The Trial of Erin Patterson
For ad-free listening to all of our shows, exclusive bonus episodes of The Trial every week, and complete access to our show archives, subscribe to The Crime Desk now. Visit thecrimedesk.com to become a member.Australian mother-of-two Erin Patterson, will stand trial, accused of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after allegedly serving poisonous mushrooms to her ex-husband’s family members In July of 2023, Gail Patterson, Don Patterson and Heather Wilkinson all died, and Ian Wilkinson was left fighting for life after eating Beef Wellington served at a family lunch. Follow us on instagram @thetrialpodEmail us the...
Episodes
No Pity
In this emergency episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson was sentenced to life in prison. She will serve at least 33 years for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Heath…
The Final Injustice
In this special extra episode Caroline and Wayne have the words from the victims of Erin Patterson as they addressed a court in Melbourne today. Erin Patterson sat in the dock listening intently as members of the families told her she had t…
The Secret Episode
In this special episode Caroline and Wayne have more shocking allegations made against Erin Patterson in court. These were kept from the jury during the trial and until today we weren't allowed to reveal them to you either. But we can now e…
“Where the Fuck is She?”
In this final episode of this series - for now - Caroline and Wayne interview one of the key witnesses in the case. Dr Chris Webster suspected Erin Patterson of doing something “macabre” within minutes of seeing her at the hospital and he s…
The Secret Footage
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have exclusive CCTV footage of Erin Patterson visiting a tip - within half an hour of her lunch guests leaving her house. The video has never been seen before and this tip visit was never disclosed to the …
Me Me Me
It’s the day after the jury returned their guilty verdicts for Erin Patterson. She is now one of the world’s most notorious killers and today we wanted to try to analyse what makes someone so seemingly ordinary become a mass killer. Hosted …
A Deadly Marriage
Erin Patterson is a mass murderer. The jury in Victoria, Australia have today found her guilty of murdering her in-laws by poisoning them with deadly death cap mushrooms. The jury agreed that she lured them to her house by lying about havin…
Jury Out
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment the jury started their deliberations. After giving them their final instructions, the judge, Mr Justice Beale, balotted the jury down from 14 to 12 and told them to start considering their …
Update Episode: Weighing up the Evidence
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have more of the words from the judge as he continues to sum the case up to the jury. He told them that just because Erin Patterson is a liar does not mean she is guilty of murder. On Monday he will hand t…
Laying Down The Law
In this episode Caroline and Wayne, for the first time, have the words of the judge as he tells the jury the fate of Erin Patterson will be in their hands. He has told them not to be swayed by prejudice or by sympathy and not to be influenc…
The High Bar
In this episode Caroline and Wayne having the final words from Erin Patterson. Her defence barrister told the jury the prosecution had failed to reach the “high bar” to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt with “illogical” arguments. He…
“Lots of Lies”
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear that Erin Patterson told “lots of lies” because she had a lot on the line including the possibility of losing her children. But those lies did not make her guilty of triple murder, according to her de…
No Motive
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear there is no motive in this case. That Erin Patterson loved her in-laws and had no reason to kill them. In fact she “needed them in her life”. But we also hear accusations that she was duplicitous, of …
“The Four Deceptions”
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the closing speech from the Prosecutor. Dr Nanette Rogers said Erin Patterson had planned the lunch in great detail setting her “trail” of lies weeks before. She also said those lies were exposed beca…
Update Episode: Case Closed
In today’s episode Caroline and Wayne have the final moments of the case against Erin Patterson. All the evidence has now been heard and in the coming days the case will finally be summed up before the jury start to consider their verdicts.…
Wild Goose Chases and Gastric Bands
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear Erin Patterson deny covering her tracks when she realised the doctors suspected death cap mushrooms were to blame for poisoning Don, Gail, Ian and Heather. She also said she did not serve her own meal…
“Covering your tracks”
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear Erin Patterson deny covering her tracks when she realised the doctors suspected death cap mushrooms were to blame for poisoning Don, Gail, Ian and Heather. She also said she did not serve her own meal…
The Recap
In this special episode Caroline and Wayne pull all the strands together - what we know so far about what the prosecution say happened to cause the deaths of Don, Gail and Heather, and which of the allegations Erin Patterson has refuted aft…
Two Faced
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson denied being two-faced and that she only pretended to love her in-laws. She also denied luring them to the lunch to make sure her husband Simon also came - so she could feed …
Two Faced
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson denied being two-faced and that she only pretended to love her in-laws. She also denied luring them to the lunch to make sure her husband Simon also came - so she could feed …
Lunching with Intent
Did Erin Patterson deliberately lure her husband’s family for lunch with lies about her health so she could kill them? That’s the accusation that has now been put to her. In today’s episode Caroline and Wayne have got all the details along …
Lunching with Intent
Did Erin Patterson deliberately lure her husband’s family for lunch with lies about her health so she could kill them? That’s the accusation that has now been put to her. In today’s episode Caroline and Wayne have got all the details along …
“Is that how you poisoned my parents?”
