In her own words: Erin Patterson speaks in murder trial
Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has spoken about battling low self-esteem, changes to her spirituality and becoming distant from her estranged husband's family.
The 50-year-old was called as a defence witness this afternoon in the sixth week of her Supreme Court triple-murder trial in regional Victoria.
Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital from death cap mushroom poisoning days after a lunch served at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
She is also charged with the attempted murder of Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who became sick but survived the meal.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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Wearing a paisley top and black pants, with straight dark hair, Patterson took an affirmation and drank from a paper cup as she sat inside the wooden witness box facing the jury.
She was asked by defence barrister Colin Mandy SC about her family situation in the months before the fatal lunch.
Patterson said her two children were living with her full-time and could see her estranged husband Simon "whenever they wanted to".
She said her financial circumstances at the time of the lunch were "comfortable".
"I could afford to go to university and I didn't need to work a job at the same time," she told the jury of 14.
Evidence so far in the trial of Erin Patterson, the Australian woman accused of murdering three people with beef Wellingtons. (Source: 1News)
Mandy then asked Patterson about parts of her life that were not "so good" in July 2023, and she described changes in her relationship with Simon's family.
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"I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us," she said.
"We saw each other less."
She said she had begun to have "concerns that Simon was not wanting me to be involved too much with the family anymore, perhaps I wasn't being invited to so many things".
She had been "fighting low self-esteem" for most of her adult life and said she had planned to have gastric bypass surgery after putting on weight.
Patterson described herself as a "fundamental atheist" and said she had expected Simon to join her after they started dating but "things happened in reverse and I became Christian".
She said she saw Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson delivering a sermon in the early 2000s while visiting the Korumburra Baptist Church, saying it was a "spiritual experience".
"I'd been approaching religion as an intellectual exercise up until that point. Does it make sense? Is it rational? But I had a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me," Patterson said.
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She cried as she described giving birth to her first child while living in Perth with Simon, saying it was a "very traumatic" experience.
"It went for a very long time and they tried to get him out with forceps. He wouldn't come out," she said.
"And he started to go into distress and they lost his heartbeat, so they did an emergency caesarean and got him out quickly."
Simon Patterson tells the court about their strained relationship and turning down an invite to the fatal lunch. (Source: 1News)
Patterson said she discharged herself against medical advice, as her son was permitted to leave hospital and she wanted to go home with him.
"And Simon said to me, 'you can just do it, leave'," she said.
She said Gail and Don came to visit a couple of weeks after the birth and again became emotional as she described her mother-in-law being "supportive and gentle" with her.
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Patterson said her relationship problems with Simon stemmed from communication issues.
"We could never communicate in a way that made each of us feel heard or understood, so we would just feel hurt," she said.
She will return to the witness box tomorrow as the trial continues.
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1News
2 hours ago
- 1News
Patterson says foraged mushrooms may have been in fatal lunch
Triple murder accused Erin Patterson has told a Morwell court she looked up information about death cap mushrooms but believed they didn't grow in her area as she continued testifying in her own defence for a third day. She also became emotional while admitting she misled her former in-laws about having medical tests, including claiming she had a biopsy and was booked for an MRI, despite none of those appointments taking place. Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She is accused of deliberately poisoning her former in-laws with a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2022. Three people died. A fourth, Pastor Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks in hospital. 'I became aware of death cap mushrooms quite early' Under questioning from her defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, Patterson said she began researching mushrooms during Covid lockdowns after developing an interest in foraging. ADVERTISEMENT Erin Patterson. (Source: 1News) 'I became aware of death cap mushrooms quite early through this period,' she said. 