Last month, a jury found Erin Patterson guilty of three murder charges and one charge of attempted murder.
The murder charges all relate to a beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms, which Erin served to her estranged husband’s relatives in 2023.
Since the trial ended, the court has lifted suppression orders on allegations not heard by the jury. This includes details of the allegation that Erin had attempted to kill her estranged husband multiple times.
Here’s what we know.
Allegations
Prior to the start of the trial, Erin was also facing three attempted murder charges relating to her estranged husband Simon Patterson.
These charges were dropped right before the trial and very few details were made public.
Now, newly-released court documents show Simon fell ill several times after consuming meals prepared by Erin.
The prosecution initially alleged these events could be used to draw similarities with the fatal beef Wellington lunch, however the judge ruled a separate trial would be needed.
Erin denied the allegations and they have not been tested in court.
TDA is not suggesting there is any connection between these events.
Here is a timeline of the details:
November 2021: Simon consumed apasta cooked by Erin. He was hospitalised for five days that month.
May 2022: Simon ate a chicken curry made by Erin. Five days later, he was hospitalised, spending days in a coma. His family was told twice to say their goodbyes and part of his bowel was surgically removed.
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September 2022: Simon and Erin went for a walk. When they stopped for lunch, Simon ate a wrap Erin made. Later that day, he became ill and was hospitalised for three days.
Pre-trial ruling
Before a case goes to trial, prosecutors must show the court all the evidence they plan to use to build their case.
In March 2025, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale decided which evidence was admissible in Erin’s case, as well as which charges could be pursued at trial.
Beale struck the allegations of poisoning Simon from the list of charges, ruling they would need to be examined in a separate trial.
He raised concerns the jury would not be able to fairly assess the charges relating to Simon if they already believed Erin was guilty of the murder and attempted murder of his family members.
When Beale ruled the jury would not hear about the alleged poisonings of Simon, he also applied a suppression order to those elements of the case.
When a suppression order is in place, it is an offence for media to publish details the judge has ordered be kept secret.
Erin’s legal team has since lost a bid to keep additional evidence suppressed.
Other evidence
Beale also stopped the jury from seeing several other pieces of evidence during the trial.
This included documents on poisons discovered on devices inside Erin’s home.
He ruled it was not clear that the accused had accessed these files.
The judge also disqualified a Facebook post Erin had made to a poisons page claiming her cat was vomiting after chewing a mushroom. He noted the post had been made 18 months before the first alleged poisoning attempt.
