- Four people have reportedly been poisoned during a family lunch in Leongatha
- Patterson faces multiple murder charges
The murder trial of suspected mushroom killer Erin Patterson is set to begin on April 28, 2025 in the Victoria countryside near where the alleged deadly lunch took place.
On Wednesday, the Victorian Supreme Court heard the first in a series of preliminary hearings to pave the way for his eventual jury trial next year.
The 49-year-old faces three counts of murder over the deaths of her father-in-law Don Patterson, mother-in-law Gail Patterson and relative Heather Wilkinson, after inviting the trio to lunch at her home in July last year.
She is charged with the attempted murder of her ex-husband Simon Patterson, who was invited to the lunch but did not attend, and two other alleged attempted murders against him in 2022 and another in 2021.
Patterson is also charged with the attempted murder of pastor Ian Wilkinson, who was at the lunch but survived after a long fight for his life in hospital.
The court ruled the trial could be held at the Latrobe Valley Supreme Court in Morwell, a town of 14,000 people, 152 kilometres east of Melbourne.
The court had previously heard that Patterson wanted the trial to take place near his home town of Leongatha, which is about 60 kilometres southwest of Morwell.
Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her in-laws during a deadly lunch in July 2023
The first of Patterson’s pretrial hearings is expected to conclude next week, with more hearings planned for October.
But evidence from the hearings will be kept secret from the public to ensure potential jurors do not hear information that will not be revealed at trial.
The case attracted global attention when news broke in late July last year, drawing journalists from around the world.
When the trial proper begins next year, the world’s press will have full access to the proceedings, and documentary teams based in the United States are expected to be among the many media outlets.
Patterson has always denied wrongdoing and broke down in tears when he broke his silence before his arrest last year.
“The loss to the community, to the families and to my own children who lost their grandmother… I just can’t imagine what’s happened,” she said at the time.
“I’m so sorry they lost their lives. I can’t believe it.”
Erin Patterson’s once prestigious home in Leongatha now appears to be overgrown with vegetation.
A legal notice remains attached by a cable to Erin Patterson’s front door.
Patterson’s alleged victims are buried in unmarked graves at Korumburra Cemetery
On Monday, neither Mr. Patterson nor Mr. Wilkinson would comment on their scheduled appearances at pretrial hearings.
Warning signs posted on the gates of their respective homes in Korumburra, 120 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, threaten media representatives with prosecution for trespassing if they try to approach the properties.
Patterson pleaded not guilty to all charges and appeared in court on Wednesday via video link.
The mother-of-two was living on a property nestled amongst bush and lush green fields in Leongatha, a short drive from Korumburra, at the time of the alleged murders.
On Monday, a warning sign on her front door remained taped to her electronic gate.
While Patterson is understood to still own the property, she no longer lives there and it appears to be vacant, abandoned and overgrown.with long grass surrounding the property.
It was the same house where police accused Patterson of murdering his alleged victims with Beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Don and Gail Patterson were allegedly murdered by Erin Patterson.
Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Mr Wilkinson survived the deadly lunch that claimed his wife’s life.
The graves of Patterson’s alleged victims remain unmarked more than a year after their deaths