Media outlets ‘tripped over a lot of rules’ in frenzy of mushroom murder trial

July 7, 2025 5:10

The media frenzy around the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial led to an unprecedented wave of legal rule breaking in both established and informal media.

On Monday afternoon, the jury in the trial found Patterson guilty on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder after she served guests at a lunch of Beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms. Now the verdict is in, many details of the alleged breaches of court reporting law can be reported.

Probably the highest-profile case involves Kyle Sandilands and the Kiis FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show on June 16, in the middle of Patterson’s trial.

According to The Guardian, which retained a copy of the now-edited show, Sandilands disparaged Patterson’s appearance, calling her a “big lump”, discussing evidence and strongly implying she was guilty.

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Vivienne Kelly

Vivienne Kelly is a freelance journalist and commentator. She currently co-hosts MediaLand on ABC Radio National with Tim Burrowes, and was previously editor of Mumbrella between 2016 and 2020.

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