Mushroom cook Erin Patterson’s interview with police informant Stephen Eppingstall

Australian Community Media

Exhibit 63 in the trial of Erin Patterson. The fatal mushroom cook’s interview on August 5, 2025, after the death of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson in Leongatha, Victoria.

Transcript

00:00As we discussed earlier, and we've been together for a few hours now, it's only after 11.30 that we came to your house today.

00:10We want to discuss the deaths of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson today with you.

00:20When we were at the house earlier, we discussed that you hadn't really been kept in the loop,

00:26and it had come as news to you that Heather and Gail had both passed away.

00:38Following eating at your house, Donald, Ian, Gail and Heather had all become so ill

00:45that they ultimately ended up in the intensive care unit at both the Daniel Hospital and then moved to the Austin Hospital.

00:52Following that, they had a deterioration in their condition and that they become so ill that their livers have failed.

01:11Donald underwent transplant last night, and his condition is still extremely critical.

01:19In relation to Ian, I don't have a current prognosis in relation to where he's at.

01:31As of late yesterday, the diagnosis isn't great for him either.

01:37We're trying to understand what has made them so ill, why we're asking these questions.

01:49Conversely, we're trying to understand why you're not that ill.

01:55Do you understand why we're interviewing you today?

01:59Do you understand why we're interviewing you today?

02:01Yes, I do.

02:03But I'm sure you understand, too, that I've never been in a situation like this before,

02:09and I've been very, very helpful with the health department through the week

02:16because I wanted to help that side of things as much as possible,

02:19because I do want to know what happened.

02:23So I've given them as much information as they've asked for and offered up all the food

02:29and all the information about where the food came from.

02:33I fully understand that.

02:35At the house, I must say, for the record again, you were very helpful at the house

02:41and you did point out a couple of things for us that will help us with our investigation.

02:47Mainly the fruit platter that you said Heather bought for you

02:51and the gravy in the fridge and the pantry that you said was from the night

02:57and you've kept on advice from the health department.

03:01So thank you for that.

03:03You also pointed out a recipe book on the counter

03:07and you referred me to page 250 odd.

03:11The recipe for Beef Wellington that you indicated was the recipe that you cooked.

03:19All right, on what we saw at your address in Langatha.

03:23We didn't see a lot of food from Asian grocers or Indian grocers or those kind of stores.

03:31To look in my fridge, I've got a lot of Asian cooking stuff in my fridge.

03:37Yep.

03:39All right.

03:41We'd like to find more of that kind of stuff in your Mount Waisley address, do you think?

03:47No, because I did a big clean out of the pantry and fridge the last time that I was there.

03:59Because I want to sell that place.

04:01Okay. All right.

04:03No problem.

04:05Obviously, we've got concerns in relation to the mushrooms and where they come from.

04:19Is that something you've done in the past, foraging for the mushrooms or anything?

04:29Never.

04:30Never?

04:31Never.

04:32All right.

04:33Do you preserve foods or anything like that?

04:37No.

04:38Have you ever dehydrated food or anything like that?

04:41No.

04:42Okay.

04:43Okay.

04:44Um.

04:45Um.

04:46You've described to me a relationship with your ex-partner Simon.

05:00All right.

05:01Um.

05:02Um.

05:03I'd like to understand why, um, you had his parents and his uncle and auntie over for lunch.

05:17I'd like to understand why, because I've got no other family, so they're, the only support

05:18I've got.

05:19Okay.

05:20And they've always been really good to me.

05:21Yeah.

05:22And I want to maintain those relationships with them.

05:23Yeah.

05:24In spite of what's happened with Simon.

05:25Yeah.

05:26me and I want to maintain those relationships with them in spite of what's happened with Simon.

05:35I love them a lot. They've always been really good to me and they always said to me that they

05:42would support me with love and emotional support even though Simon and I were separated and I

05:49really appreciated that because my parents are both gone. My grandparents are all gone.

05:57They're the only family that I've got and they're the only grandparents that my children have

06:06and I want them to stay in my kids' life and that's really important to me and I think Simon

06:15hated that I still had a relationship with his parents but I love them. Nothing that's

06:23ever happened between us, nothing he's ever done to me will change the fact that they're

06:28good decent people that have never done anything wrong by me ever.

06:32So we've been told that on the 31st of July, so two days after the lunch, you went to the

06:39Lengaga Hospital and you were only there for about five minutes and then you left. Can

06:46you explain why you went there for five minutes?

