logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
26m 50s

Australia’s mushroom killer trial

Bbc World Service
About this episode

It’s been called ‘Australia's trial of the century’. Erin Patterson, the mushroom murderer, was sentenced last month and given a life sentence, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Both the prosecution and the defence are lodging competing appeals. Patterson wants her conviction overturned, and if her appeal succeeds there could be a retrial. Her prosecutors, however, say her 33 year sentence is ‘manifestly inadequate’ and they want to see her receive longer jail time.

These are the latest developments in a story that has launched a flurry of true crime podcasts, books and documentaries. A TV drama is in production, and one of Australia's most eminent writers has announced she’s writing a book about it.

The BBC’s Katy Watson talks us through how this suburban triple-murder story became the focus of the increasingly voracious true-crime industry.

Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: Erin Patterson. AAP/James Ross via REUTERS

Up next
Jul 17
America's World Cup awakening
Spain or Argentina? These two teams will face each other in the 2026 World Cup final. Only one team can emerge eternal. For the rest, it’s over.But this tournament’s not just been about victory. For this special episode, we’ve been speaking with people across the US to hear about ... Show More
26m 49s
Jul 16
Rubio, Antifa and the global threat from the far-left
On Thursday in Washington DC, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, will host an international summit on the threat posed by "the resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism.” There will be a particular focus on the loosely composed group the Trump administration calls Antifa. ... Show More
26m 52s
Jul 15
Jeffrey Epstein, Howard Lutnick, and the disgraced former prince
In an exclusive investigation, a whistleblower has told the BBC how he unearthed evidence suggesting that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick failed to disclose a business relationship with the paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein.Simon Andriesz was a trader at one of Lutnick’s ... Show More
26m 19s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
Australia’s mushroom trial
A triple murder case with a culinary twist is transfixing Australia and the rest of the world. Erin Patterson is accused of using poisonous mushrooms concealed in a Beef Wellington lunch to kill three elderly relatives of her estranged husband. The jury in her trial is expected t ... Show More
25m 7s
Sep 2025
The Mushroom Cook - The Trial | The sentence and the statement
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson has learnt her fate, with Justice Christopher Beale sentencing the triple murderer to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years. His words were live-streamed to the public, but from the steps of the courthouse, sole survivor Ian Wilkinson ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2024
The Mushroom Cook - Season 1 | IN COURT: Erin Patterson fights to keep case local, appoints new lawyer
Accused mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has faced court for the first time in five months as she fights to keep her case in Gippsland and parts ways with her high-profile barrister.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
19m 30s
Jun 2025
Defence v prosecution in the Erin Patterson mushroom trial
No motive – but no doubt, according to the Crown’s closing argument in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial. The defence says the Crown has failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Today, the closing arguments, re-enacted by voice actors. Find out more about The Front p ... Show More
21m 43s
Jul 2025
The Mushroom Murders - The Erin Patterson Story
<p>Erin Patterson, a 50‑year‑old Australian mother of two, was convicted in July 2025 for murdering three of her estranged husband’s relatives—his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his sister Heather Wilkinson—by serving them beef Wellington laced with lethal death cap mushroo ... Show More
7m 48s