Erin Patterson denies lying about making herself vomit after fatal mushroom lunch
Erin Patterson says she is 'puzzled' that a clinic in which she said she had an appointment for a gastric bypass offers no such surgery, and denies lying about making herself vomit in the hours immediately after the beef wellington lunch, a court has heard.
In her sixth day in the witness box, Patterson was repeatedly asked under cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC whether she was lying about the deadly lunch and other parts of her evidence before her triple-murder trial.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning four in-laws with beef wellington served for lunch at her house in Leongatha on 29 July 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband.
Lawyers for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident.
Patterson told the court last week that she had a pre-assessment booking for gastric bypass surgery scheduled at Enrich Clinic in September 2023.
But Rogers said to Patterson on Tuesday that Enrich was a cosmetic dermatology clinic, and did not offer gastric bypass surgery.
Patterson said she was 'puzzled' that was the case.
'In what way?' Rogers asked.
'Well I had an appointment with them, and that's my memory of what the appointment was for, so that's why I'm puzzled.'
Rogers confirmed the appointment was made, and had been cancelled by Patterson two days before it was scheduled.
Patterson believed the appointment related to weight loss surgery, but said it may have been a different procedure.
'It wasn't a lie, that's what my memory was,' Patterson said.
Rogers also asked Patterson about her evidence last week that she made herself vomit in the hours after the lunch, after she felt overfull from eating the beef wellington and a large portion of orange cake. Patterson said she had a history of binge eating and purging dating back to her 20s.
Rogers accused Patterson of lying about vomiting on the afternoon of the lunch after her guests left.
'You did not tell a single medical person that you had vomited up after the lunch on the 29th of July?' Rogers asked.
'That is true, I didn't do that,' Patterson said.
Rogers suggested to Patterson that she lied about vomiting after the lunch, and about how much she ate at lunch, 'because you're trying to account for why the others were seriously ill and you were not'.
'I wish that was true, but it's not,' Patterson responded.
Patterson also denied suggestions from Rogers regarding the plating at the lunch. Patterson said evidence Ian gave about the guests being served on matching large grey plates, and Patterson serving herself on a smaller lighter coloured plate, was incorrect.
She said she did not know whether evidence Simon gave about Heather making two comments to him about mismatched plates was also wrong.
Rogers suggested to Patterson she used different plates as she made poisoned beef wellingtons for her guests, but that hers did not contain death cap mushrooms.
'To avoid any error, you took the extra precaution of using a different and smaller plate, to plate your non-poisoned serve, correct or incorrect,' Rogers asked.
'Incorrect,' Patterson responded.
Patterson said she did not one a set of four matching plates.
'I suggest your whole story is untrue that you plated the food without discrimination,' Rogers asked her.
'You're wrong,' Patterson replied.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, after answering a question from Rogers regarding the internet search history of devices seized from her home, Patterson attempted to further clarify the evidence before Rogers asked another question.
'Ms Patterson, I am the person who asks the questions,' Rogers said.
'If there something that needs to be clarified in re-examination, your barrister will do so.'
'No problem,' Patterson replied.
The trial continues.
In Australia, the Butterfly Foundation is at 1800 33 4673. In the UK, Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677. In the US, help is available at nationaleatingdisorders.org or by calling ANAD's eating disorders hotline at 800-375-7767. Other international helplines can be found at Eating Disorder Hope
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bombshell career news for troubled footy star who checked himself into a mental health facility after beating domestic violence allegations
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson believes Taylan May 'deserves a second chance' in the NRL, after signing the outside back on a train-and-trial deal. The Tigers on Tuesday formally won the race for May's signature, with the Samoan international agreeing to a deal for the rest of this season. The contract is May's first since he was released from Penrith last season, after the Panthers attempted to rip up his contract following a number of off-field indiscretions. The 23-year-old also had domestic violence charges against him dropped in March, after his wife who had accused him of punching did not show up in court. May had pleaded not guilty to the charges and has since spent time in a mental health facility undergoing treatment. The former Panther will not be able to immediately return to the field, with the NRL only conditionally approving his comeback. In a statement on Tuesday, the Tigers said training and off-field standards needed to be met before May could play again. 'Taylan, like all our players, will be joining a club which has a culture of putting healthy relationships first,' CEO Shane Richardson said. 'Taylan has made enormous strides since we first met with him 10 weeks ago through voluntarily attending education and counselling sessions. 'All players deserve a second chance and we think this is the environment which gives him the best chance of success both on and off the field.' May's move to the Tigers came after he had met with South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett and toured the club's Heffron Park facilities. But the Tigers signing will allow him to play alongside his brother Terrell, with the duo and older brother Tyrone May all keen to one day play together. 'Clearly, Taylan is a quality player who will further strengthen our squad in the back end of the competition,' Richardson said. 'But we also believe his best chance of success on and off the field is if he is around family and friends. 'He will now have the chance to not only return to a team environment but also to play alongside his brother Terrell – which is important to him.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pregnant cop who had clumps of hair ripped from her scalp by a notorious anti-vaxxer breaks her silence
