Erin Patterson 'didn't look unwell' like other lunch guests, nurse tells mushroom murder trial
By
Kristian Silva
, ABC
Erin Patterson was arrested and charged with murder on 2 November 2023.
Photo:
Screenshot /
ABC
A nurse says Erin Patterson did not appear to be sick while in hospital, two days after hosting the fatal beef Wellington lunch that caused the deaths of three relatives.
The focus of Patterson's triple-murder trial today shifted to the medical care she received in the aftermath of the lunch on July 29, 2023.
The Supreme Court, sitting in Morwell, heard Patterson's condition around midday on 31 July appeared to be significantly different from the four other lunch guests.
By that stage, Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson had all been admitted to hospitals with severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
"She didn't look unwell like Ian and Heather," Leongatha hospital nurse Cindy Munro said.
"I recall Ian being so unwell he could barely lift his head off the pillow.
"Erin was sitting up in the bed in the trolley and she didn't look unwell to me."
At the time, Munro said, Patterson was hesitant about receiving intravenous fluids and liver-protecting medication.
"Erin sort of stressed she didn't want any of this," Munro said.
Munro said medical staff were concerned the lunch attendees were suffering from mushroom poisoning, and were worried Patterson's two children had been exposed to the toxins after eating some of the leftovers.
"At that stage she said, 'No, no I scraped off all the mushroom' and the children were not unwell," Munro said.
"She didn't want to cause any hassle. She didn't want to take them out of school and that was when she became quite teary, quite worried."
Munro said she warned Patterson it was possible toxins could have seeped into the meat eaten by the children.
Eventually, Patterson agreed to having the children checked out.
Earlier on Thursday, doctor Veronica Foote told the court Patterson had discharged herself from the hospital on July 31 after a five-minute stay.
Patterson's decision, against medical advice, prompted another concerned doctor to call police when she failed to return in an agreed 20-minute window.
Dr Foote said she formed the view Patterson was moderately dehydrated and appeared to have a gastro illness, after having a conversation with her and performing a physical examination.
Later, after Patterson was transported to Monash hospital in Clayton, she was visited by Tanya Patterson, the wife of her brother-in-law.
"She said she was feeling nauseous and dizzy and tired," Tanya Patterson said.
Tayna Patterson said Patterson inquired about the welfare of the other lunch guests, with Tanya telling her they were "going downhill quickly".
"She told me she knew Don and Gail were in a coma," Tanya Patterson said.
Tanya Patterson said the conversation then shifted to Patterson wanting to take her children on a boat cruise.
A toxicologist then entered the room and informed Patterson that her potassium levels were "fine", Tanya Patterson said.
"I stayed and heard the toxicologist say Erin was fine and well enough to go home," she said.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson, all members of her estranged husband's family. She also denies a charge of attempted murder regarding Ian Wilkinson, the only lunch guest to survive.
Ian Wilkinson (left) was the sole surviving guest of the lunch.
Photo:
ABC / Supplied
Prosecutors allege Patterson deliberately poisoned the group with death cap mushrooms in the main course of the lunch, a beef Wellington.
Senior Constable Adrian Martinez-Villalobis told the court he'd been dispatched to Patterson's Leongatha house to find leftovers of the meal.
He called Patterson in hospital, who directed him to a bin outside the property. The officer said he put on two sets of gloves, found the remnants at the bottom of the bin in a paper bag, and took it to the Leongatha hospital.
"She was cooperative throughout," he said of Patterson.
The trial continues.
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