For years, Erin Patterson cultivated a reputation as a “super sleuth” within an online true crime community, operating from behind a computer screen.
Now, she has become the subject of a true crime obsession herself.
Her life came under intense scrutiny after three individuals died and another became critically ill after consuming beef Wellingtons laced with toxic mushrooms at her residence in rural Victoria two years prior.
Journalists from across the globe have flocked to cover her extensive murder trial, while spectators have lined up daily to secure a seat in the courtroom, and countless individuals online have dissected the case’s minute details.
Despite a jury’s guilty verdict on all charges earlier this week, the fervor of speculation and the depth of fascination have only intensified.
“It has shades of Macbeth,” criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro remarked to the BBC.
Australia’s biggest trial in recent history unfolded within the confines of one of its smallest courtrooms.
Over the course of 11 weeks, seven documentary crews focused their cameras on the small town of Morwell. Podcasters were ubiquitous, and journalists competed daily for the six media seats inside the courtroom. Even Helen Garner, one of Australia’s most celebrated authors, made frequent appearances at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts, fueling speculation that she is preparing to pen another bestseller.
A queue of camp chairs awaited alongside a sea of tripods outside the building most mornings of the trial.
Rain, frost, or fog, court observers – predominantly women, often bundled up in beanies and sleeping bags – watched for the moment the glass doors would open.
Once inside, they would place a line of belongings – scarves, water bottles, notepads, bags – outside the courtroom entrance to reserve their spots.
Tammy Egglestone commuted over an hour to reach Morwell on most days of the trial. “I’m a bit of a true crime fanatic,” she explained.
She was present in court when evidence was presented indicating that Patterson was once like her.
Patterson had been an active participant in a Facebook group centered on the crimes of Keli Lane, a woman convicted of killing her two-day-old daughter in one of Australia’s most infamous cases.
In 2018, Lane became the focus of a major podcast after writing to a journalist, claiming wrongful conviction and imploring her to investigate.
During Patterson’s trial, Christine Hunt, one of her online friends, testified that she was well-known among her peers for her adept research and technical skills.
“She was a bit of a super sleuth,” she stated. “She was highly regarded in that group.”
However, as her case unfolded in Morwell, Patterson was also subjected to a trial in the court of public opinion.
She became a common topic of conversation in workplaces nationwide, a subject of gossip among friend circles, and a primary point of debate online.
Thousands theorized about a motive for the crime, provided commentary on pieces of evidence, and even alleged corrupt forces behind the case – much of the discussion unfounded, almost all of it in violation of laws designed to ensure fair trials for defendants.
Memes flooded social media feeds. On Google Maps, someone created a restaurant listing at Patterson’s home address. Others shared trial bingo cards created for those following the proceedings closely.
Throughout the week the jury was deliberating, sequestered in a hotel to shield them from the turmoil, the prevailing question was: what were they thinking?
“What are they doing in there?” one lawyer was overheard asking in a Morwell café on the fourth day of deliberations.
With jury members bound by strict secrecy requirements, we will never know.
“In the US, they can interview jurors after a trial,” criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the BBC. “We can’t get into the heads of jurors in Australia… so it’s really hard to know what their thinking has been and why they’ve come to that conclusion.”
That leaves a significant void for members of the public to fill with their speculation.
Individuals like Ms. Egglestone pondered: if the poisoning was intended to kill, wouldn’t Patterson have planned and executed it more effectively?
“I’ve come in here [as] Switzerland,” Ms. Egglestone clarified, describing the discourse surrounding the case as “very pitchforky.”
“You know, [it’s] she’s guilty, she’s guilty, she’s guilty.”
“And a lot of them are using hindsight reasoning. ‘If I was in that situation, I wouldn’t do this, this and this.’ Well, you don’t know what you would do in that situation.”
But individuals like her were drowned out by the throngs proclaiming Patterson’s guilt.
Many stated that her lies convinced them. Some asserted that the evidence demonstrated a clear lack of empathy and concern for those who perished.
“What really gave her away was wearing white pants when she had ‘gastro’ and needed to go to hospital for it!” one person posted, referencing CCTV footage of her movements in the days following the lunch, which was played at the trial.
Already, the case has inspired a television special, a silver screen drama series, a host of podcasts, several documentaries, and a selection of books.
“It has those typical cliché things that make true crime sell,” Ms. Egglestone said, explaining why she and scores of others have become obsessed with the case.
“The fact that she did take out family members… [she’s] white, female, financially stable, you know. And they’re all church people.”
For David Peters, seemingly benign circumstances surrounding the crime – and the fact it occurred in his local area – drew him in: “The fact that it was a family sitting down to do something you would consider to be safe – have a meal – and then the consequences of that meal…”
Several individuals tell the BBC that the case reminds them of the frenzy surrounding Lindy Chamberlain’s notorious trial in 1982. She was wrongfully convicted of murder after her infant daughter Azaria was taken from an outback campsite by a dingo.
It’s no coincidence that both cases center on women, criminology researcher Brandy Cochrane tells the BBC.
The world has long been captivated by women who kill – largely because it contradicts their traditional “caring” gender roles, they explain.
Those stereotypes also cast a shadow on Patterson’s time in court.
“She’s expected to act in a particular way, and she’s not,” says Dr. Cochrane, a lecturer at Victoria University.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, obviously she’s guilty, she’s not crying the whole time’ or ‘Obviously she’s guilty, she’s lied about this.’ The legal system in and of itself treats women very differently.”
Beyond the macabre spectacle of the trial, there is anger – albeit diminishing – among the communities where the victims resided regarding the way the case has been dissected, local councillor Nathan Hersey tells the BBC.
Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were respected and adored by many in the South Gippsland region, he says, but it feels like they have been forgotten.
“This has been an extremely high-profile case that’s brought a lot of attention, often unwanted, to our local community.”
“[And] some people haven’t had that humanity… they’ve certainly lost focus that for people, there is a loss, there is grief.”
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