As Erin Patterson, the “mushroom murderer” was sentenced in a Victorian court to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years for her heinous crimes, Revealed – Death Cap Murders director and producer Gil Marsden, watched on in the courtroom.
“It was packed,” Gil tells TV WEEK. “I’ve been very lucky that through the entire trial I was able to be in the room every single day. Today was the first day of the whole trial that I couldn’t see Erin straight on, but I could see the family and I could see Justice Beale. It was interesting. The feeling of relief was more than the anticipation or the anxiety that accompanied verdict day. The day of the verdict when we all rushed in is one of the most overwhelming days of my entire life.”
Erin poisoned the meals of her ex-in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband Ian, at her home in Leongatha on 29 July 2023, serving them individual beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms. Everyone besides Ian died after succumbing to terrible side effects of the poisoning.
Gil, known for docuseries The Gymkhana Files and Making Their Mark, has been following this story since its inception and landed on the ground in Leongatha ten days after the poisoning – and has been there ever since.
“The town that I first witnessed was eerily quiet,” Gil recalls. “People were suspicious and concerned. It was a tense environment – but that’s why you have to keep coming back and stay on the story. Because as I came back time and time again, you start to realise that what I was seeing in that moment was the reaction to the spotlight. And as I spent time there, when the press wasn’t there, the warmth of the town came out and the real love for the victims was front of mind for everyone.”
Led by The Age journalists John Silvester and Marta Pascual Juanola, alongside interviews with doctors, psychologists, local residents, mushroom poison experts, and Erin’s former colleagues, classmates and flatmates, Revealed – Death Cap Murders gains exclusive access into the small-town murders and tries to answer ‘why’ Erin did what she did.
While we might never truly know ‘why’, a message that Gil would like viewers to take from the documentary is a surprising one of kindness – and more importantly forgiveness.
“People should take from [survivor] Ian Wilkinson – whether it was the statement he made on the courthouse steps this morning, or when he offered Erin Patterson forgiveness,” Gil declares. “We would all do well to learn from the lessons from Reverend Wilkinson and to understand that the world’s a better place if we’re kinder and if we treat people well.”
Part one of the Stan Original Documentary Revealed – Death Cap Murders will premiere Sunday September 14, only on Stan. Parts two and three will premiere later this year.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
