Wife lashed out at husband on social media before mushroom lunch left 3 dead

04 September 2023 , 15:58

1122     0

Three people died after eating beef wellington prepared and cooked by Erin Patterson at her home in Australia (Image: 7NEWS)

A woman accused of killing her ex-husband's parents by poisoning them with a toxic mushroom lashed out at her former partner in unearthed social media messages, a 'friend' has revealed.

Erin Patterson, 48, cooked a beef wellington for her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, at her house in Gippsland, Australia at the end of July. Gail, Don and Heather all died in the days after the meal while Ian remains critically ill in hospital.

Erin's former husband Simon was invited to the lunch, which was arranged as part of a church mediation, but did not attend. Police in Australia have launched a murder probe in the wake of the deaths. Erin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.

Now, Daily Mail Australia has revealed Erin lashed out at her husband on social media, with the posts shared on a true crime online forum by a personal claiming to be a former friend of the 46-year-old. In one message, Erin appears to take aim at Simon for failing to do enough housework.

Gail and Don Patterson both died following the lunch (supplied)

The post allegedly reads: "My husband has no idea we have a cleaner come. I love it. Now I don't resent the fact that he never helps me with anything because I'm not doing the big jobs either... now all I have to resent him over are the nightly dishes."

Double killer who slit girlfriend's throat within weeks of release jailed

Last month, Simon's parents Gail and Don were buried during a private ceremony attended by their closest family members. A public memorial service for the pair, who were both 70 years old, was held at Korumburra Recreation Centre on August 31.

Heather Wilkinson died after the lunch while her husband Ian remains critically ill in hospital (7 NEWS/UNPIXS)

“It was no fluke that mum’s final text message on our family group chat as she lay in Dandenong hospital was: ‘Lots of love to you all’,” Simon, 49, told 350 mourners at the memorial event, Australian media reports. He went on to describe his mum and dad as “very much a team".

Simon Patterson was supposed to join his parents for the lunch that killed them

He added: "The fact they died in consecutive days reflects the togetherness that they always worked so hard to grow. As mum and dad lay in comas in the hospital in their final days and each day … we were unsure if they would recover or not, it was comforting to know that when we said, 'See you later,' we knew it was true. The only thing we didn’t know was when. In the meantime, we’ll miss them.”

Erin Patterson, who prepared the lunch and avoided illness herself, claims the lethal recipe consisted of a mixture of supermarket-bought button mushrooms and dried mushrooms from a local Asian grocery store. She has since handed over leftovers to hospital toxicologists for examination and has been declared a person of interest by cops investigating the deaths.

Sam Truelove