logo
Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson's decision to testify fails to convince jury

Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson's decision to testify fails to convince jury

Straits Times13 hours ago
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
FILE PHOTO: A memorial plaque for Don and Gail Patterson at the Korumburra general cemetary in Korumburra, Australia, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/File Photo
MORWELL, Australia - A month into the trial of the Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms, her barrister Colin Mandy stood and delivered one of the case's pivotal moments.
'The defence will call Erin Patterson,' Mandy told the court.
Patterson, who was convicted on Monday of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, was the only witness for her defence in a 10-week trial that gripped Australia.
She told the court she had a loving relationship with the three people who died, including her mother and father-in-law, saying they were all she had in a frequently troubled life.
In fact, she murdered three of them and attempted to kill a fourth by slipping lethal death cap mushrooms into individual Beef Wellingtons she served at a July 2023 lunch, a jury found.
An alleged murderer testifying as a witness in their own defence is a rare strategy and normally a last resort, said Nicholas Papas, a veteran criminal barrister based in Melbourne who frequently acts in murder trials.
'The risk is that when you call your client, then suddenly people start focusing on your client,' he said.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August
Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses
Singapore Fewer marriages and births in Singapore in 2024; greater stability for later cohorts
Singapore Paternity leave take-up in S'pore rises to 56% in 2023; experts hope for further boost after extension
Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032
Singapore $1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence
Asia Bali flights nixed after huge Indonesia volcano eruption
Life How to cope with the heat when travelling: 5 expert-backed tips
Patterson's decision also opened her up to five days of tense cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers, with whom she repeatedly clashed over minor details.
Patterson's version of events – that she had included the deadly mushrooms by accident and she had not died herself after eating the tainted meal due to an eating disorder – was rejected by the jury as unreliable.
'You're actually putting (the case) in the hands of your client, and lawyers don't tend to want to necessarily do that,' Papas said. 'We like to control the process if we can.'
TROUBLED LIFE
Patterson, 50, grew up Melbourne, the daughter of an academic. She qualified as an air traffic controller and had been accepted to study nursing at the time of her arrest, after a life marred by a tempestuous marriage and problems with her weight and low self-esteem, the court heard.
In her own testimony, she hinted at a strained relationship with her now-deceased parents, who were 'in Russia, on a train' on her wedding day in 2007, she told the court.
During a 2009 road-trip across Australia with her estranged husband Simon, she left abruptly in one of their many separations, leaving him alone with their son, then only a few months old.
She frequently wept as she spoke of her close bond with the Patterson family, including her father-in-law, Don, with whom she shared a love of learning, she said.
The judge presiding in the case, Justice Christopher Beale, instructed the jury that Patterson could only be found guilty if they rejected her testimony, which they did unanimously.
Patterson initially told police she had bought the mushrooms used in the meal from a local supermarket, before then saying she had got them from an Asian grocer in Melbourne.
A 2023 search of Asian grocers in the city found no evidence death cap mushrooms had been sold. During the trial, Patterson said she may have foraged for the mushrooms but did not ultimately know where they had come from.
She had also lied about a cancer diagnosis to her guests because she was embarrassed to admit she was actually having gastric band surgery, Patterson said in evidence.
She told the court she wanted her relatives' advice and assistance with looking after her two children while she had the surgery, and named a clinic in Melbourne that was later found never to have offered the procedure.
From the wood-panelled dock at the back of Court 4 at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, where Patterson sat for most of the trial, she stared intently at the jury as they entered and exited the courtroom.
Flanked by two custody officers, she appeared alert but relaxed during the proceedings, occasionally donning a pair of black-rimmed spectacles to study evidence on a court-issued tablet.
The prosecution offered no motive for Patterson's decision to murder her in-laws. Under Australian law, it did not have to prove one to secure a conviction.
Patterson will be sentenced at a later date, at a hearing that will consider the reasons for her offending.
For now, the only person who truly knows why she poisoned the lunch is Erin Patterson herself. REUTERS
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fencing-French Olympic fencer cleared as CAS accepts positive test linked to kissing partner
Fencing-French Olympic fencer cleared as CAS accepts positive test linked to kissing partner

