Explore every episode of the podcast The Trial: Australia

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.    In this episode broadcast journalist Caroline Cheetham and Melbourne based correspondent, Wayne Flower discuss the case and the tight reporting restrictions in place in the run up to the trial which is set for 28th April 2025.   Follow us on instagram @thetrialpod Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)   Presenters: Caroline Cheetham and Wayne Flower Guest: Paul Svilans Editor: Chelsey Moore Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham Executive Producer: Lucy Vallance   A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The woman accused of murdering and attempting to murder members of her husband’s family in July 2023 has finally gone on trial. Erin Patterson allegedly served a lunch which contained poisonous mushrooms at her home in the small town of Leongatha in Victoria in Australia. A week later three of the people who attended the lunch were dead, another was seriously ill. We’re in the courtroom with the details of what the jury were told as they were sworn in to try to case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next week, The Trial returns, taking you inside three of the most explosive legal battles playing out across the globe. In the U.S.A., music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs stands accused of multiple charges including sex trafficking and racketeering, which he strongly denies. We'll be on the ground, reporting the facts as his trial unfolds in New York. In Australia, 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. We’ll be reporting from the courtroom in Morwell, Victoria as the case plays out. And in Paris, the men accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016 finally stand trial. We’ll be there, reporting every detail as it happens. Follow all of our feeds now to listen. The Trial of Diddy The Trial of Erin Patterson The Trial See you next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today Caroline and Wayne have the evidence of Erin Patterson’s husband Simon, He told the jury he was estranged from his wife but they had a friendly relationship until there was a row over school fees in 2022. A few months later he said he was invited to the lunch where members of his family were poisoned, but the night before he decided not to go. Erin Patterson denies three charges of murder and one of attempted murder. She says what happened was a tragic accident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erin Patterson, the woman accused of murdering and attempting to murder her in-laws using poisonous mushrooms in Australia, has admitted repeatedly lying. As the case against her opened today in front of the jury, Caroline and Wayne have the details of how she invited her relatives over for lunch to discuss her health, and then allegedly deliberately poisoned them with death-cap mushrooms. She denies the charges against her and says she never intended to harm anyone.  But she admits that she lied repeatedly during the investigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this update episode Caroline and Wayne have more of the evidence from Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon. He denies asking her if she used a food dehydrator “to poison them”. We also hear from members of a true crime Facebook group which Erin was a member of. She told women on the group her husband was coercive and controlling and she didn’t like his religious beliefs. We also hear about a row over his mother’s 70th birthday party.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Caroline and Wayne have the evidence of the only person to survive the beef wellington lunch. Over several hours in the witness box Ian Wilkinson spoke for the first time about what happened during Erin Patterson’s lunch party. He explained how he and his wife Heather fell ill that night and he didn’t know until he came out of a coma weeks later that she had died, along with her sister Gail and her husband Don.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this update episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson’s daughter told police what she knew. She was just nine at the time and in court we saw the video of her being interviewed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the episode Caroline and Wayne have the words of Erin Patterson’s two children. They were aged 14 and nine at the time and they were video interviewed shortly after the lunch. In their evidence they say their mum was too sick to go to church the morning after the lunch. We also have more details of how the toxins in death cap mushrooms destroy the human body. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Public Health expert who first asked Erin Patterson if she had foraged for the mushrooms she served in the beef wellingtons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 we have more on the rows Erin and Simon Patterson were having about money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 recorded in the same location weeks later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 intervene in her dispute with him over money. We also have the details of the final hours and days of Don, Gail and Heather and the miraculous recovery of Ian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 said she loved her in-laws because they were the only family she had left. We also heard evidence that she was left alone with her mobile phone during the police search at her home, and at around the same time, the data was wiped from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 hear how she was consistently worried about her health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 been fighting a "never ending battle" with self-esteem her entire adult life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 second day in her trial. She also says she became interested in foraging during Covid. Plus she admits she was never diagnosed with cancer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 parents. She said she panicked about what he was accusing her of and that her children might be taken away. She also admitted she lied about having cancer treatment because she was too ashamed to say she was really having gastric band surgery. And she says she feared that death cap mushrooms may have accidentally got mixed up with shop bought ones and then added to the beef wellingtons to add flavour.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 with how she’s also accused of weighing death cap mushrooms to enable her to calculate the exact dose to kill.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 him poisoned beef wellington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices