Published: 7 days ago
Updated: 4 days ago

Judge in Erin Patterson’s mushroom trial gives final instructions to the jury as accused triple murderer’s case wraps up

The mother-of-two is on trial, accused of killing her three in-laws with poisonous death cap mushrooms.
Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to four charges.

Judge in Erin Patterson’s mushroom trial gives final instructions to the jury as accused triple murderer’s case wraps up

The mother-of-two is on trial, accused of killing her three in-laws with poisonous death cap mushrooms.

A mother accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth at a family lunch by serving up beef wellington with poisonous death cap mushrooms is standing trial at Latrobe Valley Law Court.

Erin Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, after the trio died days after attending a July 2023 lunch at her Leongatha home.

She has also pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder Heather’s Baptist pastor husband, Ian, 68, who spent months in hospital, but survived.

Her trial continues.

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Court has finished for the day.

Follow along next week for more updates.

Court wraps up for the day

Court has finished for the day.

Follow along next week for more updates.

Jury cautioned as they break for the weekend

Justice Beale has urged the jury to be vigilant as the trial reaches a crucial point.

“Now ladies and gentlemen, don’t let anybody get in your ear over the weekend. Only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room,” he said.

“Have a media blackout. You have been doing a great job. Keep going.

“Have a good weekend and come back refreshed.

“See you on Monday.”

Jury told what to expect next week

Justice Beale told the jury he expects his charge to be finished by lunch time on Monday.

He said the remainder of his charge will focus of evidence and arguments that have not already been discussed.

He said he still has a bit to go to finish off the first part of his charge, but “we have broken the back of it”.

Technological issue brings hearing to an early close

Justice Beale told the jury the next topic, after alleged incriminating conduct, would be “credit lies”.

He referenced a comment Patterson previously made to police, about how she was “very very helpful” to the Victoria Health Department.

However, at the point, as he attempted to pull up files on his computer, he experienced a technical glitch.

He said he would finish on that note and resume next week.

‘If you find the accused has lied, you can use it to determine whether she lied about other things’: Judge instructs the jury on how to assess Patterson’s behaviour

Justice Beale has instructed the jury on how they can use the alleged incriminating conduct instances while deliberating.

He said there are two ways, under the law, they can use the alleged lies if they find they were lies.

Justice Beale said the first way they can be used is to assess her credibility.

Secondly, the lies - if accepted as such - can be used is to use to assess whether or not they believe other things she has said.

“That is not to say just because you find the accused lied about one matter, you must also find she has been lying about everything else.”

Justice Beale warned

can assess a lie to determine that she committed the offence if they find the only reason for lying was because knew she had committed the offences.

However, he said they would still need to consider all of the evidence when deciding whether the prosecution had proved her guilty without a reasonable doubt.

He then ran the jury through all of the alternative explanations Patterson provided for the alleged instances of incriminating conduct (which include the factory resests, the dumping of the dehydrator, faking being poisoned, and lying to police about foraging, the dehydrator, and her usual number).

Some of those explanations include the claim she lied to police and dumped the dehydrator because she panicked and provided detectives with a different phone number (than her primary number) because she was in the process of changing her phone.

“In summary, there are all sorts of reasons a person may behave in a way that makes them seem guilty and not be guilty,” he said.

“Just because you think the behaviour makes the accused seem guilty, does not mean they are guilty.”

Judge discusses Patterson allegedly faking death cap poisoning

Justice Beale has turned to the prosecution’s allegation Patterson faked that she had been poisoned by death cap mushrooms.

He recapped evidence by Patterson’s son who gave evidence that he went downstairs the morning after the lunch and saw his mother drinking coffee and she told him she was sick and had made multiple trips to the toilet overnight.

The boy also gave evidence about their drive to Tyabb later that day and their dinner that evening.

Justice Beale said Patterson’s daughter and her son’s friend also gave evidence about the events of that weekend.

Justice Beale then recapped testimony from Simon, medical staff, public health officer Sally Ann Atkinson, and Tanya Patterson who all gave evidence about Patterson’s reported symptoms and presentation.

Justice Beale also noted toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos gave evidence about the various factors that can contribute to varying symptomology in death cap poisoning patients.

Justice Beale said Gerostamoulos told the court if two people with no prior health issues ate the same portion of the same death-cap laced meal and one died but the other survived, the survivor would be expected to have suffered adverse health impacts.

