What debris from Erin Patterson’s tip-dumped dehydrator revealed

Two of the seven samples of debris taken from a dehydrator that accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has admitted she dumped at a tip showed evidence of death cap mushrooms, a court has heard.

Traces of lethal death cap mushrooms were found in debris taken from Erin Patterson’s dehydrator after it was recovered from a local tip, a jury has heard.

Two expert witnesses took to the stand on the last day of the third week of Ms Patterson’s triple murder trial as the prosecution continues to lay out its case against the mother of two.

Ms Patterson is on 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.

She served them beef wellingtons allegedly laced with death caps at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.

The graves of Don and Gail Patterson, adorned with pink flowers, and Heather Wilkinson in Korumburra General Cemetery. Picture:/Ian Currie

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 count of attempted murder.

Agriculture Victoria diagnostician Dr David Lovelock told the Supreme Court on Friday leftovers of the beef wellington, a jug of gravy and a fruit platter served at the lunch were sent to his lab for DNA testing in early August.

The jury has heard the leftovers were first fished out of a bin at Ms Patterson’s home, before they were taken to Leongatha Hospital, then Monash Medical Centre, then the Royal Botanic Gardens office and then the home of a mycologist.

Dr Lovelock said when he tested the samples of the leftovers and the jug of gravy, no remnants of death cap mushrooms were found.

He told the court he also tested seven vials of debris taken from the dehydrator that Ms Patterson has admitted she dumped at the Koonwarra tip on August 2.

Ian Wilkinson leaves court. Picture: NewsWire

Dr Lovelock said death cap mushrooms were detected in two of the seven vials.

Earlier, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine toxicologist Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos returned to the stand after giving evidence on Thursday and was shown the results of samples taken from the lunch guests.

The court heard two death cap mushroom amatoxins – alpha-amanitin and beta-amanitin – were detected in Don’s urine sample. However, no amatoxins were detected in Gail’s samples, which included blood, but not urine.

“They remain less detectable in blood samples than what they do in urine samples,” Dr Gerostamoulos explained, noting amatoxins persist in urine “for longer”.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC suggested to the witness a person’s ability to recover from the ingestion of poisonous mushrooms would depend on several variables.

Erin Patterson has admitted she dumped a dehydrator at the Koonwarra tip on August 2.

Dr Gerostamoulos agreed the person’s general health, age, weight and “toxic response” could be factors, as well as the amount of mushrooms they consumed and the concentration in the meal.

Under re-examination, Crown prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asked Dr Gerostamoulos a single question.

“If two adults, with no serious pre-existing health conditions, consumed the same amount of the same meal which contained death cap mushrooms and one person dies, what would you expect the health outcomes to be of the other person who did not die?” she said.

He replied: “There would likely be some adverse outcomes for the person who survived, the severity of which may vary depending on some of the factors.”

The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.