Welcome back to Kern Affairs, our show about the cases of love gone fatally wrong that are in the news right now.

If this is your very first love murder episode, tune back in on Wednesdays for our main full-length episodes.

Today, we are reporting on a case that has shocked Australia

and captured global attention.

It was supposed to be

a quiet family lunch,

simple, homemade,

and filled with loved ones.

Instead, three people ended up dead

and a woman named Aaron Patterson

is now on trial for murder.

We're going to walk you through what happened in this unusual and tragic case. Erin Patterson is a 50-year-old woman from the

small town of Leongatha in Victoria. In July, 2003, she invited several members of her former

in-laws to lunch at her home. The guests were her ex-husband's parents,

Don and Gail Patterson, both 70 years old, and two close family friends, Heather Wilkinson, 66,

and her husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68. Aaron's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited

but at the last minute he decided not to come. He said he felt uneasy and bowed out

the night before, and that decision may have saved his life. Trust your gut. The lunch took place on

July 29, 2003. Aaron served Beef Wellington, a dish that includes steak wrapped in pastry

and often contains mushrooms. The guest sat down to eat,

shared stories, and according to reports, set a prayer together. During dessert, Aaron reportedly

told her guest that she had been diagnosed with cancer and needed their advice on how to break

...