He then recapped Patterson’s testimony regarding the aftermath of the lunch, including claims her son actually saw her drinking herbal tea, not coffee, that she relieved her diarrhoea in bushland on the drive to Tyabb, and about her visits to hospital.

Justice Beale said the prosecution argued Patterson couldn’t keep her story straight about when her diarrhoea began and that it seemed unlikely she would be driving around if she had the symptom.

The prosecution also argued Patterson’s phone activity suggests she did not go straight home after leaving Leongatha Hospital.

Justice Beale noted the prosecution said doctors concluded Patterson had not suffered from death cap mushroom poisoning and her experience was starkly different to the symptoms of her lunch guests.

Justice Beale then ran through the defence’s arguments - including that Patterson’s accounts of the events were consistent in every meaningful way and that the distribution of the poison throughout the meal could have been uneven.

The defence also said it was common sense Patterson’ would not have had as severe symptoms as she vomited after the meal and weighed around 100kg at the time.

Judge addresses lies in Patterson’s police interview

Justice Christopher Beale has taken the jury to the prosecution’s alleged incriminating conduct relating to Patterson lying in her police interview.

Patterson lied to police about having ever foraged, that she knew about a dehydrator, or that she had ever dehydrated foods.

Justice Beale said Patterson had admitted to those lies and said she did so because she felt police would immediately suspect she had poisoned her guests intetionally.

Justice Beale said the prosecution allege Patterson told repeated lies that were not told in the heat of the moment.

He noted the defence said Patterson claims Simon made an accusation about the dehydrator, which was the turning point when the mother-of-two began to panic.

Summary of the mushroom murder trial so far as judge’s charge to the jury set to continue

Welcome to 7NEWS.com.au’s live blog of the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial.

Here is a recap of what the court has heard so far from the trial:

WEEK 1

Day one: It was revealed that three charges of attempted murder against Patterson in relation to her estranged husband had been dropped by the prosecution.

Day two: The prosecution and defence gave their opening addresses to the jury.

The court heard the prosecution will allege Patterson used a fake cancer diagnosis as the pretense for hosting the lunch, that the guests were served on different coloured plates to her, and she travelled to areas where death cap mushrooms were sighted in early 2023.

The prosecution will also allege Patterson dumped a food dehydrator – which was found to contain traces of death cap mushrooms – at a local tip in the days after the lunch, and that she set up two phones in early 2023 but only one was recovered by police during a search of her home.

The defence will argue the deaths were an “accidental terrible tragedy” and Patterson did not intentionally poison her guests.

The defence say Patterson lied to police because she “panicked”.

Day three: Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, took the stand as the prosecution’s first witness. The court heard about the former couple’s relationship, Patterson’s inheritance, and were shown texts the pair exchanged about the lunch and child support.

Day four: Simon Patterson returned to the stand for cross-examination. He became emotional as he described the court process as “very difficult”. The court heard Patterson suffered from mental illness, that she was “very hurt” after an “afterthought invite” to Gail’s birthday party, and was shown more heated texts about child support payments.

WEEK 2

Day five: Three friends Patterson made in a true crime Facebook group took the stand. They said Patterson shared photos of her food dehydrator online and that she consulted the group for advice on beef wellington recipes around July 2023.

Day six: Ian Wilkinson, who was the only guest to survive the lunch, took the witness stand. He described his relationship with Patterson, what happened at the lunch, and the symptoms he and his late wife, Heather, later suffered.

Day seven: The court heard evidence from the children of the four lunch guests as well as doctors who oversaw the two couple’s treatment. Don and Gail Patterson’s daughter, Anna Terrington, became emotional on the stand while recalling conversations with her parents about the lunch. The court was also shown CCTV of Patterson leaving the hospital against medical staff’s advice and heard a triple 0 call a doctor made to police after she discharged herself.

Day eight: The court heard from nurses and paramedics who tended to Patterson at hospital. They said she did not seem “unwell” and that they did not witness her making frequent trips to the toilet, despite her reportedly suffering from diarrhoea. The court also saw a pre-recorded interview of Patterson’s daughter speaking to a detective in August 2023 Her daughter told the officer her mother was sick the day after the lunch and she saw her go to the toilet around “ten times”.

