Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastPolice have never recovered a phone used by Erin Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson also told police she had never owned a food dehydrator nor dehydrated food, despite CCTV showing her dumping a dehydrator at a local tip, and forensic analysis later revealing it had her fingerprints, and contained traces of death cap mushrooms.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading…Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastPolice have never recovered a phone used by Erin Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson also told police she had never owned a food dehydrator nor dehydrated food, despite CCTV showing her dumping a dehydrator at a local tip, and forensic analysis later revealing it had her fingerprints, and contained traces of death cap mushrooms.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading…
Erin Patterson, who allegedly murdered her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms, will defend the charges by claiming the poisoning was accidental, a Victorian court has heard.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering or attempting to murder the relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson.
She is accused of murdering Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband.
Simon was also invited to the lunch at Leongatha on 29 July 2023.
Patterson served individual beef wellingtons to her lunch guests, three of whom died from death cap mushroom poisoning, the court has heard. Patterson has denied deliberately poisoning them.
Justice Christopher Beale told the jury on Wednesday morning that his understanding of Patterson’s defence was that she had not meant to poison her guests.
Beale was running through a “murder checklist”, which has been provided to the jury in order for them to understand the questions of law that must be considered in order for them to reach a verdict.
“As I understand it, the accused’s defence [is]… she didn’t deliberately serve up a poison meal, that happened accidentally,” Beale said.
Patterson was crying as Beale spoke to the jury.
Nanette Rogers SC, the prosecutor, said in her opening submissions in the case that Patterson had invited Simon and his relatives to her house to discuss “medical issues” she had, and how to break the news to her and Simon’s two children.
She invited the group to her lunch during a service at the Korumburra baptist church, where Ian was the pastor, on 16 July, 2023.
The night before the lunch, Simon texted Patterson that he “felt uncomfortable” attending, but that he would be happy to discuss her health with her another time.
Rogers said Patterson responded five minutes later saying she was disappointed, and emphasising the effort she had put into the lunch, which was a “special meal” of the kind she may not be able to have for “some time”.
The Wilkinsons had been puzzled about the lunch invite, Rogers said, as they had never visited Patterson’s home before.
When they arrived, they were shown around the property, before being taken into the dining area.
Rogers showed a photo of the dining table, which had six seats and ran parallel to a kitchen island bench, to the jury during her opening.
Patterson served individual beef wellingtons consisting of a piece of steak, covered in mushrooms, and encased in pastry, with mashed potato and green beans, on four large grey plates to her guests.
Her meal was served on a smaller, lighter coloured plate, Rogers said.
They said grace, and started the meal. The Wilkinsons ate their meal, with Gail finishing half of hers and Don eating all his, and the rest of Gail’s, Rogers said.
After the meal, Patterson announced she had cancer, and asked whether she should tell the children. Patterson had earlier discussed with Gail that she had a biopsy and other tests taken regarding a lump she had found on her elbow.
The group agreed she should be honest with them, and they prayed together about Patterson telling the children, Rogers said.
All the lunch guests started to fall unwell about 11 or 12 hours later, Rogers said, before being transferred to local hospitals and then to intensive care at hospitals in Melbourne.
Rogers said Patterson had an amicable relationship with her husband, despite their 2015 separation, until November 2022. Simon had maintained hope that the couple would reconcile, Rogers said.
She said at that time Patterson asked why Simon had referred to himself as “separated” on his tax return, and although he said he was willing to amend it she said she would instead be seeking child support payments.
About four weeks before the beef wellington lunch, Patterson invited Simon and his parents, Don and Gail, to lunch.
Simon texted to say he could not come, and the meal passed without incident.
After the subsequent beef wellington lunch, when all the guests became increasingly unwell, medical experts eventually came to the conclusion the symptoms with death cap mushroom poisoning, Rogers said.
Patterson also went to Leongatha hospital, saying she was suffering diarrhoea.
Rogers said that when Patterson was asked on multiple occasions by medical professionals and others, including Don and Gail’s son, Matthew, where the mushrooms for the meal had been sourced. She said half were fresh from Woolworths, and the other half were dried mushrooms bought from an Asian grocer in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh or Glen Waverley.
She further specified in these conversations that she had bought a 500g pack of pre-sliced fresh mushrooms from Woolworths, and that the dried mushrooms had been removed from their packaging and placed in a plastic container after they were bought in April, 2023.
Patterson said she made a paste with these mushrooms for the meal, and that she had used all the dried mushrooms, and not cooked with them previously, Rogers said.
Rogers said Patterson initially resisted treatment at Leongatha hospital, and signed a “discharge against medical advice form” before leaving. The jury was shown a still from CCTV footage of Patterson leaving the hospital.
Rogers said a doctor at the hospital, Dr Christopher Webster, was so concerned she had left that he called the police, asking if they could attend her house to force her to return.
Patterson returned about 45 minutes later.
Patterson told Webster her children, aged 9 and 14, had eaten the leftovers, but that she had scraped the mushroom off. When he insisted they be taken from school and assessed, she became upset, Rogers said.
Patterson asked Webster “is this really necessary, they don’t have symptoms, they didn’t eat the mushrooms, I don’t want them to be scared or panicked”, to which Webster replied: “They can be scared and alive, or dead”.
Soon after, Rogers said, the police who had been called by Webster to check on Patterson arrived at her house.
One officer spoke to Patterson via mobile phone, and she directed him to where he could find the leftovers of the meal, in a brown Woolworths bag in an outside bin.
Rogers’ opening submission continues.
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, will make his opening submission when Rogers concludes.
Beale said in his instructions to the jury on Tuesday that Patterson was no longer accused of attempting to murder her estranged husband.
He told the jury those charges had been discontinued, and that they should remove any consideration of these previous charges.
Beale said during the empanelment that he expected most of the jury pool would have known about the Patterson case, but he wanted them to ignore that previous exposure.
The trial in Morwell continues.