06:50Yeah, because I just went there thinking I needed a couple of bags of saline because I

06:54was really dehydrated and they said, we want to admit you and send you to Melbourne and when

07:00you've got animals at home and children who have multiple after school activities, you can't

07:09just be told to drop everything and you're off to Melbourne for overnight. So I had to go

07:15home and feed the animals and pack my daughter's ballet bag and I did that and I went there.

07:23Okay. Who did you speak to? So I walked in and there was like, I don't think there were

07:33a nurse, it was like, I don't know, it could have been an enrolled nurse or it was like a

07:38helper person in the triage room, right? And she's just like, are you okay? And I said,

07:42well, no, I have to run to the toilet, I've got diarrhoea. And then she wasn't quite sure

07:47where it was and so she went and found out and showed me where it was. And then she said,

07:51I'll go and find someone, I'll get a nurse or a doctor for you. And so I went to the toilet,

07:58I came back out and I was waiting in the triage area and then a doctor came out, Dr. Webster,

08:10and he said to me, sorry, we're going to be a little while because we've got a couple of

08:16pretty cool patients in that hospital. And I said, that's fine, don't worry about me,

08:21I'm just a gastro case. I'm not urgent, obviously. And he said, oh, what's your name?

08:26And I said, Erin. And he said, oh, we've been expecting you because other people that

08:33you ate with on Saturday were sick. And he said, can you come through? And I said, sure.

08:39And I came in and then he said to me, I can't say the exact words, but he said something along

08:46the lines of, we've got a concern, they've eaten death cat mushrooms. And I said, what?

08:51And he said, yeah, that's what we think they've eaten. And then he said,

08:56started asking me about what food I served them. And I told him.

08:59All right. Um, I understand you went down to the hospital and got treatment and that.

09:11Um, what kind of treatment did you get?

09:15Well, they hooked me up to a trip.

09:18Yeah. They said that because we're concerned. So Dr. Webster had to leave. I think he was at the end of his shift.

09:25And he passed on to another doctor, Dr. Foote. And she said to me, because the concern is that

09:30everybody's eaten something that hurts your liver. We need to give you this protective medicine.

09:35Um, and so there was saline and acetyl or something or other. I didn't realise.

09:42But, um, she said, we need to give you this and then put you in an ambulance up to Melbourne

09:48where they can give you more, I don't know what the word is, more, where they can care for you better.

09:58Yeah. Yeah. So I've got saline and this other stuff. And I'm going to not let ambulance up.

10:04Okay. Um, how long are you in the hospital for here in Melbourne?

10:12Till Tuesday. After.

10:16Okay. Monday to Wednesday. Yeah.

10:19All right. Um, and again, full disclosure so you understand, um, we've obtained warrants

10:32in relation to medical records for everyone involved in this.

10:35Okay. And so we will get medical records in relation to your treatment there as well.

10:39Sure. Okay. You were at home in prison when, um, we did a search warrant today.

10:46All right. Um, I know you weren't watching everyone at all the time.

10:51Um, but I just want to go through on tape some of the stuff for you.

10:56Um, and like I said, we'll give you a link of the copy of this, uh, everything we've seized.

11:01Kitchen, far left bottom drawer, instruction manual for a sunbeam,

11:06through the low electronic dehydrator.

11:10Um, what's that information today? Do you know anything about a dehydrator in your house?

11:15No.

11:16Okay. Do you own a dehydrator?

11:21No.

11:22Wow.

11:23Okay.

11:24I've got manuals of lots of stuff that I've collected over the years.

11:29I've had all sorts of appliances and I just keep them all in.

11:32Oh, okay.

11:33Yeah.

11:34When did you own a dehydrator?

11:38Um, I don't know. I've had one years ago.

11:43Okay.

11:44What did you use that for?

11:46Like, when I first got the Thermomix, I got really excited about, like, making everything from scratch.

11:52You know, and I did a lot of, um, you know, like, everything from scratch ingredients and I did a lot of that.

12:02So, we had something like that.

12:05Okay.

12:06So, we had a kitchen bench located against the wall, um, recipe 10 each book.

12:12Okay.

12:13I'm not sure.

12:14Again.

12:15That's that recipe book.

12:16That's that same book that we, um, the Wellington recipe come out of.

12:21Yeah.

12:22Okay.

12:23From the fridge, we got the fruit salad platter, which you pointed out.

12:27Oh.

12:28Yeah.

12:29So, thank you for that.

