In 2023, Australians became familiar with the Victorian hamlet of Leongatha after news broke of a Saturday lunch that left three people dead. At the trial that followed, it was found that Erin Patterson had served beef Wellington containing highly toxic death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) to her estranged partner’s relatives.

The Stan Original documentary series Revealed: Death Cap Murders is named after the fungi that became a household name thanks to the case. Told in three parts, Death Cap Murders has the time to delve into every aspect of the crime, a luxury not afforded to daily news and current affairs reporting. That gives the filmmakers space to interview a large cast of characters, including the journalists who were first on the scene and a broad spectrum of bewildered Leongatha locals forced to deal with their sleepy town’s newfound notoriety.

This clip from Episode 1 (The Crime) casts a spotlight on the unorthodox murder weapon. Professor Michael Gillings, an evolutionary biologist, declares ‘some mushrooms are only edible once’, while Vanessa McPherson, a research scientist, warns that despite their storybook appearance, fairies should steer clear of this fungi family. The interviews take place in a greenhouse to frame the subjects against a backdrop of plants and lend implicit support to their scientific credentials. The filmmakers use stock footage of mushrooms to maintain visual interest, with overlays and quick cutting, so the pace doesn’t drag. These experts are here to entertain as well as inform; thanks to their pithy sound bites, we are never overwhelmed by information. Crime author John Silvester’s description of the death cap as ‘the Chernobyl of poisons’ is a worthy capper to the discussion.

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