The 2023 Leongatha mushroom poisoning is an ongoing legal case involving three deaths from

mushroom poisoning Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxicity, toxic substances. Signs and symptoms, Symptoms can vary from slight Gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mus ...

Leongatha Leongatha () is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo In ...

, Victoria, Australia. Erin Patterson, 50, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The case returned to court in April 2025. The case has sparked significant media interest in Australia and overseas.

Background

is a town in the foothills of the

Strzelecki Ranges The Strzelecki Ranges ( ) is a set of low mountain ridges located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The Ranges are named after Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish explorer, who with the ass ...

South Gippsland Shire The Shire of South Gippsland is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the south-eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 29,576. It includes the towns of Leongatha, Korumburr ...

, located south-east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869.

Lunch and deaths

On 29 July 2023, Erin Trudi Patterson cooked

beef Wellington Beef Wellington is a baked steak dish of English origin, made out of fillet steak and duxelles wrapped in shortcrust pastry. Some recipes include wrapping the contents in prosciutto, or dry-cured ham, which helps retain moisture while preve ...

for a lunch for her

in-laws In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in t ...

Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband, Ian, at her home in Leongatha. Her estranged husband (separated around 2020), Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend. Patterson claims her two children went to the cinema at the time of the lunch. It was later confirmed that the meal contained ''

Amanita phalloides ''Amanita phalloides'' ( ), commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus and mushroom, one of many in the genus ''Amanita''. Originating in Europe but later introduced to other parts of the world since the late ...

'' death cap mushrooms. The following day, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...

. Erin Patterson went to Leongatha Hospital with reported stomach pains and diarrhoea, but repeatedly refused to be admitted. Doctors were so concerned for her welfare that they called the police. There were further health concerns for Erin and Simon's children, who purportedly ate leftovers of the beef Wellington (with the mushrooms and pastry removed), and doctors were adamant that the children should also be checked for any adverse reactions. It was suggested that Ms Patterson was initially reluctant to seek medical attention for the children. On 4 August, five days after the lunch, Gail Patterson, aged 70 and Heather Wilkinson, aged 66, died in hospital and an investigation was launched by

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

. On 5 August, Don Patterson, aged 70, also died in hospital. Ian Wilkinson, aged 69, remained hospitalised for over seven weeks, but survived. He was discharged on 23 September, having received a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

. A funeral for his wife was held on 4 October.

Police investigation

Police confirmed on 14 August that Patterson provided them with a detailed statement, in which she said she had bought dried mushrooms from an

Asian supermarket In non-Asian countries, an Asian supermarket largely describes a category of grocery stores that focuses and stocks items and products imported from countries located in the Far East (e.g. East Asia, East, Southeast Asia, Southeast and South Asia ...

Mount Waverley Mount Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Mount Waverley recorded a population of 35,340 at the 2021 census. It ...

(around away from Leongatha) three months before the lunch. Patterson also said in the statement that she intentionally disposed of the

food dehydrator Tomato slices ready to be dried in a convection-type food dehydrator. In this model, multiple trays can be stacked on top of each other and warm air flows around the food. A food dehydrator is a device that removes moisture from food to aid in i ...

that police found in a

skip bin A skip (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English and New Zealand English),