Exhibits revealed: the evidence that swayed the jury
In this episode Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell reveal the panicked triple-0 call from a doctor in Leongatha, and bring you reactions from the police and the community in Korumburra.
If you've got questions about the case that you'd like Rachael and Stocky to answer in future episodes, send them through to mushroomcasedaily@abc.net.au
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It's the case that's captured the attention of the world.
Three people died and a fourth survived an induced coma after eating beef wellington at a family lunch, hosted by Erin Patterson.
Police allege the beef wellington contained poisonous mushrooms, but Erin Patterson says she's innocent.
Now, the accused triple murderer is fighting the charges in a regional Victorian courthouse. Investigative reporter Rachael Brown and producer Stephen Stockwell are on the ground, bringing you all the key moments from the trial as they unravel in court.
From court recaps to behind-the-scenes murder trial explainers, the Mushroom Case Daily podcast is your eyes and ears inside the courtroom.
To catch up on all the evidence from the case, go back and listen to all our Friday Wrap episodes:
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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Wighton cops four-game ban in a huge blow for the Rabbitohs
Wayne Bennett's hopes of avoiding his first wooden spoon have taken a massive hit with veteran playmaker Jack Wighton slapped with a whopping four-match ban after he was found guilty of a grade two shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night. The Rabbitohs have lost eight in a row and head into round 22 in last spot behind the Knights and Titans on points differential, but their hopes of causing a gigantic boilover against the Broncos have copped a devastating blow with their five-eighth sidelined. He joins a host of stars who are missing for the club including Cam Murray, Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker. Wighton could have accepted a three-match ban for the grade two charge that saw him sent to the sin bin for a tackle that knocked out Cronulla's Toby Rudolf on Saturday night but rolled the dice after he pleaded not guilty. The panel of Greg McCallum and Bob Lindner listened to the 75-minute hearing and deliberated for just 15 minutes before they unanimously found him guilty. 'It was a fair hearing,' Wighton said afterwards. 'We came here thinking we had a good case. We didn't get the result we wanted. 'I'll turn my attention to preparing my teammates and really helping everyone at my club the best way I can.' It was a reunion of sorts between Wighton and judiciary counsel Patrick Knowles, with the five-eighth asking him 'how many games of rugby league have you played?' during a fiery hearing in 2023 when he was banned for three matches for biting. Wighton didn't give evidence on this occasion, a point not lost on Knowles who suggested he could have explained why there were no other options available to him to make a different type of tackle. However, judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew reminded the panel that Wighton had no obligation to justify. Knowles described the contact as a 'textbook example of a shoulder charge' and that he twisted his body, the right shoulder led the forceful contact and that his left arm raised in a bracing motion but didn't attempt to wrap. 'The amount of force generated in a tackle that used no arms carries a significant risk of injury,' he said. 'The shoulder was the first impact and carried the primary degree of force.' Prominent Sydney lawyer Nick Ghabar represented Wighton and argued it was 'quite wrong' to suggest he propped and drove with the shoulder and that he did his best to avoid a head on collision. Ghabar argued that the right arm wrapped around Rudolf's left arm before contact and that the Cronulla forward generated the force by leading with his head and arms. 'Rudolf stepped 'violently' off his left foot,' he said, arguing that it was inevitable that there'd be a more violent collision if Wighton hadn't dipped his body. 'Wighton drops his body height to avoid the risk of a head clash. He's got a split second decision to make. He's attempting to tackle with his left arm but his right arm doesn't have the ability to swing around the back of Rudolf.' The referee's report from Belinda Sharpe included a quote from Wighton that said 'I couldn't get my arm out', while the medical report said the injury was caused by a 'head clash from opponent'. Ghabar suggested that the first contact was shoulder on shoulder, but that played into the argument it was an actual shoulder charge. Knowles refuted a number of those arguments and pointed out Wighton's right fist was clenched so it couldn't have been a conventional wrapping tackle and that he could've twisted the other way and made a conventional left shoulder tackle. Ghabar sought a downgrade that would have seen Wighton miss two matches, but it was dismissed after Knowles argued the force was moderate, it was careless and the risk of injury was moderate and that the risk came to fruition. Wighton will miss matches against the Broncos, Titans, Eels and Dragons and will return in the final round against the Roosters, with Lewis Dodd likely to start in the halves.