A female police officer who had hair torn from her scalp by an anti-vaxxer while she was 10 weeks pregnant has broken her silence over the horrific attack. South Australian Senior Constable Anthea Beck told 9News how Raina Cruise attacked without warning outside the Exeter Hotel in October 2021. 'She just reached out, knocked the hat off my head, grabbed a handful of hair and just dropped to the ground,' she said. Cruise, who describes herself as a naturopath and homeopath, had earlier assaulted two security guards at the pub on Adelaide 's Rundle Street. The mother-of-four was heavily intoxicated and had attended a freedom rally earlier in the day but was booted from the venue over a row about mask mandates. She admitted to grabbing one security guard by the windpipe and punching him in the throat. She punched the other security guard around the head. Cruise and two men she left the pub with were stopped by Beck and another police officer tasked with investigating the assaults on the security guards. Prosecutors said Cruise compared the police to Nazi Germany before she 'latched onto Constable Beck' and dragged her to the ground. The entire incident was captured on officers' bodycam footage. A court was told Cruise yanked at Constable Beck's hair and smashed the cop's head on the pavement as she yelled: 'I will smash you one-on-one, b***h.' Beck initially worried the the attack might have impacted her unborn child. The anti-vax mum-of-four initially avoided jail and was given a two-year suspended sentence after she was found guilty of the assault. The Police Association asked the attorney-general to appeal and earlier this month Cruise was re-sentenced and handed three years and nine months behind bars. 'The suspended sentence was not in line with societal expectations of what happens when you assault police,' Beck said. Beck said she felt 'relief and satisfaction' knowing Cruise was behind bars and said it sent a message to the community 'that if you assault an emergency worker, that you can expect a custodial sentence'. She described her job as a policewoman as an 'an ongoing journey'. 'Being a police officer obviously has its ups and downs, and this is just a down of (an) otherwise very fulfilling career,' she said.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Crossbenchers call for federal intervention after ‘deeply shocking' revelations about prison deaths
Key crossbenchers have called for the federal government to intervene to drive reforms to state prison systems after revelations that 57 Australians died from hanging points that were known to authorities but not removed. A Guardian Australia investigation on Tuesday revealed that inaction to remove known hanging points from 19 prisons across the country had caused a shocking death toll, more than 30 years after state governments promised to make prisons safe in the wake of the Aboriginal deaths in custody royal commission. In one case, 10 inmates hanged themselves from the same type of ligature point at Brisbane's Arthur Gorrie prison over almost 20 years, despite early warnings that it be immediately addressed. Guardian Australia has spent five months investigating the deadly toll of Australia's inaction to remove hanging points from its jails, a key recommendation of the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. The main finding – that 57 inmates died using known ligature points that had not been removed – was made possible by an exhaustive examination of coronial records relating to 248 hanging deaths spanning more than 20 years. Reporters combed through large volumes of coronial records looking for instances where a hanging point had been used repeatedly in the same jail. They counted any death that occurred after prison authorities were made aware of that particular hanging point. Warnings were made via a prior suicide or suicide attempt, advice from their own staff or recommendations from coroners and other independent bodies. Guardian Australia also logged how many of the 57 inmates were deemed at risk of self-harm or had attempted suicide before they were sent into cells with known hanging points. In adherence with best practice in reporting on this topic, Guardian Australia has avoided detailed descriptions of suicide. In some instances, so that the full ramifications of coronial recommendations can be understood, we have made the decision to identify types and locations of ligature points. We have done this only in instances where we feel the public interest in this information being available to readers is high. In another, four inmates were able to hang themselves from the same hanging point at the Adelaide Remand Centre after the state government was explicitly warned to either remove it or minimise its risk. In many cases, prisoners who were known suicide risks – like Gavin Ellis, a beloved son whose mother still mourns his loss – were sent into cells with hanging points that had been used in prior deaths. The revelations prompted immediate calls from crossbenchers for the Albanese government to show national leadership on the issue and pressure state governments to engage in reform of their justice and prison systems. The independent senator David Pocock said the cases were 'deeply shocking' and highlight 'a widespread failure in our prison system'. 'I would support more federally coordinated action to better address these persistent failures, whether through a Senate inquiry or action by national cabinet,' he said. The Greens justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said the 57 deaths showed Australia's prison system was 'fundamentally broken and killing people, even though governments have been on notice for decades'. He said it was time for the federal government to intervene. 'Thirty-four years after the Royal Commission, First Nations people are still dying from government inaction and broken promises,' he said. 'It's impossible to imagine something more awful than families losing their loved ones because a hanging point, that the authorities knew had killed before, still hadn't been removed.' The deaths disproportionately affected Indigenous Australians, who remain vastly overrepresented in the system. Seven Indigenous Australians hanged themselves in 2023-24, a number not recorded since 2000-01. The independent senator Lidia Thorpe said Guardian Australia's findings revealed 'shocking negligence'. She said the federal government could not keep 'pretending this is just a state issue'. 'That's not only misleading – it's a shameful abdication of responsibility,' Thorpe said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'The Prime Minister needs to show leadership. These are preventable deaths. This is life or death. And it's long past time for action.' Thorpe called for the coronial system to be overhauled, and 'real accountability mechanisms' to be put in place. She also wants to see someone tasked with the responsibility of overseeing and driving the implementation of the royal commission recommendations. 'Thirty years after the Royal Commission, people are still dying in exactly the same way. Governments are sitting on their hands while our people die in these brutal facilities,' Thorpe said. 'Implementing the Royal Commission recommendations won't just help First Nations people – it will save lives across the entire prison system.' The independent MP and former barrister Zali Steggall said the deaths represented a 'systemic human rights failure' that 'demands immediate action'. 'I call on the government for firm national leadership,' she said. 'There urgently needs to be commitment and a timeline for the implementation for reform and previous recommendation. 'It's been more than 30 years since the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and countless more inquiries, and little has changed. It's clear that a step change on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy is needed by the government who have done very little to push progress since the referendum.' In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support. Other international helplines can be found at
