Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson faced the first day of her high-profile murder trial yesterday at the Latrobe Valley Courts in regional Victoria. Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges and one of attempted murder.
On July 16, 2024, Patterson invited her estranged husband Simon, his parents Don and Gail, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson, to a lunch at her home after a Sunday service at Korumburra Baptist church.
Simon did not end up attending the lunch, but the rest of his family attended the meal. Patterson served beef Wellington to her guests, which contained steak enfolded in a paste containing death cap mushrooms and wrapped in pastry. Days later, Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather died in hospital.
Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC claimed that Patterson served the meals to her guests on different plates to her own. Yesterday, Rogers said in her opening remarks that “a lot” of witnesses would be called up during the trial.
This morning, Simon Patterson was the first witness to begin giving evidence at the Latrobe Valley Courts in Morwell in front of 15 jurors. During his testimony, he described his former wife as “witty” and “very intelligent.”
The trial is still ongoing and is expected to last six weeks.
On Wednesday, prosecutors claimed Patterson told a number of lies before and after the fatal lunch, including false claims she had cancer, lies to police about dumping a dehydrator and rejecting claims she did not go foraging for mushrooms.
Prosecutors also alleged Patterson faked an illness after eating her own meal during the lunch.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC said his client accepted some of the claims that she lied, attributing it to her getting “panicked” after her guests became sick from her cooking.
But Mandy denied Patterson had not told the truth about becoming ill after the lunch, adding that his client had no intention to kill or inflict “any harm” to any of her guests.
“The defence case is what happened was a tragedy and a terrible accident,” he said.
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