Podbit · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Erin Patterson told her guests she had a life-threatening cancer diagnosis and needed their guidance on telling her children. Doctors later found her name entirely absent from the Victorian Cancer Registry. The cancer was invented to get them to the table.
Where this was said
At 29:10 · chapter starts 27:00
On July 29, 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a lunch she had spent an entire week preparing for, having invited Simon, his parents Don and Gail, and Gail's sister Heather and her husband Ian. Simon texted the night before to say he wouldn't attend; Erin's reply was lengthy and emotional, noting she had spent a 'small fortune' on beef eye fillet and describing it as potentially her last opportunity to host a gathering like this for some time. The Wilkinsons were particularly glad to be invited — Ian said the invitation felt like 'a hopeful signal' that their relationship with Erin might improve. Erin gave the group a tour of the house before lunch, plated every portion herself, and let the women carry the dishes out. The conversation was light — family talk, easy laughter. Don finished Gail's remaining food, eating close to a serving and a half in total. Dessert followed and then, as the afternoon changed mood, Erin disclosed her fabricated cancer diagnosis and asked for guidance on how to tell her children. The group prayed for her before leaving in the late afternoon.
Erin Patterson invited four close family members to a Beef Wellington lunch under the guise of seeking support for a cancer diagnosis. Three of them would be dead within a week.
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