The Missing Campers Trial

Erin Patterson’s barrister finishes his final plea to the jury, telling them they must find his client not guilty. He points to four ‘ridiculous convoluted propositions’ from the prosecution and argues the accused never had any reason to harm the lunch guests. He urges the jurors to put themselves in her shoes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Crown closes its case, accusing Patterson of engaging in multiple calculated deceptions and telling lies even when her lunch guests were gravely ill. Rogers also accused Patterson of trying to play the jury.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the accused killer's final hours on the stand, more questions are raised around gastric bypass surgery and an 11th hour bid for a fresh police statement challenges her account. Erin Patterson also maintains she fed fatal lunch leftovers to her children, and answers three final accusations from the prosecution.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The accused disputes claims she was never sick. She is also pressed on possible weight loss surgery and if she has “two faces”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During cross examination, Erin Patterson denies telling relatives she had cancer. She also denies ever thinking her cancer lie could remain a secret because her lunch guests would be dead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Patterson gives evidence that she began to think foraged mushrooms she’d dried in the weeks before the lunch could have ended up in the meal. Telling the court her estranged husband asked if she'd used her dehydrator to poison his parents - and that she panicked, dumping the kitchen appliance and resetting a phone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The accused killer tells the jury she loved mushrooms and developed an interest in foraging for them during covid lockdowns. She admits there must have been death cap mushrooms in the meal she served.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Patterson gives evidence. The accused killer chokes back tears as she recalls a “traumatic birth”. She describes her mother in-law as patient and supportive and reveals she wanted to convert Simon Patterson to atheism before her own spiritual experience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lead investigator is quizzed on exactly what CCTV from the evening of the fatal lunch shows. He also tells the jury, pulling all of the accused killer’s phone records was too expensive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lead detective continues his evidence cataloguing phones connected to the accused killer, noting one has never been found. Erin Patterson’s shopping receipts and medical records are also shown to the jury.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The jury watches a police interview with the accused killer. When asked why she hosted her ex partner’s family for lunch, Erin Patterson replies ‘I love them’ and denies owning a food dehydrator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A public health official tells the court she had trouble reaching Erin Patterson on the phone as she tried to find the source of the poisoning. The jury hears the pair exchanged text messages and a digital forensics officer faces questions from the defence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An intensive care specialist tells the court how doctors fought to save the four lunch guests' lives, and recalls how close Ian Wilkinson came to death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Facebook messages discovered on a phone found in Erin Patterson’s home are read to the jury, calling Simon Patterson a ‘deadbeat’ and his parents ‘a lost cause’. The court is also shown photos of mushrooms in a dehydrator and screenshots of cancer information, taken from a tablet police say was seized from Patterson’s home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The jury is shown internet history taken from devices seized from Erin Patterson's home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A phone tower expert answers dozens of questions about the limitations of mobile phone records. Service station footage is also played to the jury, showing the accused killer visiting a toilet area.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A phone tower expert says Erin Patterson’s mobile possibly pinged in the same areas where death cap mushrooms were sighted. A poisons expert tells the jury she posted about death caps in Gippsland in the months before the lunch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A forensic expert tells the jury mushroom toxins were found in leftovers seized from the fatal lunch. Another witness says Erin Patterson told her she cooked up the beef Wellington using the help of the RecipeTin Eats cookbook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, the court hears a juror in the murder trial is dismissed over concerns they may have discussed the case with friends and family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A second fungi expert gives evidence that she found no pieces of death cap mushroom in a beef Wellington sample. The jury is also shown CCTV from a Gippsland rubbish tip and photographs of a food dehydrator the prosecution says police recovered from inside an e-waste bin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mushroom expert gives the jury a lesson on Amanita Phalloides, the scientific name for death cap mushrooms. In his evidence the mycologist also recalls posting on a website photos and a location, showing where the deadly fungi were growing in Gippsland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Simon and Erin Patterson’s children give evidence. Both say they ate meat they believed was lunch leftovers. The son then recalls how he and his mother spotted a mushroom growing in the local botanic gardens during a pandemic walk. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A doctor tells the jury Erin Patterson recalled sourcing mushrooms from a Chinese grocer but was unable to remember which store as a search was launched. As extended family gave further evidence about their family dynamics, the accused killer's sister-in-law recalls the accused killer asking how her unwell lunch guests were faring.