Crime & justice

Erin Patterson Trial Day 10: Mushroom Expert Testifies

Published MAY 13 2025

Story

Above: Barristers Sophie Stafford (L) and Colin Mandy SC arrive at Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court on May 13, 2025 in Morwell, Australia. Image credit: Asanka Ratnayake/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

On day 10 of Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial, where she stands accused of killing her ex-in-laws, fungi expert Dr. Thomas May said he discovered death cap mushrooms in Outtrim near Patterson's home in May 2023, posting the exact coordinates on the citizen science website iNaturalist under the username "Funkey Tom."
Herald Sun
Guardian
Dr. May explained that death cap mushrooms, which Patterson is accused of deliberately putting in the victims' lunch, can only grow beneath oak trees, vary in color from whitish-yellow to brown, and were first detected in Victoria in the 1970s after being accidentally introduced from Europe.
ABC
Daily Mail
Medical staff testified that Patterson showed no signs of liver toxicity when examined at Monash Medical Centre on Aug. 1, with Dr. Laura Muldoon noting she appeared "clinically well" despite claiming to have eaten the mushrooms.
Sky News
Guardian
The jury was shown photographs of the remaining beef wellington meal, which contained a brown paste inside a pastry, along with evidence that Patterson had told doctors she used both supermarket and dried Asian mushrooms in the dish.
Daily Mail
Guardian
Dr. May testified that identifying wild mushrooms is "challenging" even for experts, and that mushroom foraging increased during the COVID pandemic, leading to more poisoning cases reported to poison control centers.
Sky News
ABC
Phone records presented in court suggested Patterson visited Loch on April 28 and Outtrim on May 22, 2023, areas where death caps had been documented on iNaturalist.
Independent
Daily Mail

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Erin Patterson's likely guilt has been strengthened by her use of iNaturalist to locate death cap mushrooms, as it appears she visited their exact geolocation before the fatal lunch. The data locating her at the site before the lunch, coupled with the likelihood that it told her the mushrooms were lethal, points to intentional foraging of toxic fungi.

Daily Mail

The University of Sydney

Narrative B

Erin Patterson's guilt remains uncertain as her trial continues. Between the dropped charges of attempting to murder her ex-husband and the potential fact that she ate the same mushroom-laced meal, this may have been a tragic accidental poisoning. The iNaturalist data shows foraging but not intent. With no verdict and conflicting evidence, no conclusions can be drawn yet.