The media were constrained in what they could report during Erin Patterson’s 10-week trial. But after the mushroom trial guilty verdict was handed down on Monday, all bets were off.
The extraordinary photographs of the triple murderer in a prison van in May were published by every media outlet, bought from the wire agency AFP for more than $1,500 each or a discounted rate for the set of six.
The trial exhibits were published, including footage of “the deadly beef wellington”. And then came the hot takes. It’s hard to recall a criminal case that has prompted this much commentary and so many angles.
The Australian illustrated its online mushroom coverage with several colourful gifs featuring Patterson superimposed on psychedelic-style fungi.
Its associate editor John Ferguson summed up what he described as “the full Erin. Cold, mean and vicious.”
His colleague Claire Harvey did more than analyse Patterson’s personality: “Cold. Snarky. Too smart by half. Cynical. A liar”. Harvey said the motive was “obvious”, accusing Patterson of “domestic violence coercive control”. She suggested the prosecution was wrong by not attempting to prove a motive.
“The fact this crime was committed by a woman, and involved poison, and not a gun or a knife, has confused what should be crystal clear – and should have been a motive clearly presented to the jury,” Harvey wrote.
But it was left to the Daily Mail to produce the standout first-person piece from the trial, written by the veteran crime reporter Wayne Flower in what he believed was gonzo-style journalism. Forced to stay on the ground in Morwell by his editors, Flower encountered “full-on Walking Dead-style zombie stuff – the kind you think only exists in America”.
He wrote about how gruelling it was attending court every day while dodging “junkies, and degenerates”. He was holed up in “cramped hotel rooms” and “terrorised further by the locals who stalked us in the daylight hours”.
“I bought multi-vitamins and fish oil in the hope of pushing through a little longer,” Flower wrote at the end of his epic almost 4,000-word tale.
“At home, a long way away, my life and family were imploding.
“The grind and my absence had made my partner of 24 years – the mother of my two children – come to realise she no longer needed me in her life.
“Days after my 50th birthday, for which she had organised a surprise party with all my friends and family in attendance, she told me she no longer loved me and I was discarded like yesterday’s newspaper.
“But the trial went on and so did I. Perhaps the last sad victim of Erin Patterson.”
Daily Mail Australia’s editor, Felicity Hetherington, was asked about Flower’s claim of victimhood and his slur on the citizens of Morwell. “This is a colour piece by a reporter who covered the trial from the very start,” she said. “He is entitled to his opinion.”
It only got worse. On Friday one Daily Mail headline read: The toxic web of lesbian trysts in the hellhole women’s prison that awaits mushroom killer Erin Patterson – including a jail affair even the guards find ‘unsettling’.
There was some light on Thursday, however, in an ABC story that remembered the murder victims for their altruistic natures and kind hearts. Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson were described by locals interviewed by the ABC as people who lived selfless lives, acting with “humour, good grace and humility”. “The world would be a better place if we could all be a bit more like them,” one said.
Centre stage
The 30-year-old editor of the Latrobe Valley Express, Liam Durkin, can barely believe a trial that attracted international attention was held around the corner from his office. Running a small country newspaper does not usually mean covering the biggest story in Australia. The free local weekly paper with a staff of four, including Durkin, did not have to look far for news during the hearing.
“To be on the ground with journalists who are the best in the business was a great learning experience,” Durkin told Weekly Beast. “To be at the epicentre of it all, and being the figurehead of the local paper, everyone kind of diverted a bit of their attention to us.”
As well as covering the trial, helping out visiting journos and mentoring his three “raw” reporters, Durkin was in demand as an interviewee: for BBC News, national television and a documentary.
ABC listening exercise falls flat
The ABC has asked staff for feedback on its restructuring plans, inviting them to fill out a form on the intranet. Since the managing director, Hugh Marks, unveiled plans to restructure screen, digital and audio content and make about 40 positions redundant, staff have raised concerns about a lack of transparency and communication.
Some staff told Weekly Beast that when they submitted their feedback they were surprised to receive an individual response from a human resources manager, sent via email in an unusually timely manner.
Initially impressed by the fact that the feedback had been read and responded to, one staffer grew suspicious on looking more closely at the language the email used.
While not confirming that its HR managers were using AI to answer staff, the ABC did say they were provided with Microsoft Copilot to assist them in writing emails.
One staffer told Weekly Beast: “Using AI for work in general is fine, but it is galling and disrespectful to be using AI to automate responses to a staff-listening exercise that’s intended to address staff concerns about management’s failure to listen.”
No laughing matter
It wasn’t great timing, coming as it did two days after the Patterson verdict, but there was something off about the ABC’s announcement that it was thrilled to commission a show that combined true crime and comedy called Crime Night!
Described as a “comedy true-crime panel show where real-life cases are examined through the lens of criminology and comedy”, the concept is hard to get one’s head around, although it is hosted by Julia Zemiro – always good value.
“Australians can’t get enough of True Crime, and we’re excited to join forces with Dreamchaser and Maverick to bring this innovative and original format to ABC screens,” said the ABC’s head of entertainment, Rachel Millar. “For anyone who loves bingeing the latest true crime podcast, or playing detective in the group chat, this is the show for you.”
Aunty has had great success with true crime, including Rachael Brown’s podcast Mushroom Case Daily, and has commissioned a drama, Toxic, about the Patterson trial.
One other detail caught our eye about Crime Night! Dreamchaser is the production and distribution studio co-founded by Marks between running Nine Entertainment and the ABC.
He set up the company with the former Endemol Shine boss Carl Fennessy and so far it has produced Death Cap, a three-part documentary on the mushroom trial, for Stan, and The Role of a Lifetime, about parenting, for the ABC.
An ABC spokesperson said: “The ABC commenced development of Crime Night! in May 2024. Hugh Marks’ association with Dreamchaser ceased when he was appointed as Managing Director of the ABC in March 2025. Hugh was not involved in the decision to commission the series.”
Holding court
We have to hand it to the Courier-Mail and the Daily Telegraph for combining two classic newspaper genres, court reporting and fashions in the field, in one juicy package.
“No one wants to end up in court … but if you do, at least go in style,” an online feature in the Brisbane outlet began. “See how these people rocked their look.”
It even asked “who wore it best?” in the “trendiest court attire lineup”.
One young man who was sentenced to five years’ jail suspended with time served was described as “sporting a coloured manbag”.
“Sporting classic grey workwear, a former Cairns business owner … fronted Rockhampton District Court on January 31 after choking his partner while on a family holiday at Port Douglas on February 10, 2024.”
Last month the Tele ventured down this clickbait path with a story headlined “Eastern suburbs socialites face court in designer fashion” which included nine photographs.
“A court appearance is generally a solemn occasion but Sydney’s socialites always ensure it is a fashionable one – donning thousands of dollars in designer clothes to face the music,” the Murdoch masthead said.
The reporter seamlessly weaved news about the crimes with details of the outfits.
One defendant “toted a $12,500 Chanel handbag when she was sentenced for cocaine supply and carrying $1,450 in crime proceeds”.
And then there was the Phillip Bay hairdresser who “wore an $800 red Gucci belt to court after she was charged with contravening an apprehended domestic violence order”.
We were only surprised there were no “shop this look” links.
