Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three people with a toxic mushroom-laced beef wellington, on trial, April 29.PAUL TYQUIN/AFP/Getty Images
It’s rare that Morwell makes headlines in Australia, let alone around the world.
But the former mining town, a collection of strip malls and suburban sprawl in Latrobe Valley, about two hours west of Melbourne, has found itself at the heart of a media storm in recent weeks as it hosts the triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson.
The case has been a sensation since July, 2023, when on a Saturday afternoon in the nearby town of Leongatha, Ms. Patterson served a lunch of beef wellington to four guests: her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson; and Gail’s sister and her husband, Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Don and Gail’s son, Ms. Patterson’s estranged husband Simon, was supposed to join, but cancelled the evening before.
Morwell, a former mining town, is a collection of strip malls and suburban sprawl in Latrobe Valley, about two hours west of Melbourne.James Griffiths/The Globe and Mail
Within a week, Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson were dead, while her husband Ian only survived after spending two months in intensive care. Doctors said they had been poisoned by Amanita phalloides, or death cap mushrooms. Ms. Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. She has pleaded not guilty.
In the nearly two years since, it could be hard to find an Australian without an opinion on the alleged “mushroom murders,” as they have become widely known, even as Ms. Patterson has insisted the poisoning was a tragic accident. This has been helped in large part by massive media and public attention, both in Australia and globally, which has only intensified since the trial began at the end of April.
“Mushroom madness” read a recent front page of the Latrobe Valley Express, which noted under a photo of a long queue outside court, “the story making headlines around the world is being told here in the Latrobe Valley.”
Laura Heller, owner of Jay Dee’s Cafe, across the street from the court, said she’s been doing about three times her usual business since the trial began, as spectators, journalists and even jurors grab coffee and snacks between hearings.
'Mushroom madness' reads a recent front page of the Latrobe Valley Express.James Griffiths/The Globe and Mail
“It’s been a lot busier,” she said. “We’ve got a few media crews that hang out here for a majority of the day, because they haven’t been able to get into court.”
Ms. Heller said the case has been the number one topic of conversation in the town for weeks, and her proximity means many expect her to have some kind of inside knowledge.
“Every day my mum’s calling me after work, asking ‘do you have any more information?’” she said. “It’s pretty insane.”
So far, prosecutors have not presented any alleged motive for why Ms. Patterson might have tried to kill her estranged husband’s parents, or the Wilkinsons, with Mr. Wilkinson testifying the couple had rarely interacted with Ms. Patterson before the fateful lunch.
Jurors have heard how Ms. Patterson discharged herself from hospital against medical advice, despite allegedly having eaten the same deadly mushrooms as her guests. She also disposed of a food dehydrator later found to have traces of death cap mushrooms on it, and did a factory reset on one of her mobile phones after leaving hospital, prosecutors told the court.
Australian media outlets have been live-blogging every day of the trial, and public broadcaster ABC is running a special “Mushroom Case Daily” podcast. One local newspaper even published a piece highlighting all the regional landmarks referenced in the case.
Massive media and public attention has only intensified since Ms. Patterson's trial began at the end of April.James Griffiths/The Globe and Mail
The attention has been largely positive for Morwell so far. Residents were still happy to talk to media when The Globe and Mail visited, unlike in Leongatha itself, where they quickly tired of incessant interviews. Police have also sprung into action, multiple people said, to ensure that the town’s problems with public drug use and homelessness were not visible.
“There’s a lot of issues with drugs and things like that around town, and it does get pretty bad at times,” said local resident Tom Willis. “But since this has been on, the place has cleaned up a fair bit.”
Ms. Heller agreed, though she noted it was frustrating “to see how much they can spend because they know the media was coming, but they can’t help the community at any other time.”
Like many ex-industrial towns, Morwell has been gradually hollowed out over the years, growing older and poorer as first the coal plant closed in 2014, then the paper mill slashed production last year. While some money has come in from out-of-towners buying cheap property, Morwell’s location at the conjunction of three former open-pit mines makes it hard to compete with more scenic parts of Victoria.
Moving faster than expected, the trial could wrap up by the end of May, after which Morwell’s brief time in the spotlight will pass as well.
“It’s hard, because I have such a huge passion for our community, and I just feel like there’s no resources for the people that need it,” Ms. Heller said. “A lot of people who have lived here their whole lives are losing a bit of faith in the future, and that’s sad, but it is what it is.”