New Melbourne Files Reveal: Gastro Nightmare Brewing Long Before Lethal Lunch
In a chilling addendum to what many already call Australia’s most bizarre triple homicide, Victorian Supreme Court justice Melissa Holland on Friday tore the secrecy veil off a cache of pre-trial evidence. The newly public documents reveal that Simon Patterson—divorced husband of convicted poisoner Erin Patterson, 50—spent more than twelve months convinced someone was tampering with his food long before three guests were served a lethal mushroom stew.
Fear at the Table
The disclosures centre on a closed-door hearing held months ago, during which Simon took the stand with one sentence that now echoes through legal circles:
“I thought there’d be a risk that she’d poison me if I attended.”
That single refusal saved his life; another three diners who accepted the invite in July 2023 never made it home.
Red Flags Dated Back to 2022
- Recurring Bouts of Illness: Simon told investigators he suffered unexplained nausea, vertigo and intestinal distress “on and off” for over a year.
- Missing Leftovers: On several occasions he found portions of prior meals discarded “as if they were being re-tested or swapped.”
- Secret Kitchen Notes: He recalled spotting scraps of paper with dosage-like scribbles in Erin’s handwriting, yet she dismissed them as recipe ideas.
The Gag Order Lift—What It Means
During her push to overturn the guilty verdict, Erin fought to keep every shred of Simon’s testimony sealed, arguing it would pre-trial prejudice potential jurors. Justice Holland ruled that “the public interest in understanding the history of domestic risk outweighs the accused’s concerns,” clearing the testimony for immediate release.
Aftershocks
With the gag order gone, prosecutors say they may reopen lines of inquiry against Erin for attempted murder pertaining to Simon’s earlier illnesses. Meanwhile, relatives of the three deceased are preparing civil claims. In Melbourne, the case once framed as a one-off dinner party tragedy now reads like a year-long campaign of slow poisoning that, by a twist of one RSVP card, nearly claimed a fourth life.
At the Morwell Courthouse: Simon Patterson Tells His Story
The Day in Court
On 2 May 2025, Simon Patterson—still legally married yet emotionally distant from Erin Patterson for a decade—walked out of the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court carrying more than just legal papers. The strain of the past two years showed on his face as television crews captured the moment he left the Morwell precinct.
A Meal That Never Was
Standing outside the courtroom, Simon recounted that he had politely accepted his wife’s invitation to a beef Wellington lunch in July 2023. At the last minute, he cancelled—and now credits that single decision with sparing him the same fate that befell four other guests.
Details shared by Simon:
- Timeline of trust collapsing: After the estrangement in 2015, Simon stopped eating anything Erin prepared “out of caution.”
- Reason for declining the lunch: A sudden change in plans; he never imagined anyone else could be in danger.
- Message of remorse: “I simply acted on instinct. I wish I could have known, or warned someone.”
The Verdict Against Erin Patterson
A month earlier, the Victoria Supreme Court returned a chilling verdict: Erin Patterson was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The victims and the survivor:
- Don and Gail Patterson—the estranged husband’s parents—succumbed after ingesting the toxic pastry.
- Heather Wilkinson—Gail’s sister and a respected community figure—was the third fatality.
- Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, survived after weeks on life support.
What Lies Ahead
As Simon returned to his car on that cool autumn afternoon, his lawyer provided no comment on possible civil action. Meanwhile, preparations begin for Erin Patterson’s sentencing in the coming weeks, set to determine how long she will remain behind bars for what prosecutors called an “extraordinarily calculated and heartless crime.”
Victorian Kitchen Nightmare: Inside a Courtroom Drama That Still Boils
A City Frozen in Flashbulbs
On the morning of 15 April 2025, photographers jostled outside Melbourne’s Supreme Court to capture Erin Patterson—her expression unreadable beneath a veil of journalists and police. One click, and the photograph flashed worldwide: the calm woman now awaiting sentence for one of Australia’s most chilling poisoning tales.
How the Story Unfolded After the Cameras Turned Away
The Withdrawn Accusations
Only weeks before the trial began, prosecutors quietly filed an amended indictment.
Simon’s Recollection of the Ill-Fated Meals
In evidence that the jury never weighed, Mr Patterson described nights under canvas poisoned, he believed, by a ladle.
- A steamy serve of penne bolognese, eaten beside an open campfire.
- Diced chicken folded into a creamy korma, spooned from an enamel pot. Minutes after tasting, he told the court: “My scalp prickled like it was on fire, followed by waves of nausea. I began vomiting almost instantly.”
- A vegetable curry wrap, shared under eucalyptus trees near the Murray River.
Despite spreadsheets noting every ingredient and symptom that his doctor urged him to keep, forensic chemists found no toxin link—not then, not now.
Life in Limbo: From Coma to Court
The chicken korma incident ended with Mr Patterson airlifted to hospital, surgeons excising a length of necrotic bowel. Days spun into weeks of induced sleep. When he woke, he did not recognise the woman who would become his chief accuser.
The Battle Over Sealed Court Files
Justice Beale Strikes the Gag Order
Justice Christopher Beale sided with newspapers arguing the public’s right to know.
He peeled back the statutory veil, releasing portions of evidence the jury never read—minutes, forensic reports, psychiatric memos.
Erin’s Team Pleads for Silence
Defence counsel Colin Mandy warned the court that saturating headlines, podcasts and a planned television drama could brand any future juror pool.
“Images, tweets, dramatisations,” he argued, “etch themselves like ink on parchment.” His clients insist the prejudicial drip would survive even an appellate cleansing.
Next Steps Toward the Gavel
A two-day sentencing hearing is scheduled to start on 25 August 2025.
- Prosecutor Jane Warren expects “numerous” victim-impact statements delivered in open court.
- Maximum penalties hover ominously: life for each murder conviction and up to 25 years for attempted murder.
- Once Justice Beale pronounces judgment, Erin may lodge an appeal within 28 calendar days—against sentence, verdicts, or both.
Melbourne Still Serves the Aftertaste
Across the city, dinner-table debates persist. In specialty mushroom stores, sales staff whisper “Patterson” when customers ask for death-caps. No one quite trusts a home-cooked curry anymore. And somewhere in the suburbs, a spreadsheet of meals and timestamps—the ghostly map of a marriage—sits unread inside a yellowing folder, waiting to testify again if the case ever returns to court.