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
NT government responds to landmark domestic violence inquest into killings of four Indigenous women
The Northern Territory government says more than two-thirds of recommendations from a landmark domestic violence inquest "are already in place" in the territory, with a minister saying the report has failed "dismally to hit the mark". WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families. The Country Liberal Party handed down its response to NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's report in NT parliament on Tuesday, more than eight months after it was handed down. Judge Armitage made 35 recommendations, after spending more than a year investigating the domestic violence killings of four Aboriginal women — Kumarn Rubuntja, Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk and Miss Yunupiŋu. They were among more than 80 Indigenous women killed in domestic violence attacks in the NT since the year 2000. The coroner's recommendations included calls for increased funding for frontline emergency service responses, women's shelters and men's behavioural change programs. In NT parliament on Tuesday, Prevention of Domestic Violence Minister Robyn Cahill said the government would support 21 of the recommendations in full and accept 11 in principle. The government did not support three of the recommendations: In handing down the government's response, Ms Cahill said "overall" the recommendations from the coroner were "uninspiring" and the report "failed so dismally to hit the mark". She said only a "small proportion" of the recommendations made would lead to the "implementation of a new and innovative approach". She also criticised Judge Armitage's approach to the inquest, calling it "protracted" and resulting in "lengthy reports delivered in a manner seeming to lack the humility one might expect from an officer of the court". "More focused on the reveal rather than the result," she said of Judge Armitage. When handing down her recommendations, Judge Armitage said she did not believe the 35 recommendations were "radical", saying the DFSV sector had been calling for them for many years. In a statement, Ms Cahill said "extensive consultation with government, non-government agencies, advocacy groups and experts found that 24 of the 35 recommendations related to programs or processes already in place". "Some of these measures have been in place for years without delivering the results we need," she said. Ms Cahill said the government was developing a DFSV roadmap to address domestic violence in the territory, which would set "strategic priorities" for the government's $36 million a year funding for the sector. In response to Ms Cahill's comments, opposition MLA Chansey Paech said it was "absolutely appalling" for the minister to "take aim at the Northern Territory coroner". "It was a long inquest, absolutely," he said. "It was four families, four unique circumstances that absolutely deserved the right to be comprehensively reviewed." Mr Paech said all 35 recommendations could "absolutely be accepted", despite government concerns over funding limitations. "The coroner designed all of these in a way that they could absolutely be supported," he said. In a joint statement, a coalition of NT DSFV services said the government's response was "underwhelming in the face of the Northern Territory's biggest criminal issue". "This is about more than programs. It's about a system that is currently failing women and children, and the urgent need to redesign it alongside the people who know what works," the statement said. "The government's ongoing lack of genuine consultation with the specialist DFSV sector is creating missed opportunities, poor coordination and unsafe outcomes." The NT has the highest rates of family and domestic violence in Australia, with a rate of intimate partner homicide seven times the national average. Recommendation 3: Amend the DFSV workforce plan to better engage Aboriginal workers, communities and universities. Recommendation 5: Create and implement an evidence-based strategy to reduce alcohol availability. Recommendation 6: Increase investment in specialist alcohol and other drugs rehabilitation services. Recommendation 7: Implement the police and children and families department co-responder model — which has been trialled in Alice Springs — on a permanent basis NT-wide. Recommendation 8: NT police to review protocols and improve officer training on information sharing. Recommendation 9: Consider establishing a multi-agency protection service to formalise partnership between police and government departments. Recommendation 10: NT police to embed interpreters and/or Aboriginal liaison officers in the emergency call centre. Recommendation 11: Provide PARt training to all current police officers, auxiliaries and new recruits, including emergency call centre workers. Recommendation 12: NT police to expand the DFSV command in Alice Springs and Darwin. Recommendation 13: Expand NT police's family harm coordination daily auditing program. Recommendation 14: Children and families department to audit and continue its commitment to the Safe and Together framework. Recommendation 15: Fund and implement "timely and intensive" early interventions for young people engaged in violence. Recommendation 16: Extra funding for community-based approaches to child welfare. Recommendation 17: Replicate the specialist DFSV court in Alice Springs in other regions. Recommendation 23: Increase funding for men's prison-based behaviour programs and counselling. Recommendation 