The 2023 Leongatha mushroom poisoning is an ongoing legal case involving three deaths from suspected mushroom poisoning in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia. One woman has been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. The case will return to court in April 2025.
The case has sparked significant media interest in Australia and overseas.
Background
Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, located 135 kilometres (84 mi) south-east of Melbourne. At the 2021 census, Leongatha had a population of 5,869.
Lunch and deaths
On 29 July 2023, Erin Trudi Patterson (49) cooked beef Wellington for a lunch for her former in-laws Don (70) and Gail Patterson (70), Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson (66) and Heather’s husband, Ian (68), at her home in Leongatha. Patterson claims her two children went to the movies at the time of the lunch. It is suspected the meal contained Amanita phalloides death cap mushrooms.
The following day, all four guests were admitted to hospital with...