Today Caroline and Wayne have the evidence from day three of Erin Patterson in the witness box giving evidence in her defence. She admitted that she dumped the food dehydrator after her husband Simon asked her if she’d used it to poison his…
“Is that how you poisoned my parents?”
Today Caroline and Wayne have the evidence from day three of Erin Patterson in the witness box giving evidence in her defence. She admitted that she dumped the food dehydrator after her husband Simon asked her if she’d used it to poison his…
The Forager
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson accepted there were death cap mushrooms in the beef wellingtons she served which killed three members of her husband’s family. The admission came as she gave evidence for a s…
The Forager
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson accepted there were death cap mushrooms in the beef wellingtons she served which killed three members of her husband’s family. The admission came as she gave evidence for a s…
Update Episode: Erin's Evidence
In this emergency update episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson started giving evidence in her defence. For the first time she spoke of her relationship with her estranged husband and her in-laws, and she said she had bee…
Update Episode: Erin's Evidence
In this emergency update episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson started giving evidence in her defence. For the first time she spoke of her relationship with her estranged husband and her in-laws, and she said she had bee…
Testing the Evidence
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear the evidence of the police lead investigator challenged by Erin Paterson’s defence team. We also have more of the Facebook messages she was sending to her friends in the True Crime group chat. Plus we…
Testing the Evidence
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear the evidence of the police lead investigator challenged by Erin Paterson’s defence team. We also have more of the Facebook messages she was sending to her friends in the True Crime group chat. Plus we…
The Interrogation
In this episode we have, for the first time, the words of Erin Patterson. In her first police interview in the days after the lunch she lied by saying she didn’t own a food dehydrator when she had dumped it at the tip hours before. She also…
The Interrogation
In this episode we have, for the first time, the words of Erin Patterson. In her first police interview in the days after the lunch she lied by saying she didn’t own a food dehydrator when she had dumped it at the tip hours before. She also…
The In-Laws
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the messages Erin Patterson allegedly sent to her Facebook friends about her in-laws. In the messages she calls her husband Simon a “deadbeat” and expresses her frustration that his parents won’t inte…
The In-Laws
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the messages Erin Patterson allegedly sent to her Facebook friends about her in-laws. In the messages she calls her husband Simon a “deadbeat” and expresses her frustration that his parents won’t inte…
The Phone Evidence
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear from a poisons expert who posted pictures of death cap mushrooms growing a few miles from Erin Patterson’s home. And we have the evidence from a mobile phone expert who says her mobile phone was recor…
The Phone Evidence
In this episode Caroline and Wayne hear from a poisons expert who posted pictures of death cap mushrooms growing a few miles from Erin Patterson’s home. And we have the evidence from a mobile phone expert who says her mobile phone was recor…
Juror 84
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment a juror was dismissed from the trial after being accused of breaking the rules. We also have more about mushrooms - of course - and if foragers can tell a toxic one from an edible one. Plus…
Juror 84
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment a juror was dismissed from the trial after being accused of breaking the rules. We also have more about mushrooms - of course - and if foragers can tell a toxic one from an edible one. Plus…
Lessons in Mushrooms
Today Caroline and Wayne have some Lessons in Mushrooms from an expert known as Funkey Tom who gave evidence to the trial. He told the jury what the distinctive characteristics are of Death Cap Mushrooms. We also have the evidence of the P…
Lessons in Mushrooms
Today Caroline and Wayne have some Lessons in Mushrooms from an expert known as Funkey Tom who gave evidence to the trial. He told the jury what the distinctive characteristics are of Death Cap Mushrooms. We also have the evidence of the Pu…