Criminal Mischief

Annihilation

In this chilling episode of Criminal Mischief, hosts Carolyn Ossorio and Branden Morgan take you inside one of Australia’s most confounding and headline-grabbing criminal cases in recent memory: the alleged mushroom poisonings tied to Erin Patterson.

In August 2023, a quiet lunch in Leongatha, Victoria ended in tragedy when three members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families died after consuming what authorities believe were death cap mushrooms. Erin Patterson, who hosted the meal, claimed it was an innocent mistake — but investigators weren’t so sure.

Using extensive interviews with law enforcement and local officials, this episode dissects the timeline, forensic findings, and emotional fallout from a case that has left an entire country shaken. Was it an accident? A cover-up? Or something far more sinister?

We explore:

    •    The toxicology behind death cap mushrooms

    •    Erin Patterson’s statements and shifting accounts

    •    The legal strategy unfolding in the Victorian justice system

    •    How grief, suspicion, and public scrutiny have converged on one woman

This isn’t just a story about a meal gone wrong — it’s about trust, inheritance, blurred intentions, and what happens when family dinners become deadly.

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