Quote · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Ep. 113 | The HORRIFIC Mushroom Murders
Where this was said
The Motive: Financial Disputes, Family Resentment and a Long Game
At 54:00 · chapter starts 51:00
The prosecution never formally assigned a motive, but the investigation surfaced a clear emotional landscape of grievance. A 2022 dispute began when Simon's accountant listed him as separated on his tax return, triggering a formal child support assessment of just $38 a month and costing Erin approximately $15,000 a year in government family tax benefits. Erin had gone over Simon's head to Don and Gail, who declined to intervene and suggested she pray with Simon and withdraw the claim. Her private Facebook response was volcanic: 'This family, I swear to fucking God… so fuck 'em.' [1] — Erin Patterson "This family, I swear to fucking God, I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing, but it seems their concern about not wanti…" 54:00 There had also been a perceived snub at Gail's 70th birthday lunch, which Erin said had felt like an afterthought invitation. By December 2022 the dispute was, in Simon's words, 'extremely aggressive.' Meanwhile, Simon's brother Matthew had noticed Erin pulling back from family events. The warm Mother's Day text she sent Gail in May 2023 — 'Happy Mother's Day to the best mom-in-law anyone could ask for' — now reads as a calculated move to rebuild a relationship sufficiently warm that an invitation to lunch would be accepted without suspicion.
Forensic analysis of Erin Patterson's computer found cached data showing searches for death cap mushroom sightings on iNaturalist dating back more than a year before the July 2023 lunch.
A child support dispute assessed at $38 a month and the loss of $15,000 a year in government benefits drove Erin to fury, but prosecutors told jurors a motive was not required for a conviction. Justice Beale declined to speculate publicly.
After Simon Patterson's tax return was amended to list him as separated, his child support was formally assessed at just $38 a month — a figure that contributed to Erin's growing resentment.