24: Improve access to men's prison programs. Recommendation 25: Develop and implement a prison program for men who are 'deniers' of their violence. Recommendation 26: Establish reintegration programs for men leaving prison and returning to community. Recommendation 29: Boost funding for community-based behavioural change and prevention programs. Recommendation 33: Full implementation of the DFSV Action Plan 2, which will require $180 million funding over five years. Recommendation 34: Increase baseline funding for frontline DFSV crisis services by about 10 per cent. Recommendation 1: Establish a permanent, whole-of-government unit to lead DFSV policy and practice. Recommendation 4: Boost funding for Aboriginal interpreter services. Recommendation 18: Fund culturally-appropriate, trauma-informed, mediation/peacekeeping for family and community violence. Recommendation 19: Regulate and fund mediation and peacemaker groups as recognised alternative dispute resolution providers. Recommendation 20: Develop and fund alternatives to custody for DFSV perpetrators. Recommendation 21: Make the NT victims register an opt-out system, and consider how victims can be notified of the release of inmates. Recommendation 22: Embed the charter of victims' rights in NT law. Recommendation 27: NT Health to improve its DFSV screening and assessment of patients. Recommendation 28: Better support for Aboriginal liaison officers in hospitals and clinics. Recommendation 30: Invest in culturally-appropriate prevention and education programs in schools and on social media. Recommendation 31: Fund DFSV awareness training for clubs and pubs. Recommendation 2: Establish an NT peak body to represent the sector on a national level. Recommendation 32: Mandatory 12-month trial of banned drinker register scanners in licensed venues. Recommendation 35: Ensure funding agreements for frontline DFSV services include indexation increases.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Abattoir lawyer accused of 'blame shifting' after worker loses foot
A New South Wales Riverina abattoir has been accused of "blame shifting" despite pleading guilty to charges related to a workplace injury that resulted in a worker losing his foot. During a sentencing hearing in the NSW District Court in Sydney on Tuesday, defence counsel representing Hilltop Meats in Young, Bruce Hodgkinson, said an auger system in which the worker's foot became entangled had a lock-out system that could have prevented the 2021 incident. He told the court that lock-out system would have demobilised the machine. "That's not a complex procedure," Mr Hodgkinson said. The worker had been clearing a blockage in the meat auger conveyor in October 2021 when a colleague turned the machine back on, causing his foot to become caught inside the screw mechanism. Emergency crews worked for more than two hours to free the man in his 30s, who suffered significant injuries to both legs and later had a foot amputated. SafeWork NSW started action against the meat processing facility in 2023. Hilltop Meats pleaded guilty in March to failures which allowed the worker to be exposed to dangerous moving parts of the auger, admitted to placing the worker at risk of falling from height on the auger and being at risk of death or serious injury. It further admitted it failed to conduct a risk assessment of the task of removing blockages in the auger. Crown prosecutor Matthew Moir accused the defence of "blame shifting". "It's the duty holder who has the obligation to ensure employees are property trained, instructed in the correct method of work," he said. He accused the defence of "trying to blame others … in particular [the victim]", for failing to follow the procedures in place. The court heard the victim began work at the abattoir in 2015 and had previously been trained in the lock-out process, before he left the company in 2018. The victim returned in July 2021. The company had changed hands, however, Mr Moir noted the victim was not retrained in the lock-out procedure. The court heard that about three months after the workplace incident, the victim was called back into work and reprimanded for his actions. Judge Wendy Strathdee was concerned by the company's action. "Would the more appropriate fashion have been to speak to the rest of the workplace rather than issue a written warning and threat of termination to the man who lost his foot," she said. Mr Hodgkinson said the "difficult" decision to call in the victim had not been taken lightly but deemed it necessary. "If they're going to take enforcement action, how are they going to do it if they don't go directly to [the victim]," he said. Judge Strathdee said while she understood it was a "very difficult, delicate situation", she remained concerned the victim was reprimanded before he had returned to work. The court heard workers had developed their own practice of clearing auger blockages, which were a common occurrence, by standing above the unguarded conveyor screw several metres above a concrete floor. Agreed facts in the case showed workers told SafeWork the guards over the auger had been removed for months prior to the incident. The court heard a maintenance supervisor had told a different worker not to stand in an unguarded auger, but no further action was taken. It heard while the maintenance manager was aware of the practice, he did not tell senior management. Mr Hodgkinson said they were unaware workers were engaging in the practice until the incident occurred. Judge Strathdee adjourned proceedings and to hand down a judgement at a later date.
