Mushroom killer’s ex Simon Patterson to release tell-all memoir

Mushroom killer Erin Patterson’s estranged husband is about to reveal all in a memoir detailing their life together.

Simon Patterson’s forthcoming book about the convicted triple murderer will outline allegations that the infamous mushroom cook repeatedly tried to poison him, the Herald Sun reported.

It will be the first time Mr Patterson shares his story after his ex-wife murdered his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, alongside his aunt Heather Wilkinson.

Ian Wilkinson was the only family member to survive the deadly lunch.

Patterson infamously served her former in-laws a deadly beef Wellington meal laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha, a rural town in Victoria about 130km southeast of Melbourne, in July 2023.

Mr Patterson had been invited to the lunch but declined the invitation the night before, texting his ex-wife that he felt too uncomfortable to attend.

“That’s really disappointing. I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch … because I wanted it to be a special meal,” she wrote back.

“I hope you’ll change your mind. Your parents and Heather and Ian are coming at 12.30. I hope to see you there.”

During the killer’s murder trial, Mr Patterson told a court he feared his wife had previously tried to poison him after he suffered a series of unexplained illnesses.

“I thought there was a risk she would poison me if I attended,” he told the court.

Mr Patterson was hospitalised on four occasions in 2021 and 2022 and believed he could trace his illnesses to meals made by the mushroom killer.

“When I made the spreadsheet and looked at what I’d come up with, my thought was this could appear to someone else looking at this that Erin was a cause because of her cooking the food,” he said in court.

Patterson is serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of her former husband’s parents and aunt.

She is appealing her murder convictions in the Supreme Court and is seeking a retrial. The prosecution has also appealed her sentence, seeking life imprisonment without parole.