12:30Um, from the study, we took the computer, uh, we took another computer and we took another computer.

12:47All right.

12:48In the lounge, we grabbed an iPad in a black and red case.

12:54From the room, we've grabbed a computer.

12:57Uh.

12:58Oh, that would have been an old one I have in the top of my tummy.

13:03Okay.

13:04Yeah.

13:05Yep.

13:06That's a very old one.

13:07All right.

13:08So, that, if I had to prioritise, that would be the bottom of the list.

13:10I don't think anyone's power, but I'm from 30, 39.

13:12Okay.

13:13All right.

13:14No drums.

13:15We'll pop that one at the back of the list.

13:17All right.

13:18Um, a black mobile phone, which again, I'll prioritise tomorrow for you.

13:24Uh, upstairs bedroom two, far left towards the backyard.

13:29It says Erin's bedroom, so we're actually in the tools.

13:32An Apple iPad.

13:33I don't own any iPads, so, but they would be tablets, Android tablets.

13:38Oh, okay.

13:39There's a Samsung tablet listed below that, located on top of the bed.

13:44Yeah.

13:45Uh, okay.

13:46Maybe they've got it wrong, but it's not an iPad or some other tablet.

13:51Uh, Samsung tablet.

13:54Uh, an Apple mobile phone, and your mobile phone.

13:59Uh-huh.

14:00All right.

14:01So, yep.

14:02Oh, and so you said a black mobile phone earlier.

14:05Yep.

14:06Yep.

14:07So that would be a Nokia.

14:08It's a really old Nokia that I've got for like, you know, if you break your phone.

14:14Yeah.

14:15Yep.

14:16And you, you've got to send away from repair and you need, so I've got this like really

14:20old thing.

14:21So, um, yeah.

14:22That's right.

14:23Yeah.

14:24Your mobile phone would be the top top.

14:25Yep.

14:26And then we're talking about the school computer, followed by the Geoforce one.

14:28Yeah.

14:29David.

14:30I'll just, one thing I wanted to clarify, um, to make sure I've got it right.

14:31You obviously said we're taking notes.

14:32When you went to the, um, to the Landgather Hospital and you said you went in there, um,

14:46and, uh, you got shown to the toilet.

14:49Uh, but you said you had to go home to pack stuff, um, and your daughter's bag and that

14:50sort of thing and feeding the animals.

14:51Mm.

14:52When you had the conversation with Dr. Webster, was that when you first went there or afterwards?

15:04I don't remember.

15:07I don't remember.

15:10Okay.

15:11Um, yeah.

15:14Other things that I should mention that, um, I, again, to your credit, um, police went

15:20around your house on that morning.

15:22Oh.

15:23Yep.

15:24On the 31st.

15:25Right.

15:26Yep.

15:27And, um, they were obviously responding to the hospital call to check up on you.

15:32Yep.

15:33And they spoke to you on the phone and you gave them the pin code for your gate.

15:39Correct.

15:40And directed them to the bin where there were some leftovers.

15:42Correct.

15:43What, what are those leftovers that you directed them to?

15:46Yeah.

15:47So I was an uneaten food for my lunch.

15:49Okay.

15:50All right.

15:51So you helped them in getting that.

15:52Mm.

15:53So it was to be sampled.

15:54Because my kids ate the meal too.

15:55Yeah.

15:56But there was stuff that was left over.

16:01Yeah.

16:02And it went straight in the bin.

16:04And so when I went to the hospital and they said they were concerned that everyone ate

16:08some contaminated food, I said, well, there's the leftovers in the bin.

16:12You can have it.

16:13Yeah.

16:14Feel free to look through it.

16:15Yep.

16:16And, um, I said, I'll go and get it if you want.

16:18And they said, well, that's fine.

16:19You need to go on a drip.

16:21Um, we'll call the police.

16:23And I said, well, that's fine.

16:24Just let them know I need to give them a pin code.

16:27Yep.

16:28They did that and they, a bag of food appeared a bit later.

16:31Yep.

16:32So.

16:33So, yeah.

16:34Yep.

16:35So, again, thank you for helping us locate that.

16:38It's fine.

16:39All right.

16:40Um, anything else, Dave?

16:42No.

16:43All right.

16:44Any questions at the moment?

16:45No.

16:46All right.

16:47Erin Newgrove time is now 5.30pm by my watch.

16:51Yeah.

16:52All right.

16:53I'm going to suspend the interview now.

16:55All right.

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