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The jury is played a Triple-0 call from a doctor asking for police help, after Erin Patterson discharged herself from hospital. He later tells her she needs to get her children checked out, fearing they may have also been poisoned. He warns her they can be scared and alive, or dead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Church pastor Ian Wilkinson survived the deadly mushroom lunch. He tells the court Erin Patterson seemed reluctant to let her lunch guests see inside her new pantry. Later, he says he overhead staff looking for the accused killer as he and his ill wife were being rushed to Melbourne hospitals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three women who befriended Erin Patterson in a true crime group gave evidence, telling the jury she asked for advice on how to make beef Wellington. The court also heard Patterson was considered a “super sleuth” and self-described atheist, who struggled with her estranged husband’s faith. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first witness is called to take the stand, and it's Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the prosecution set out its case Erin Patterson was accused of telling a string of lies. The defence admit she did tell lies - but say she never deliberately poisoned anyoneSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the first day of her murder trial, the jury learned charges Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband had been dropped. Patterson is standing trial accused of murdering three other family members and attempting to murder a fourth after serving a lunch of beef wellington containing deadly mushrooms. She’s pleaded not guilty to all charges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Search for 'The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace' wherever you get your podcasts, then press the follow button. New episodes publish weekly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From A Current Affair and 9Podcasts, The Saints is a new investigative podcast unraveling one of Australia’s most shocking and heartbreaking stories: the tragic death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. All 14 members of the fringe religious group known as The Saints - including her own parents - were found guilty of her manslaughter, but many questions remain unanswered. How did it all go so wrong? How did an innocent child slip through every safety net? How did a system meant to protect her fail so spectacularly? And will those responsible for her death ever repent? The Saints is out now, with new episodes released on Mondays. Listen on AppleListen on SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Penny and Erin go through the court documents lodged by Gregory Lynn's legal team and the grounds on which the murderer is attempting to appeal his conviction and 32 year sentence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

31 days after being sentenced for Carol Clay's murder, Gregory Lynn's legal team lodged documents to appeal his conviction and sentence. In this episode Penny and Erin discuss the timing, the process, and what happens next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Missing Campers Trial, Penny and Erin are joined by acclaimed journalist John Silvester with an update on the legal avenues Russell Hill's family are exploring, revealing for the first time there may be a case for a coronial inquest.  You can read the articles written by Sly discussed in this episode with a subscription to The Age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we bring you Carol Clay's story in her own words, after she was interviewed for a book on the Country Women's Association. Published first in 2011 the book is called Great Australian CWA Stories and it's authored by Bill 'Swampy' Marsh through Harper Collins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gregory Lynn has been sentenced, and in this episode Penny and Erin analyse the day in the Victorian Supreme Court, from the reaction of Carol Clay and Russell Hill's loved ones, the very strange comment from the guilty man after sentencing, and the emotional remarks of Justice Michael Croucher. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gregory Lynn has been sentenced to 32 years behind bars for the murder of Carol Clay. Penny and Erin are joined by media lawyer Justin Quill outside court to discuss the sentence, and the reaction of loved ones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Penny and Erin bring you the victim impact statements delivered by Carol Clay's loved ones in the pre-sentence hearing, these statements were delivered to Justice Croucher, ahead of the upcoming sentencing of Gregory Lynn on October 18th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They were the town heroes, the people who dominate every sphere and rule every room. But the rot set in when they used their power to groom whole communities and hurt the most vulnerable. How did they go undetected for so long? And why were credible reports buried for so many years? From Tasmania and beyond, this podcast series reveals the conditions these bad apples need to thrive across communities and what happens to the whistleblowers who refuse to look the other way. Search 'Rotten Apple' in your podcast app to follow the full series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Penny and Erin discuss the pre-sentence hearing, and their reflections on a day where Carol Clay's family addressed the court, and the prosecution called for Gregory Lynn to be given a life sentence.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Missing Campers Trial, Penny and Erin are joined once again by leading criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett, and forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro, as they discuss the differences between killers who attack strangers and those who murder people they know. You can find Tim and Xanthe's podcast in your podcast app, it's called Motive and Method.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Missing Campers Trial, Penny and Erin are joined by leading criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett, and forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro, as they take a deep dive into the mind of Gregory Lynn.  You can find Tim and Xanthe's podcast in your podcast app, it's called Motive and Method.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.