Latest news with #ErinPatterson
1News
19 hours ago
- 1News
Erin Patterson mushroom trial nears end - what you need to know
The trial of Erin Patterson, accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them a meal allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms, continues in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall has been on the stand for four days. His testimony has revealed new details about Erin Patterson's messages, devices and the digital evidence that investigators say helped build their case. Australia Correspondent Aziz Al Sa'afin wraps up week five of the trial. The case On July 29, 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, serving beef Wellington to her former in-laws: Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson. ADVERTISEMENT Subsequently, all four guests fell ill with symptoms consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning. Don, Gail, and Heather died in the following days, while Ian survived after intensive medical treatment, including a liver transplant. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, asserting that the incident was a tragic accident. Who is Detective Eppingstall? Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall has led the investigation. This week, jurors have heard his detailed evidence over four consecutive days and both sides have put his case under a microscope. Prosecution's case Digital evidence and purchase history ADVERTISEMENT Detective Eppingstall presented evidence indicating that Patterson's computer had been used to access iNaturalist, a website documenting death cap mushroom sightings, in May 2022. Additionally, Woolworths Everyday Rewards data showed purchases of mushrooms, pastry, eye fillet, onions and mashed potato in the week leading up to the lunch Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall. (Source: Nine) Mobile devices and SIM card activity Eppingstall testified that Patterson used multiple phones and allegedly swapped SIM cards during a police search of her home. One device, referred to as "Phone A", remains missing. Another phone was subjected to multiple factory resets, the court was told. Dehydrator and disposal ADVERTISEMENT The prosecution highlighted that Patterson initially denied owning a food dehydrator. However, a manual was found in her home and CCTV footage showed a woman getting out of a red SUV and disposing of a dehydrator at a local transfer station shortly after the lunch. Forensic analysis detected traces of death cap mushroom toxins on the dehydrator. Text messages and health claims Text messages presented in court revealed that Patterson had informed her former in-laws about undergoing cancer tests, a claim unsubstantiated by medical records. The prosecution suggests this was a fabricated excuse to for the lunch as well as to prevent her children from attending. Defence's argument Contextualizing digital evidence ADVERTISEMENT Defence counsel Colin Mandy SC argued the digital evidence, including internet searches and purchase histories, does not conclusively prove intent to harm. He emphasised that others could have accessed the computer and that receipts do not confirm which mushrooms were used in the meal. Emotional state and health concerns The defence acknowledged that Patterson lied about her health status but contended that these falsehoods stemmed from panic and longstanding health anxieties. Patterson had a history of researching potential ovarian cancer, which the defence argues contributed to her mental state. Relationship dynamics Messages from a Facebook group chat were introduced, showing Patterson expressing frustration toward her in-laws and estranged husband. ADVERTISEMENT The defence maintained that these messages were taken out of context and represented emotional venting rather than evidence of malicious intent. Police investigation scrutiny Under cross-examination, Detective Eppingstall faced questions regarding the thoroughness of the investigation. The defence pointed out during the initial search of Patterson's home, several electronic devices and bank records were not seized. Eppingstall admitted to certain oversights but defended the overall integrity of the investigation. Patterson's Police interview shown to court Detective who led the investigation reveals stark new details about Patterson's actions and behaviour following the fatal lunch. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT One of the most scrutinised parts of the case is Patterson's interview with police, recorded three days after the fatal lunch. The jury was played audio of the three-hour interview earlier in the trial. In it, Patterson appeared emotional but denied deliberately poisoning her guests. She repeatedly told officers she didn't know how the mushrooms could have become contaminated, saying: 'I didn't do anything... I loved them.' She said the beef Wellington was made with a mix of button mushrooms from the supermarket and dried mushrooms she believed were bought from an Asian grocer 'a long time ago'. Patterson insisted she had no reason to harm her former in-laws and described the incident as 'an accident'. However, Police noted that some of Patterson's statements conflicted with other evidence presented at trial, including: She said she didn't own a dehydrator yet CCTV showed a woman disposing of one at a rubbish tip on the day Patterson discharged herself from hospital. She initially told police she hadn't searched for mushrooms online, despite forensic evidence showing mushroom-related searches on a computer seized from her home. She said she cooked and ate the same meal as her guests, but hospital staff said she did not display symptoms consistent with mushroom poisoning. The defence has acknowledged that Patterson lied in parts of her interview but argued these were 'panicked omissions' from someone in shock and grief. They urged the jury not to treat her inconsistencies as proof of guilt, but rather as the behaviour of a distressed woman who was overwhelmed by the unfolding tragedy.