'I looked up to see if they grew in South Gippsland and I remember finding out that they didn't, essentially.' She also told the jury she knew of another toxic species — inocybe mushrooms — growing on her property, which she had learned were dangerous to dogs. May have searched death cap sites Three white Amanita phalloides (deathcap), which are one of the most poisonous of all known mushrooms. (Source: The jury was reminded of earlier prosecution evidence that Patterson's computer had accessed webpages discussing mushroom foraging and known locations of death caps. "I don't specifically remember doing it that day," she told the court, "but it's possible it was me… and possible that's part of the process I went through to see if they grew in South Gippsland." ADVERTISEMENT Patterson also denied ever foraging in nearby locations such as Lock or Outtrim where mushroom experts previously testified they had logged death cap sightings on citizen science platforms. She told the court she was unaware of those posts. Breaks down over misleading Don and Gail In one of the day's more emotional moments, Patterson was shown messages she'd exchanged with her former in-laws — Don and Gail Patterson — about a suspected health issue. She told them she had a lump on her arm and claimed she'd undergone a needle biopsy and was scheduled for an MRI. But on the stand, she admitted none of that was true. "Some weeks prior, I had been having an issue with my elbow with pain and I thought there was a lump there," she explained. "They had shown quite a lot of care about that, which felt really nice." ADVERTISEMENT She said the pain resolved itself and she felt embarrassed for raising the alarm. "I didn't want their care of me to stop, so I just kept it going," she said, sniffing and speaking with a halting voice. "I shouldn't have done it." Why Patterson arranged the lunch Woman accused of killing three people with poisonous mushrooms in beef Wellington testifies in her defence. (Source: 1News) Patterson also gave evidence about why she organised the fatal family lunch in July, 2022. She said it was motivated by a desire to spend more time with her former in-laws and their extended family. "Primarily, the kids and I had such a good time seeing nanna and papa… that I wanted to do it again," she said. ADVERTISEMENT She told the court that during a previous visit, Gail had commented on how nice the garden looked and Patterson believed Heather Wilkinson would like to see it too. Patterson then said she put considerable thought into what to serve for the lunch. While shepherd's pie had worked in the past, she said it didn't feel "special enough". Instead, she decided to attempt beef Wellington — a dish her mother used to make on important occasions — using a recipe from her RecipeTin Eats cookbook. It was her first time making it. She told the court she bought most of the ingredients from Woolworths, including mushrooms, puff pastry and filo pastry, which were already common staples in her household. "I bought mushrooms very regularly. At least weekly, sometimes twice weekly," she said. How Patterson says she prepared the beef Wellington Erin Patterson says she used this receipe to make beef Wellington (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Patterson walked the court through how she planned and prepared the beef Wellington at the centre of the case. She said the recipe came from Dinner by food blogger Nagi Maehashi (known for RecipeTin Eats), but with several changes. The original called for a whole beef tenderloin wrapped in mustard, prosciutto, mushroom duxelles and a thin crepe, all encased in puff pastry. 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She said individual portions required more mushrooms and pastry than a traditional log-style Wellington. ADVERTISEMENT "You've got the mushroom and pastry on the top and bottom sides rather than the circumference," she explained. "I used a lot more." When asked why she bought more filo pastry in the days following the lunch, Patterson said she couldn't remember. "I'd only bought some a day before, but it looks like I must have forgotten I did that," she told the court. "But I made things with pastry all the time, so it wouldn't have mattered." Patterson says dried mushrooms may have included foraged ones Detective who led the investigation reveals stark new details about Patterson's actions and behaviour following the fatal lunch. (Source: 1News) Patterson said there was a chance the dried mushrooms she added to the dish may have included foraged varieties. 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Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
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An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms gave her account of the fatal lunch on Wednesday, in a case that has gripped the public. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution alleges she knowingly served the guests lethal death cap mushrooms in a Beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, a town of around 6000 people some 135km from Melbourne. She denies the charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a "terrible accident". She faces a life sentence if found guilty. The accused, the first witness for her own defence and who began her evidence on Monday afternoon, repeatedly wept as she told the court on Wednesday she may have accidentally included foraged mushrooms into the food she served. "Now I think there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there," she said as she was questioned by her own barrister, Colin Mandy. The court also heard on Wednesday that Erin Patterson had invented medical issues partly to elicit sympathy from her estranged husband's relatives, from whom she said she felt she was growing apart. "I didn't want their care of me to stop, so I kept it going. I shouldn't have done it," she told the court. "Did you lie to them?" Mandy asked. "I did lie to them," the accused replied, through tears. The prosecution alleges Patterson invented the medical issues to lure the victims to her home for the meal, a claim she denies. The prosecution rested its case on Monday, following a month of evidence from witnesses, including relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. The trial, which began on April 29, has seen intense interest from Australian and international media, with podcasters, journalists and documentary-makers descending on the town of Morwell, around two hours east of Melbourne, where the trial is being held. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast about proceedings is currently the most popular in the country, while many Australian newspapers have been running live blogs on the case. The trial, scheduled to conclude this month, continues.
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a day ago
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Murder accused admits she picked, ate wild mushrooms
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