Day nine: The court was shown a pre-recorded interview of Patterson’s son speaking to a detective. During the conversation, the teenage boy spoke about disputes between his parents and said his mother reported having diarrhoea after the lunch.

WEEK 3

Day 10: The court heard evidence from a mushroom expert, mycologist Thomas May, who provided information about the growth and distribution of death cap mushrooms in Australia. The court heard that he shared photos of death cap mushrooms on iNaturalist, a website where citizen scientists share observations of wild mushrooms, in May 2023. His observation was made in Outtrim, in Victoria’s Gippsland region. The prosecution will allege Patterson travelled to that area in the days after the sighting.

Day 11: CCTV footage of Patterson allegedly dropping a food dehydrator to a tip in the days after the lunch was shown in court. A mycologist who examined leftovers of beef wellington recovered from Patterson’s bin revealed the food remnants only contained field mushrooms. The court also heard from a medical expert who found Patterson’s hospital records did suggest she was suffering from a diarrhoeal illness.

Day 12: The court heard from a child protection worker who interviewed Patterson in the days after the lunch. She said Patterson described Simon as “controlling”, spoke about the beef wellington recipe, the lunch, and her bid to prevent a diarrhoea accident. The court also heard from a toxicologist who revealed traces of death cap mushroom toxins were found in the lunch leftovers and a dehydrator recovered from a tip.

Day 13: The court heard from a plant expert who examined the lunch leftovers and food dehydrator. He told the court death cap DNA was found in samples from the dehydrator, but not in the leftovers.

WEEK 4

Day 14: The court heard from a fungi expert who observed death cap mushrooms in Loch in April 2023 then reported the sighting on iNaturalist. The court also heard analysis from a digital forensic expert found Patterson’s mobile data showed she visited Loch and Outtrim in the days after death cap sightings were posted online.

Day 15: Under cross-examination, digital forensic expert Matthew Sorell confirmed analysis placing Patterson’s mobile phone in Loch and Outtrim in autumn 2023 was not conclusive. The court was also shown CCTV of Patterson making a nine second bathroom trip at a service station the day after the lunch.

Day 16: The court heard from a digital forensic expert who extracted files from Patterson’s computer. A report shown in court revealed there were visits to iNaturalist in May 2022, including to a page on the website about a death cap sighting in Melbourne.

Day 17: The court was shown Facebook messages Patterson sent to friends complaining about her frustration with Simon and his family. The court was also shown mobile phone analysis that indicated a number of factory resets were performed on a phone Patterson handed over to police.

Day 18: The court heard from an intensive care doctor who revealed all four lunch guests arrived at Austin Hospital critically ill. He said Don Patterson was given a liver transplant, but Gail and Heather were deemed too ill to receive one. Despite the surgery, Don died. Ian underwent a bowel surgery and later recovered after weeks in intensive care.

WEEK 5

Day 19: The court heard from Sally Ann Atkinson, a public health officer who was tasked with investigating the source of the mushrooms. She said Patterson gave differing accounts of events over separate interviews.

Day 20: Homicide detective Stephen Eppingstall, who oversaw the investigation, took the stand. The jury was shown footage of Patterson’s interview with police. During the interview, she denied having ever foraged for mushrooms and said she loved her former parents-in-law.

Day 21: The court was shown Patterson’s Woolworths shops in the lead up to the lunch and medical records from 2021, which indicated she had concerns about ovarian cancer. The court also heard phone data records show her primary sim card was removed from a Samsung a23 and put into a Nokia while police were searching her house on 5 August 2023.

Day 22: Detective Eppingstall was cross-examined by Patterson’s defence team. The court heard police budgets determined the analysis of Patterson’s phone. The court was also shown various receipts - including for cash payments at Koonwarra Transfer Station - as well as messages Patterson sent to Facebook friends and her former parents-in-law.

Day 23: The defence resumed cross-examination of detective Eppingstall. The court was shown messages between Patterson and her former parents-in-law in early and late 2022, in which Don and Gail inquired about Patterson’s health and she showed concern about them catching Covid. The court was also shown a Mother’s Day message exchange between Gail and Patterson, in which she described her as the ‘best mother-in-law’ anyone could ask for.