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Fencing-French Olympic fencer cleared as CAS accepts positive test linked to kissing partner

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Paris 2024 Olympics - Fencing - Women's Foil Team Classifications 5-8 - Grand Palais, Paris, France - August 01, 2024. Ysaora Thibus of France is seen during the bout against China. REUTERS/Albert Gea The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus's four-year suspension for doping, ruling that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by kissing her then-boyfriend, American fencer Race Imboden. Thibus, silver medallist in team foil at the Tokyo Games, had tested positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, during a competition in Paris in January 2024. However, CAS concluded there was no intentional wrongdoing, finding it scientifically plausible that repeated kissing over several days with Olympic medallist Imboden — who was taking ostarine at the time — led to accidental contamination. The court dismissed an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had sought a four-year suspension. The sport's top court instead upheld a previous ruling from the International Fencing Federation's doping disciplinary tribunal (DDT) that had already cleared Thibus of any fault. "The CAS Panel ruled that the antidoping rule violation for the presence of ostarine was not intentional, and that it is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence," the court said in a statement. "The DDT decision is upheld and the appeal is dismissed." The case has drawn comparisons to an incident in 2009 involving French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was exonerated after arguing that he had tested positive for cocaine after kissing someone at a nightclub. Thibus was able to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics following the initial DDT ruling, finishing fifth in the team foil event on home soil. REUTERS

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, has no sex trafficking ‘client list': US government memo
Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, has no sex trafficking ‘client list': US government memo

Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, has no sex trafficking ‘client list': US government memo

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking. WASHINGTON - Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered, did not blackmail prominent figures and did not keep a 'client list,' the FBI and Justice Department said July 7, debunking notable conspiracy theories about the disgraced US financier. The conclusions came after an 'exhaustive review' of the evidence amassed against Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking, the agencies said in a joint memorandum. Six years later, questions continue to swirl around Epstein's life and death and the multi-millionaire hedge fund manager's connections to wealthy and powerful individuals. The memo, first reported by Axios, squarely rejected one of the leading conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein – that he did not commit suicide but was murdered while being held in jail. 'After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell,' it said. Video footage from the area where he was being held did not show anyone entering or attempting to enter his cell from the time at night when he was locked in till when his body was found the next morning, it said. Extensive digital and physical searches turned up a large volume of images and videos of Epstein's victims, many of them underage girls, the memo said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Singapore's second mufti Sheikh Syed Isa Semait dies at age 87 Singapore Fewer marriages in Singapore in 2024; greater marital stability for recent unions Singapore Competition watchdog gives SIA, Malaysia Airlines conditional approval to continue cooperation Singapore About 20 delivery riders meet Pritam Singh to discuss platform worker issues Business OCBC sets loan target of $5b and covers more territories in boost for serial entrepreneurs Singapore Reform Party to leave opposition group People's Alliance for Reform; two parties remain 'This review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims,' it said, but did not reveal any illegal wrongdoing by 'third-parties.' 'This systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,'' the memo said. 'There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.' Epstein's former assistant, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only former associate of his who has been criminally charged in connection with his activities. Maxwell, the daughter of British media baron Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in New York in 2021 of child sex trafficking and other crimes. Trump-Musk feud Among those with connections to Epstein was Britain's Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Ms Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. Ms Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April. Billionaire Elon Musk accused President Donald Trump on X last month of being in the 'Epstein files' after the pair had a falling out, but he later deleted his posts. Mr Trump was named in a trove of depositions and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024, but the president has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Mr Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others. They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Mr Trump himself. Prior to the release of the memo, Mr Trump's FBI director, Kash Patel, and the FBI's deputy director, Dan Bongino, had been among the most prominent peddlers of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein. AFP

UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine
UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine

Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • Straits Times

UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LONDON - Britain on Monday targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. It imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops, for their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, the British government said. It said the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military. The grenades have been used as a method of warfare against Ukraine in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the British government said. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment. Moscow has previously called Western sanctions illegal. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store