You may remember a rather bizarre story that hit the headlines last year regarding a desperately tragic dinner party.

The small town of Korumburra in South Gippsland, Victoria, was thrust into the spotlight after three people died from ingesting a beef wellington allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms in July, 2023.

Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died within days of eating the meal allegedly prepared by the Patterson's former daughter-in-law, Erin Patterson, at her home in Leongatha.

Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson narrowly avoided the same fate while Ms Patterson's husband Simon pulled out of the lunch.

A five-episode podcast – The Mushroom Cook - has now been brought out by True Crime Australia which is hosted by the Herald Sun reporter Brooke Grebert-Craig who has been covering the story extensively.

Normally, true crime podcasts delve into often decades-old cases which have long been solved or are long-running mysteries with no suspect.

What is intriguing about this podcast is that it is dealing with a case that is very much alive with a defendant soon to be facing trial.

Ms Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder - four of which are from previous incidents with her husband - in November and the trial has yet to take place.

As a journalist, I am fascinated how they have managed to navigate the pitfalls of contempt. Australian laws are very similar to the UK’s in this respect.

On the one hand it limits what the podcast can address. Grebert-Craig has to be careful not to include content which may suggest Patterson’s guilt, for example.

In fact, the podcast is at pains to outline the contempt laws it has to be careful not to fall foul of.

The Mushroom Cook takes you through the bizarre story of a family lunch with a tragic end that became one of the most notorious murder cases in Australia.

The podcast covers the investigation into Ms Patterson, her life in prison on remand and how the event has affected everyone involved.

The series uncovers the background of Ms Patterson and provides an overview of the ongoing court proceedings.

Sam Weir, editor of the Herald Sun, previously said: ‘Since this story broke our team has worked tirelessly to uncover every angle of the police investigation including the accused’s online history and digital footprint, her life on remand in a women’s maximum security prison and the effects of death cap mushrooms.

‘Our journalists bring you the details of the alleged victims, the survivors and those working behind the scenes on Australia’s most high-profile murder case.’

Due to the limits of what the podcast can say, there are moments of filler. For example, there are quite a few quotes from a community flyer Ms Patterson helped write which, while providing a glimpse of life in the small town, is of limited interest.

It means it cannot provide the explosive punch of some podcasts looking at cases which have been done and dusted.

But offsetting this, is the fact it is still so fresh and we have no idea of the guilt or otherwise of Ms Patterson. It is up to us, as the listener, to come top our own conclusions regarding this intriguing case.

It is certainly worth a listen and no doubt there will be more episodes added as the twists and turns develop once the trial takes place.

The podcast was released on March 29 and is available on Apple and Spotify.