Facebook posts, allegedly poisoned pasta: The evidence Erin Patterson jury didn't hear

SBS Australia

a day ago

Convicted mushroom killer Erin Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, believed she had tried to poison him four times before a fateful lunch in 2023 in which she poisoned his parents, aunt and uncle. Simon's parents, Don and Gail, 70, would die in hospital along with Gail's sister Heather, 66, days after eating the meal Patterson cooked. Simon Patterson — who told his estranged wife he would not be attending the lunch the night before — said he suspected Erin had tried to poison him from as early as 2021 during a pre-trial hearing last year.
The media had been banned from reporting on pre-trial hearing evidence to allow Patterson time to appeal, but the suppression order was lifted on Friday.
Allegedly poisoned penne Simon told pre-trial hearings he believed he was first poisoned the night before a planned camping trip in November 2021.
He ate penne bolognese made by Patterson and vomited at her home the next morning, as well as on the way to the campsite, he said.
Simon Patterson said he believed Erin Patterson tried to poison him several times, from as early as 2021. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele Patterson arranged accommodation for them instead of camping, and the following day he felt like he was "going downhill" and needed to go to hospital. Simon assumed it was gastro and was transferred to Monash Hospital, where he stayed for five days, as a doctor was concerned about his kidneys. Simon detailed three other suspected alleged poisonings that he said occurred during 2022, with Patterson accused of serving him poisoned dishes of chicken korma curry and a vegetable wrap. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged Patterson deliberately "allocated certain foods" to Simon in each suspected poisoning, much like she did in choosing different plates for her beef Wellington lunch guests than for her own. But defence lawyers claimed it was not clear whether Simon assisted in preparing some of the meals and said Patterson had eaten the same food. Simon told his GP, Christopher Ford, about the alleged poisonings and removed Patterson from his medical power of attorney about five months before she served up the poisonous beef Wellingtons. "He thought that Erin was trying to poison him," Ford told pre-trial hearings. When Simon told Ford his family was in hospital on the day after the July 2023 lunch, the GP called and alerted his medical colleagues at Leongatha and Korumburra hospitals.
During pre-trial, Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy said the claims involving Simon could not be proven on the medical evidence and Patterson denied all attempted murder charges.
Justice Christopher Beale ruled Patterson should face two trials, one for the murders and one for Simon's alleged attempted murder. However, prosecutors discontinued the latter charges and focused their trial on the murderous lunch.
'My cat chewed on this mushroom' One of the most bizarre pieces of evidence that did not make it to the trial was a Facebook post to a poisons help page. Prosecutors alleged Patterson uploaded a photo of a cat eating mushrooms about 18 months before Simon claimed he was first poisoned by his estranged wife, in November 2021. "My cat chewed on this mushroom just now," the post said, according to pre-trial evidence. "He is having a vomit. Was in grassland near trees, I'm in Victoria, Australia." Patterson owned a dog but did not own a cat. Prosecutors alleged the post was fake and they planned to use it in the trial to show the killer's long-held interest both in poisons and wild mushrooms. Prosecutor Jane Warren said it showed Patterson's interest in mushrooms was "in the poisonous properties".
Defence successfully argued against the post being permitted as evidence in the triple-murder trial.
"The prosecution is at pains to establish the accused did not have a cat and therefore that this post was dishonest," Mandy told a pre-trial hearing. "That will reflect poorly on the accused if that's admitted to evidence." The post might have been manipulated by the person who provided it to police, Mandy said, as he argued they should have been called to give evidence in the trial. "The witness who produced the screenshot had previously manipulated screenshots in the Facebook group using Photoshop," the defence barrister said. "Its reliability on the face of it is questionable."
Ultimately, Beale ruled it out of evidence before the trial began.
Penchant for poisons A number of other items of evidence revealed Patterson's alleged penchant for poisons. These were found by Victoria Police digital officers, who trawled through thousands of pieces of data found on devices seized from Patterson's home. The digital investigators used keywords including "death", "mushroom" and "poison". An appendix from a 2007 book called Criminal Poisonings was found on a Samsung tablet. It listed the colour, odour, solubility, taste and lethal dose of poisons including antifreeze, arsenic and cyanide. Prosecutors alleged in pre-trial hearings Patterson had access to the document in October 2019.
However, defence lawyers successfully argued prosecutors could not prove she accessed the file just because it was found on the device as there was no evidence she had downloaded it or read it.
Mandy said it would be prejudicial to Patterson in her trial and claimed Patterson's children might have been using the tablet when the file was downloaded. "And 2019 is too remote to be relevant to these allegations," Mandy told pre-trial. Another PDF titled "An overview of fungi in Melbourne" was found on a device at Patterson's home with an unknown date. But the defence claimed it had limited probative value as it did not mention poisonous mushrooms. The document had death cap mushrooms on the second page. "There's lots of people who are widely read, but don't read about poisonous mushrooms," Beale commented on the document. The jury was told about Patterson ditching the dehydrator she used to dry out the deadly mushroom after she left Melbourne's Monash Hospital on 2 August 2023. However, they were not told about her first visit to Koonwarra transfer station — on the same day as the beef Wellington lunch — where she disposed of cardboard. Prosecutors told pre-trial hearings Patterson was seen going to the tip on 29 July 2023. She also put her rubbish bins out for collection on the day of the lunch — which prosecutors alleged was incriminating conduct — but the jury was not told that either. Patterson will return to the Supreme Court on 25 August for a pre-sentence hearing.