WEEK SIX

Day 24: The defence wrapped up cross-examination of detective Eppingstall. Patterson took the stand and told the court about what her life was like in July 2023. She also explained how she met her estranged husband, Simon, and described key moments from their first few years of marriage. She also said trouble with communication was the root cause of their marital issues.

Day 25: Patterson told the court about her issues with binge eating, child support discussions with her estranged husband, and how she used her inheritance. She explained she was converted to Christianity by Simon and claimed she had never told a Facebook friend that she was an atheist. She also spoke about her issues with hospitals, fondness for mushrooms and dehydrating food, and her history of foraging for wild mushrooms. She told the jury she accepted that death cap mushrooms were in lunch she served at her Leongatha home and that she was “ashamed” of messages she had sent to her Facebook friends about her former parents-in-law.

Day 26: Patterson spoke about the days after the lunch, claiming she pulled over to got to the toilet in bushland because she had diarrhoea. She said she wiped, put the tissues in a dog poo bag, and CCTV footage of her entering a BP toilet for mere seconds showed her disposing of the tissues.Patterson admitted to carrying out three out of four factory resets on one of her phones. She said she performed the last one, while her phone was in police custody, to see if detectives were “silly enough” to leave it connected to the internet. She also said she changed her phone number in the days after the lunch because she didn’t want Simon to contact her. Patterson said it wasn’t until a conversation with Simon in the hospital about the food dehydrator that she began to think her foraged mushrooms may have been responsible for the poisonings. She said she then became “scared” as child protection workers were now involved and so she lied to public health officers and dumped the dehydrator.

Day 27: The prosecution began cross-examination of Patterson. She denied lying to her lunch guests about having cancer, saying she wasn’t “that specific”. She was also questioned about foraging, child support, photos found on her devices, and conversations she had with Facebook friends.

Day 28: Under cross-examination, Patterson denied sending aggressive messages to Don and Gail as well as the suggestion that she was ‘two-faced’ about her relationship with her former parents-in-law by sending expletive-filled messages about them to her Facebook friends. She also told the jury she could not remember conducting iNaturalist searches on her computer.

WEEK SEVEN

Day 29: The court heard the ENRICH Clinic, in Melbourne, where Patterson said last week that she was booked for a gastric byspass surgery appointment in late 2023 - does not offer gastric bypass surgery. When the prosecution put that fact to Patterson, she said she was ‘puzzled’ and denied lying about having the appointment. Patterson also told the court she could not remember using iNaturalist or making a food order to a pub moments after the mushroom website were accessed. She also said her son was “mistaken” in his interview with detectives.

Day 30: During cross-examination, Patterson conceded the ENRICH Clinic in Melbourne does not offer gastric bypass surgery services. The prosecution asked why Patterson needed more mushrooms for the lunch as she had purchased 1.75kg of button mushrooms in the six days before the meal. Patterson told the court she ate 1kg of those mushrooms before the day of the lunch. Patterson also disputed what her children told police about why she did not want them at the lunch.

Day 31: Patterson was questioned by the prosecition about her diarrhoea medication claims. She also denied making up a conversation with Simon about the food dehydrator and said her daughter was mistaken about her also eating the lunch leftovers. During re-examination, Colin Mandy asked Patterson about her appointment at the ENRICH Clinic and searches on her device for the iNaturalist website.

WEEK EIGHT

Day 32: The prosecution began its closing address. Senior prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC alleged Patterson made four key deceptions in a bid to cover her tracks.

Day 33: The defence began its closing address. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC told the jury would need to consider whether there was a reasonable possibility that the poisonings were accidental and a reasonable possibility Patterson did not intend to kill or cause serious injury to her guests.

Day 34: The defence concluded its closing address. The jury were told if they thought Patterson “probably did it” they should still find her not guilty, as that would mean they still had reasonable doubt.

WEEK NINE

Day 35: Justice Christopher Beale began his charge to the jury. The jury were told the different types of evidence they heard in the case and how they can use them during deliberations.

Day 35: Justice Beale continued his directions to the jury. The jury were told it is up to them whether they accept or reject expert evidence and were given the prosecution’s list of Patterson’s alleged incriminating conduct.

Day 36: Justice Beale continued his directions to the jury. The jury were taken through more of the prosecution’s list of Patterson’s alleged incriminating conduct.

You can catch up on the details from the last blog here:

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