"On the 29th of July 2023, five people sat down to a home-cooked meal of Beef Wellington in the small town of Leongatha, Australia. Erin Patterson, the cook, was hosting the dinner party for her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and friends Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Within seven days of the meal, Don, Gail, and Heather were dead, and Ian was critically ill in the hospital."
"In a Netflix documentary about the case, released in December 2025, Erin's ex-husband, Eric Patterson, claimed that Erin had previously attempted to poison him a number of times in the past, noting that as one of the reasons he had declined the invitation to the dinner. He didn't disclose his concerns to his family until after the fatal lunch, leading some to question why he didn't speak up earlier."
On 29 July 2023 five people ate Beef Wellington in Leongatha, Australia; three died and one was critically ill after ingesting death cap mushrooms. Erin Patterson was convicted in September 2025 of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for serving the dish containing Amanita phalloides. Erin's ex-husband Eric Patterson declined the invitation and later said Erin had previously attempted to poison him; he informed family only after the fatal meal. Cognitive biases—normalcy bias, cognitive dissonance, and hindsight absence—can lead to underestimation of risk, reframing or minimisation of potential harm, and ambiguous perceptions in risky situations.
Read at Psychology Today
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