13 things about Leongatha, Victoria’s Erin Patterson

Erin Trudi Scutter Patterson is an Australian woman from Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia. Her former husband Simon Patterson is an engineer and a basketball coach from Gippsland, Victoria.

BIOGRAPHY

Erin and Simon have two children together. Both of his parents Don Patterson and Gail Patterson were born in 1953.

Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson was born in 1957. Wilkinson’s husband Ian Wilkinson was a pastor born in 1959.

An experienced forager, Erin picked mushrooms when they were in season. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. She and her parents Eitan Scutter and Dr. Heather Scutter are former editors of the Burra Flyer, a newsletter in Korumburra, Victoria.
2. Her father was a government worker and her mother was a literature lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria.
3. She and her sister Ceinwen Ruth Scutter grew up in Glen Waverley, Victoria.
4. She was born in 1975.
5. In 2004, she was convicted in Glen Waverley of five charges including failing to give a name or address after causing property damage, using an unregistered vehicle on a highway, failing to stop after an accident and driving 35km/h over the speed limit.
6. In 2007, she and Simon got married.
7. In 2009, her parents moved from Victoria to an oceanfront property in Eden, New South Wales, Australia.
8. In 2011, her father died of cancer.
9. Her Australian business number (ABN) was active from April 30, 2011 to October 1, 2015 and cancelled on October 2, 2015.
10. In 2019, she and Simon divorced and her mother died of cancer.
11. In 2023, she allegedly poisoned Don, Gail, Heather and Ian.
12. In 2024, she pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges.
13. In 2025, she was found guilty of poisoning Don, Gail, Heather and Ian.

TIMELINE

After the death of Erin and Ceinwen’s mother, the sisters inherited their parents’ property in Eden and a big amount of money. Ceinwen’s ABN has been active since May 19, 2019.

2021

• On April 26, 2021, her ABN was active again.

2022

• In May 2022, Simon spent 21 days in intensive care after collapsing due to an illness caused by clostridium difficile and she kept his friends updated about his condition on social media.
• On December 7, 2022, her ABN was cancelled again.

2023

• On July 29, 2023, she hosted a lunch of a fillet of beef covered in a paste of death cap mushrooms and rolled in flaky pastry. Her guests were Don, Gail, Heather and Ian. Simon was supposed to attend but he pulled out at the last minute. On August 5, 2023, Don, Gail and Heather died from symptoms consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning. Ian survived and was released from the hospital on September 23, 2023.
• Shortly after 8:00 a.m. on November 2, 2023, she was arrested and interviewed by police as investigators searched her residence in Leongatha. She was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
• On November 3, 2023, she appeared at the Morwell Magistrates’ Court in Morwell, Latrobe Valley, Gippsland, Victoria.

2024

• On April 22, 2024, she appeared in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from a Melbourne prison.
• On May 7, 2024, she pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.

2025

• On 29 April 2025, her trial began in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Morwell.
• On June 5, 2025, when she was cross-examined by prosecutor Nanette Rogers, she said she was afraid of being blamed for the mushroom poisonings on July 29, 2023 so she lied to the police and health authorities about dehydrating mushrooms and food.
• On July 7, 2025, she was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
• On August 25, 2025, she appeared at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne where Ian read a victim impact statement.