
Erin Patterson live trial updates: Alleged mushroom killer denies picking death cap mushrooms for fatal lunch
Scroll down for the latest updates from Erin Patterson's triple murder trial.
Simon Patterson previously gave evidence claiming that the accused invited Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson to lunch to discuss 'important medical news' and that she wanted advice on how to break it to the children.
He has also given evidence claiming the accused wanted the children not to attend the lunch.
Ms Patterson disputed that evidence, claiming she just invited everyone to lunch and has not asked guests to come to discuss 'medical news'.
She accepted that she had invited Don, Gail, Heather and Ian before Simon.
Ms Patterson 'disagreed' that she told the wider family before her ex-partner so that he would feel more inclined to come.
Erin Patterson took to Facebook to 'vent' to her friends about her 'frustration' over Don and Gail Patterson.
Her messages were read to the court, where she said she wanted 'nothing to do with' the Patterson family due to their lack of involvement in mediation.
'Nobody listens to me. At least I know they're a lost cause,' Ms Patterson wrote.
'So, f..k em',' the message continued.
'I wrote that. I was venting. I was frustrated,' Ms Patterson said, explaining her comments.
Ms Patterson denied that she was telling her friends about her true feelings, claiming she was not angry, just 'frustrated'.
Ms Patterson accepted that she also wrote a message ahead of lunch, where she called Simon Patterson a 'deadbeat'.
'Her (Gail) son is such a deadbeat.'
Ms Patterson admitted to sending a message to her Facebook friends, where she vented about a 'dispute' over child support and school fees.
'Simon wants to walk away from his responsibilities,' she said.
She went on to say that it might be a good thing as Ms Patterson could now put her children in whatever school she wanted. She added that if her ex-partner wanted the kids to attend a Christian school, he could pay half.
'A blessing in disguise,' she told her friends.
Ms Patterson says she told her partner about changing which school her child attended, something the Crown disputes.
Erin Patterson was asked to read a message she sent in a group chat that Don and Gail Patterson were in.
In her message, she said: 'Simon needs accountability for the difficulty he is causing me.'
The message continued, with Ms Patterson mentioning school fees and how much her ex-partner was paying.
Ms Patterson denied she was trying to get Don and Gail to influence Simon's contribution to school fees but accepted that Don made clear he wasn't going to get involved.
'I wasn't angry,' Ms Patterson said.
Erin Patterson, 50, stands accused of murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, as well as the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson by serving them beef Wellington containing poisonous mushrooms at a lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
Alleged mushroom killer Erin Patterson is under intense cross examination at her triple murder trial, spilling confessions on the lies she told police and health authorities about mushrooms.
She is returning to the witness box now.

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Locals embrace family shattered by teen girl tragedy
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Locals embrace family shattered by teen girl tragedy
A tightly knit community is rallying around the family of Pheobe Bishop after her two housemates were accused of murdering the 17-year-old. James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, were charged three weeks to the day after Pheobe missed a flight and vanished in southern Queensland. Police allege Wood and Bromley have moved Pheobe's body a number of times before they found her remains in a nearby national park on Friday. Police confirmed the remains, believed to be Pheobe, were found about 2.30pm on Friday near Good Night Scrub National Park, southwest of Bundaberg. Pheobe's mother Kylie Johnson was quick to share her grief on social media. "I didn't think my heart could break anymore then it did when you went missing, or when the charges were laid but this! This is ripping me apart ..." she posted on Facebook. Detectives have set up a crime scene where the body was found and continue to appeal for further information. Wood and Bromley were housemates with Pheobe on a property at Gin Gin, a quiet regional community near Bundaberg that has been left reeling from the tragedy. "There is a sense of 'this wouldn't happen here'," Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn told AAP. "We believe our community to be kind and accepting. "To have this tragedy happen in our region ... it's been very difficult trying to make sense of it." The community has thrown its arms around Pheobe's family, with floral tributes laid outside the Gin Gin property she shared with Wood and Bromley. A candlelight vigil has been organised on Sunday where locals will pay tribute to the beloved teen. "We now need to come together as a community, support and care for one another as we try to move forward," Cr Blackburn said. Pheobe was last seen near Bundaberg airport about 8.30am on May 15 after booking a trip to Western Australia to see her boyfriend. Police allege Wood and Bromley drove Pheobe close to the airport but no one exited the car. Pheobe was allegedly murdered and her body moved more than once from the Good Night Scrub National Park, an hour's drive from the airport. Earlier on Friday, Ms Johnson said her family had been "shattered" by news of the murder charges but vowed to bring her daughter home. "We WILL bring Phee home I don't care how long it takes but we will get her home," she posted on Friday. Cr Blackburn said it had been "heart-wrenching" after the community held on to hope for weeks. The Gin Gin community had rallied around the missing teen's family during the search with a "Leave the Lights On for Pheobe" campaign. Locals posted photos on social media of their front lights switched on "to guide Pheobe home". "There is shock in the community but Pheobe's family have got devastation," Cr Blackburn said. "This was someone's daughter, sister, cousin, aunty. There are family and friends out there who are hurting. "Their lives will never be the same again." Wood and Bromley have been remanded in custody ahead of their next Bundaberg Magistrates Court appearance on August 11.
