Erin Patterson murder trial LIVE: Accused mushroom cook's evidence on fatal beef Wellington lunch continues
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10.00am
Erin Patterson's cross-examination to continue
By Marta Pascual Juanola
The accused killer, Erin Patterson, has spent most of this week in the witness box giving evidence.
The Leongatha mother of two is expected to return to the witness box again this morning and senior Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC, will continue her cross-examination.
Patterson began giving evidence in court on Monday afternoon, questioned by defence barrister Colin Mandy, SC. She concluded her evidence-in-chief on Thursday morning.
Rogers commenced her cross-examination shortly after.
10.00am
Trial timeline extended
By Marta Pascual Juanola
The timeline for Erin Patterson's murder trial has extended, with the possibility more evidence could be heard before the jury is sequestered to start their deliberations.
The trial was initially slated to run for five to six weeks. However, as week six slowly came to a close on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale addressed the jury on the trial's timeline.
Beale said it was likely Patterson, 50, would remain in the witness box on Friday and probably into early next week.
'After she has completed giving evidence, it will be necessary, or the law requires it, for me to have some legal discussions with the parties in the absence of you,' he told the jury.
Beale said the discussions would include whether there would be more evidence in the case, and his directions of law to the jury, which could take a couple of days.
'After all the evidence is completed, we will then hear closing addresses from the prosecution and defence,' he said.
Beale said each of the closing addresses could take a couple of days. He said they would be followed by his final directions, which could take up another couple of days.
'And then the boot is on the other foot because none of you can tell me how long you will be in deliberations. How long is a piece of string? You will take all the time you need,' he said.
'So I haven't put a figure on it, but I have tried to put you in the picture as to how this is going to play out and it may be necessary for you to make some arrangements. So with those things to think about, go out and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee.'
10.00am
Welcome to live coverage of day 28 of Erin Patterson's murder trial
By Marta Pascual Juanola
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of day 28 of the murder trial of accused mushroom cook Erin Patterson at the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell, in regional Victoria.
My name is Marta Pascual Juanola, and together with my colleague, court reporter Erin Pearson, we will bring you the latest from the courtroom to wrap up week six of the trial.
As regular readers of our coverage will know, Patterson is accused of killing her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them a lunch of beef Wellington which contained death cap mushrooms during a family get-together on July 29, 2023.
Heather's husband, Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, also attended the lunch and became severely ill. However, he survived after spending several weeks in the hospital in an induced coma.
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The records indicated the phone was in regular use up until sometime between 12:01pm and 1:45pm, when the SIM card in Phone A lost connection with the network. At that time, police were conducting a search of Ms Patterson's Leongatha home. Dr Rogers put to Ms Patterson that she removed the SIM card from Phone A when she was "afforded privacy to speak with a lawyer while police were at your home". Ms Patterson disagreed and said her calls to a lawyer occurred at 2pm, after the alleged loss of connection. Ms Patterson also rejected a claim from prosecutors that the reason she had conducted three factory resets on Phone B was so she could deceive police and "pass [it] off" as her regular phone. When police executed a search warrant on Ms Patterson's home on August 5, a week after the deadly lunch, it was Phone B that she gave to police. The prosecution suggested she did so as she knew there was no data on the phone to potentially incriminate her, which Ms Patterson denied. Dr Rogers took Ms Patterson to records of three factory resets made on Phone B. Ms Patterson had previously told the court of the following reasons for factory resetting the phone on these dates in 2023: On Thursday, Dr Rogers suggested to Ms Patterson she had carried out those resets for another reason. "I suggest that you did three factory resets of this phone, Phone B ... to conceal the true contents of Phone B ... so you could then pass off Phone B as your usual mobile phone, without police realising," Dr Rogers says. Ms Patterson agreed she carried out the three resets, but disagreed that she did for the reasons Dr Rogers suggested. Dr Rogers went on to assert that it was "all about hiding the contents of your usual mobile phone, Phone A", which she asserted Ms Patterson had "deliberately concealed" because she knew the data on that device would "incriminate" her. Ms Patterson rejected this assertion too. Throughout several days of cross-examination, Ms Patterson's voice largely remained level as she answered prosecutors' questions. But during re-examination by her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, her voice became choked when asked about the need for her to pack her daughter's bag for a ballet rehearsal on the Monday after the lunch. The prosecution asserted this was in fact never required, but Ms Patterson reaffirmed under re-examination that it was. Ms Patterson's voice again cracked when discussing her son's flying lesson, explaining she did not cancel it following the lunch as he was "really passionate" about flying and "I just didn't want to disappoint him". The defence also asked about contradictions that arose during Ms Patterson's cross-examination, such as her claim she had had an appointment in September 2023 to explore gastric-bypass surgery at a Melbourne clinic that did not in fact offer it. Ms Patterson told the court that in 2023, she had believed the clinic offered gastric-band surgery, but on Thursday said she was "obviously mistaken". She told the court she had also intended to explore liposuction options. Mr Mandy then asked Ms Patterson about the sixth beef Wellington she cooked, which the prosecution has alleged was prepared in case her estranged husband attended the lunch and she could poison him as well. Ms Patterson told the court she simply had an extra steak because of the way the eye fillets she bought were packaged. "I had five twin packs, I put two of the twin packs in the freezer and just decided to use the other six, I had enough ingredients ... so I did that," she said. The trial continues.
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