Erin Patterson was allowed to use a phone in a room on her own ‘without observation’ during the search warrant, court told

One of the multiple phones belonging to accused killer Erin Patterson has never been found by police, a jury has heard.

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson is standing trial in Morwell. Picture: Jason Edwards

A phone belonging to accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson that was frequently used in the lead-up to the lethal lunch has never been found by police, a jury has heard.

The Supreme Court heard more about Ms Patterson’s multiple phones on Wednesday, including how records show a phone that was seized by police during a search warrant on August 5 had been “factory reset” that same day.

Police executed a search warrant at Ms Patterson’s house on August 5, 2023. Picture: Ian Currie

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.

They died after she served them individual beef wellingtons allegedly 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 count of attempted murder, claiming what happened was a “tragedy and a terrible accident”.

Crown prosecutor Jane Warren on Wednesday took lead investigator Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall through records relating to two of Ms Patterson’s phones, dubbed Phone A and Phone B.

He told the court more than four years of records show she used a SIM card ending in 783 to consistently “communicate” with people in her life, including her children and her estranged husband.

The court heard this SIM card was placed into Phone A on February 12, 2023.

But Constable Eppingstall said records show this SIM card was then taken out of Phone A on August 5 about 1.45pm – while police were executing a search warrant at Ms Patterson’s house.

“We see the actual SIM card change from Phone A into a different phone … a Nokia mobile phone,” he said of the records.

Constable Eppingstall on Tuesday told the court Ms Patterson was allowed to use a phone in a room on her own “without observation” during the search warrant.

The court heard records show there was “ongoing usage” of this SIM card in the Nokia up until the records obtained by police ended on August 14.

He confirmed police executed a second search warrant at Ms Patterson’s house on November 2.

“We were looking for Phone A,” he said.

But Constable Eppingstall told the court Phone A was never located by police.

When asked about Phone B, he confirmed it was seized during the first search warrant on August 5.

But he told the court he identified an issue with Phone B and its SIM card ending in 835.

“We came to realise it had only been connected on July 11 … and it had been used in a tablet device up until August 3,” he told the court.

The court heard records show this SIM card, which was almost entirely used for data, was taken out of the tablet and placed into Phone B on August 3.

He confirmed that several factory resets were conducted on Phone B, including on August 5 and August 6, according to a digital forensics report.

The jury has previously heard it was reset “remotely” on August 6.

Earlier, Ms Patterson’s transaction history from Woolworths was shown to the jury.

Items she bought for the beef wellington meal on July 29 had been highlighted.

Six days before the lunch, on July 23, she bought 1kg of sliced mushrooms, two packets of pastry and shallots.

Two days before, on July 27, she bought two more packets of pastry, four beef eye fillets and 750g of sliced mushrooms, while on July 28, she bought two more packets of pastry, 1.5kg of potato mash, green beans and one more beef eye fillet.

The court heard details of the items Ms Patterson bought for the beef wellington meal. Picture: Stock image

Messages between Ms Patterson and Gail from June 29 were also shown to the jury.

In one of the messages, Ms Patterson wrote: “The appointment went ok, thanks for asking. I had a needle biopsy taken of the lump and I’m returning for an MRI next week and we’ll know more after the results of those two things.”

But Constable Eppingstall said he obtained her medical records and did not find any evidence that she had a needle biopsy on June 28 or was referred for an MRI.

In one of the records from October 2021 tendered by the defence, a doctor writes: “Erin worries about ovary cancer, has been googling her symptoms, thinks her symptoms may (be) suggestive of ovary cancer.”

The court heard another medical record, which outlines her family history, states that her paternal aunt and maternal aunt had ovarian cancer.

The prosecution has alleged Ms Patterson falsely claimed to have cancer to ensure and to explain why the children were not at the lunch, while the defence has suggested she only told the lunch guests she had a “suspected” diagnosis of cancer.

The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.

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