Herald Sun
7 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial: Erin Patterson two faces claim
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson had 'two faces' and was pretending to love her in-laws before she allegedly murdered them with a deadly beef wellington meal, a prosecutor has claimed. The mother of two has spent every day this week testifying in her own triple-murder trial and on Friday faced another grilling by Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC. Ms Patterson is standing trial in Morwell, accused of murdering her estranged husband's parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. The prosecution alleges she served them individual beef wellingtons she had deliberately laced with lethal death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Heather's husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, 71, was the only guest to survive. Ms Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, claiming she may have accidentally added foraged mushrooms into the meal along with dried mushrooms she purchased from an Asian grocer. Under cross-examination, Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson did not love Don and Gail, pointing to expletive-laden messages to her Facebook friends where she described them as a 'lost cause' and 'wanted nothing to do with them'. Dr Rogers asked: 'In fact, you had two faces: a public face of appearing to have a good relationship with Don and Gail … agree or disagree?' Ms Patterson replied: 'Are you asking me to agree if I had two faces?' When pressed again, she said: 'I had a good relationship with Don and Gail.' Dr Rogers asked: 'I suggest that your private face was the one you showed in your Facebook Messenger use, correct or incorrect?' She replied: 'Incorrect.' Ms Patterson also disagreed that she was angry they took their son Simon's side amid a child support dispute in December 2022. 'They did love me and I did love them. I do love them,' she told the Supreme Court. Dr Rogers put to Ms Patterson that if she 'had loved them' she would have immediately notified the authorities when she realised on August 1 there was 'possibility' foraged mushrooms were in a container with the dried mushrooms from the Asian grocer. 'Well I didn't … I had been told that people were getting treatment for possible death cap mushroom poisoning, so that was already happening,' she said. She confirmed she 'did not tell anybody' about that possibility. The court heard Ms Patterson invited the guests and Simon to lunch after a church service on July 16, with Simon testifying that she said to him she had some 'important medical news' to share and had invited everyone 'to discuss that topic'. 'No, that's not what I said to him,' Ms Patterson replied. 'That wasn't the purpose of the lunch or the purpose of the invitations.' Dr Rogers took her to the text she sent Simon after he pulled out of the lunch on July 28. 'That's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing … I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time,' she wrote. After a series of rapid-fire questions, Ms Patterson said she did tell Simon she wanted to discuss some 'medical stuff', but she denied that she wanted advice and that it was the purpose of the lunch. The jury has previously heard she misled her guests when she told them she may need treatment for cancer, but she testified on Friday she was 'confronting' medical issues, since she was planning to have gastric bypass surgery. Ms Patterson denied she prepared a poisoned beef wellington for Simon 'just in case' he turned up at the lunch. 'And when he didn't show up for lunch … you threw it in your rubbish bin,' Dr Rogers said. 'I did put the pastry and mushrooms in the rubbish bin,' she replied. Dr Rogers also asked Ms Patterson why she invited the Wilkinsons to lunch. 'I really liked them and I wanted to have a stronger relationship with them,' she said. Dr Rogers suggested she invited them because she thought it would make it more likely that Don, Gail and Simon would come, but she denied that was the reason. Later, Ms Patterson was asked about records that showed a map about death caps – on citizen science website iNaturalist – was accessed on May 28, 2022, on a computer in her house. 'I don't have a specific memory of this day or this internet search, but my evidence is it's possible, because I remember at some point wanting to find out if death cap mushrooms grow in South Gippsland and finding out that they do not,' she said. Ms Patterson told the jury on Wednesday she found out mushrooms growing on her property were 'probably toxic to dogs' and she wanted to see if death caps grew in the area. The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.