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Australia's mushroom trial update: lead detective and mycologists among witnesses called
Erin Patterson faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a lunch she served at her house in Victoria's Leongatha on 29 July 2023. She has pleaded not guilty to murdering or attempting to murder the relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson. Guardian Australia's justice and courts reporter Nino Bucci has been attending the trial since it began, and explains what's happened so far
ABC News
a day ago
- General
- ABC News
Erin Patterson lied to detectives — but her defence argues she's not guilty of murder
"Erin Patterson lied to the police, but she's no murderer." In a nutshell, that's what her defence case is. Evidence of Ms Patterson's lies to homicide detectives was shown to the Supreme Court of Victoria this week, as 21 minutes of her police interview was played to the jury. A week after hosting the fatal beef Wellington lunch on July 29, 2023, Ms Patterson was inside a police station. The video contained the hallmarks of the classic police interview: a plain, grey-white walled room where Ms Patterson sat at a wooden table opposite two homicide detectives. The date on the footage was August 5, 2023, but the grainy image, muffled audio and whirring police tape recorder portrayed a scene that could have been from three decades ago. At the time of the interview, doctors suspected four of her lunch guests had ingested highly-toxic death cap mushrooms. Don Patterson was sliding towards death and his wife Gail and sister-in-law Heather Wilkinson had already passed. Heather's husband Ian was in a critical condition in intensive care. Ms Patterson, who also claimed to have eaten the same meal, had been out of hospital for four days. Detectives Stephen Eppingstall and David Martin-Alcaide wanted to know more about the mushrooms in the meal and items from Ms Patterson's kitchen. "Do you know anything about a dehydrator in your house?" Mr Eppingstall asked. "No," Ms Patterson replied. "Do you own a dehydrator?" he asked. "No," she responded. Evidence shown to court during the trial would expose this as a lie. Not only had Ms Patterson sent photos of the electronic dehydrator to friends previously, but there was also security footage of her dumping the item at the local landfill after the lunch. "We've got concerns in relation to the mushrooms and where they've come from," Mr Eppingstall said. "Is that something you've done in the past, foraging?" "Never," Ms Patterson shot back, shaking her head. That too was a lie, her lawyers conceded. On the trial's opening day, defence barrister Colin Mandy SC addressed the jury. "She lied about getting rid of the dehydrator. She admits that," he said. "She did forage for mushrooms. Just so that we make that clear, she denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms." In his opening address, typically short given the early stage of the trial, Mr Mandy did not state when and where Ms Patterson had foraged. He asked the jury to consider Ms Patterson's feelings and her state of mind in the days following the lunch — a time when her relatives were either dead or dying, and she was under the scrutiny of health officials, police and the media. "Might someone panic in a situation like that?" Mr Mandy queried. After five weeks, more than 50 people have been called to testify by prosecutors, including some via video link and others who wrote statements. The witnesses have included the sole lunch guest survivor Ian Wilkinson, Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon, their two children, doctors, nurses, paramedics, toxicologists, public servants, an electronics store owner, a tip manager and church volunteers. Leaders in the fields of emergency medicine, phone towers and mushroom research have also shared their expertise. There has been examination, cross-examination and re-examination of the police who picked apart Ms Patterson's phone and computer records, those who searched her home and the officers who ran the murder investigation. According to the defence, that evidence does not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Patterson is a murderer. She has always maintained her innocence. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, and the alleged murders of Heather Wilkinson, Don Patterson and Gail Patterson. "The intention to kill or cause anyone any harm at all is very much in dispute," Mr Mandy said on the opening day. The trial continues.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Police investigation the focus of mushroom trial's 5th week
Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her parents-in-law and another relative by serving them death cap mushrooms.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Erin Patterson given voice as interview with police fills in some blanks: week five in court
Erin Patterson watched herself on a screen, her voice filling court room four of the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell. She had done little but stand up and sit down, and watch on silently, throughout the first 20 days of her triple murder trial, as more than 50 witnesses catalogued their own role in her story. But now she would be heard, as her voice – distorted and tinny – bounced around the court on 27 May. The video had been taken in the Wonthaggi police station on 5 August 2023, a week after the beef wellington lunch. