Simon underwent various investigative procedures while in hospital, but doctors were unable to determine the cause of his illness. He was extubated on June 14, 2022 and on June 22 he was transferred to a rehabilitation centre, where he remained until July 8, 2022.
Following his discharge from the rehabilitation centre, he stayed with the respondent for a few weeks. During this time, he tended to prepare his own food. On July 14, 2022, Simon’s General Practitioner, Dr Ford, referred him to a gastroenterologist, Associate Professor Christopher Mills. Simon was required to undergo weekly blood tests for a month followed by fortnightly blood tests to see if the cause of his illness could be determined.
On July 22, 2022, the respondent prepared beef stew with rice which both she and Simon ate for lunch. The next morning, Simon became ill again, vomiting and experiencing diarrhoea. He attended Leongatha Hospital and was transferred to Monash Medical Centre, where he remained for a few days.
An abdominal CT scan was performed which showed a collection in the left upper quadrant with the anterior aspect touching the transverse colon. He was discharged on July 25, 2022 and returned to the respondent’s home. Shortly after returning, the respondent told Simon that she resented him and regretted asking him to stay with her. Later that day, Simon returned to his own home.
On August 25, 2022, Simon consulted with Associate Professor Mills, who noted that Simon’s history was highly unusual and that he had never seen a case like it before.
Charge 3 – 6 September 2022 – Trip to Wilsons Promontory. In late August or early September 2022, Simon and the respondent spoke on the phone. The respondent suggested that the pair catch up in person. Simon suggested that they go for a walk at Wilsons Promontory one day when the children were at school. The respondent offered to bring lunch.
On the morning of September 6, 2022, Simon did a routine stool sample for Associate Professor Mills. Later that day, he and the respondent went for a walk at Wilsons Promontory. The respondent brought them each a separate, pre-prepared lunch: Simon had a chicken curry wrap wrapped in aluminium foil; the respondent ate what appeared to be the same curry filling except on a plate without the wrap.
Shortly after eating lunch, Simon began to feel unwell. He started to vomit and experience diarrhoea. The respondent drove him to Donald and Gail Patterson’s house and they called an ambulance. In the ambulance, Simon suffered a seizure and was in a reduced conscious state. He was admitted to Monash Casey Hospital intensive care unit and was intubated. He remained in hospital for three days and was discharged on September 9, 2022. The routine stool sample from the morning of 6 September was unremarkable.
Who knew of Simon's suspicions
Seems that a number of family members knew of Simon's suspicions that Erin had allegedly tried to poison him, well before the deadly lunch on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
- In the pre-trial, Ruth Dubois, daughter of Ian Wilkinson said she hadn’t previously heard of Simon's allegations about being poisoned by Erin.
- Dr Chris Ford, Simon’s personal doctor for a time, and also a member of the Korumburra Baptist Church and Simon’s bible study group, gave evidence in pre-trial about a consultation with Simon in February 2023 where he made allegations that Erin had tried to get him to eat poisoned cookies over the summer school holidays, and some research he had done into the possibility they contained anti-freeze. “He reported to me that while they were away, Erin called several times and enquired about whether he had eaten any of the cookies. Simon felt that this was odd, that she would be so focused about asking about the cookies.” Simon considered having the cookies tested but ultimately threw them out. Dr Ford said as a result of Simon’s suspicions he had his advanced health care directive changed appointing Don Patterson as his power of attorney in place of Erin. Dr Ford said he discussed this change with Don Patterson and indicated to him that he understood why the change had been made. Simon Patterson phoned Dr Ford early on Sunday morning, July 30, 2023, the day after the beef Wellington lunch to say that Don, Gail, Ian and Heather had gastrointestinal symptoms as a result of attending a lunch at Erin Patterson’s home. Dr Ford then phone his colleague, Dr Chris Webster to warn him that the medical cases coming his way might have been the result of intentional poisoning.
- Matthew Patterson, Simon Patterson’s brother, also gave evidence in the pre-trial hearings that Simon had discussed with him his suspicions, at a Ben Harper concert early in February 2023, that Erin Patterson may have tried to poison him. Matthew said he had relayed the conversation to his wife Tanya. Matthew told the court Simon said he was being careful in his interactions with Erin as a result, but Matthew suggested that his fears might have been the reason for the gastro-like symptoms rather than poison.
- Anna Terrington also gave evidence in pre-trial that sometime after Simon’s hospitalisation in September 2022 he told her that he suspected that Erin was deliberately poisoning him.
- Dr Chris Webster gave evidence in pre-trial that Dr Ford had told him that Simon suspected Erin had previously tried to poison him.
- Simon Patterson gave evidence in the pre-trial that he told Dr Ford about his suspicions that Erin was trying to poison him, and after Dr Ford suggested he keep a record of any meals prepared by Erin, he started compiling a spreadsheet of events. He said he also discussed his suspicions with Don at the time he appointed Don as the first contact on his advanced care directions and medical powers of attorney, prior to the forms being signed in February 2023.
For the ABC Mushroom Case Daily podcast, click here:
