Dr Chris Webster, the Australian doctor who treated Erin Patterson after she poisoned her lunch guests with death cap mushrooms, says he has been left unemployed and effectively penniless after speaking publicly about the case. He gained prominence for his blunt account of Patterson's hospital visit, but claims he was targeted by professional rivals and referred to the health regulator after his outspoken remarks — including calling the convicted killer a "crazy b***h" — which matters because it highlights the personal cost borne by a witness widely regarded as instrumental in securing her conviction.

Patterson, 51, was found guilty of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, with an appeal against her conviction and sentence scheduled for next month. Webster told the Daily Mail he now has just a dollar in each of four bank accounts and an $18.93 debt in a fifth. He said his suspicions crystallised when Patterson claimed she had bought the mushrooms from Woolworths rather than foraging them, convincing him the poisoning was deliberate. He later repeated his damning view of her to the Herald Sun after the verdict.