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning her four lunch guests – relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with the lunch at her house in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband. Lawyers for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email As much as any moment in the trial to date, Patterson's police interview helped give her shape. It filled the blank spaces surrounding the dozens of text messages read into court, or the flattened images of her on CCTV, or the observations of witnesses, speaking about what she had been like before the lunch, or how she acted after. The 21-minute interview was beamed on to at least six screens throughout the court, including a small one to Patterson's left in the dock. 'Donald underwent a transplant last night … and his condition is still extremely critical as of last report,' Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of investigating the fatal lunch, said to Patterson in the interview. 'Heather and Gail have passed away, all right. In relation to Ian, I don't have a current prognosis in relation to where he's at. As of late yesterday, the diagnosis isn't great for him either, all right. We're trying to understand what has made them so ill. 'Conversely, we're trying to understand why you're not that ill.' Eppingstall could not be seen in the interview, but Patterson's face was closest to the screen, and filled almost a third of the frame. 'I'm sure you understand too that, like, I've never been in a situation like this before … and I've been very, very helpful with the health department through the week because I wanted to help that side of things … as much as possible,' Patterson said. 'Because I do want to know what happened … so I've given them as much information as they've asked for and offered up all the food and all the information about where the food came from.' Eppingstall went on to ask Patterson if she had ever foraged for mushrooms or owned a dehydrator. 'Obviously, we've got concerns in relation to these mushrooms and where they've come from,' he said. 'Mm,' Patterson responded. 'OK. Is that something you've done in the past, foraging for mushrooms?' 'Never.' 'Or anything like that? Never?' 'Never.' Patterson was asked why she had an instruction manual for a Sunbeam Food Lab electronic dehydrator in the far left bottom drawer of her kitchen if she did not own one. She again said she didn't own one, saying: 'I've got manuals for lots of stuff I've collected over the years. I've had all sorts of appliances and I just keep them all.' The court has been shown footage of Patterson dumping the dehydrator at a local tip three days before her police interview. It was later found with her fingerprints on it and with traces of death cap mushrooms, the prosecution told the court. The prosecution argues the evidence in the case proves Patterson did not consume death cap mushrooms at the lunch and pretended she was suffering the same type of illness as the lunch guests 'to cover that up', which also explained her 'reluctance' to receive medical treatment. It is also alleged Patterson lied about getting death cap mushrooms from an Asian grocer, and disposed of the dehydrator 'to conceal what she had done'. Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, said in his opening remarks to the jury that his client had lied to police about the dehydrator and about foraging, but added that she had never foraged for death cap mushrooms. Eppingstall also asked Patterson during the interview why she had invited her in-laws to lunch. 'You've described to me – relationship with your ex-partner Simon, all right. I'd like to understand why you had his parents and his uncle and auntie over for lunch on the 29th of July,' he said. 'Because I've got no other family so they're the only support I've got … left and they've always been really good to me,' Patterson said. 'I want to maintain those relationships with them in spite of what's happened with Simon. I love them a lot. They've always been really good to me, and they always said to me that they would support me with love and emotional support even though Simon and I were separated and I really appreciated that 'cause my parents are both gone. My grandparents are all gone. They're the only family that I've got. And they're the only grandparents that my children have and I want them to stay in my kids' life. 'And that's really important to me. And I think Simon hated that I still had a relationship with his parents but I – I love them. Nothing that's ever happened between us – nothing he's ever done to me will change the fact that they're good, decent people that have never done anything wrong by me ever.' Patterson was not the only fixture throughout the five weeks of the trial who was finally given voice this week. The other was Eppingstall, who has sat behind the prosecutors, suited and silent, as the witnesses making up the prosecution case were gradually called. This week Eppingstall, the final prosecution witness, took the stand. A tall man, who stood during his four days of giving evidence, he drew several laughs in court, including when Justice Christopher Beale told him he did not have to keep answering 'yes ma'am' to prosecutor Jane Warren. 'You don't have to keep saying 'ma'am',' Beale said. 'Yeah, it's a habit, sir – your honour,' he replied. Eppingstall was asked about a series of messages exchanged between Patterson, Don, Gail and Simon, including evidence tendered by Mandy. These showed Patterson and her in-laws engaging in discussions about her children, their homework, wishing each other love, and, in the case of Don and Gail, saying they would be praying for Patterson, and using phrases such as wishing her and children 'will know God's peace'. Mandy referred to 'context' when he also showed Eppingstall messages exchanged with witnesses known as 'the Facebook friends'. The court previously heard evidence that Patterson criticised Simon and her in-laws in this chat, which had formed as a splinter group from a Facebook chat about the case of Keli Lane. Eppingstall's evidence is set to continue into a fifth day when the trial resumes on Monday.
