Erin Patterson trial: Facebook messages aired in mushroom murder trial
Messages to a Facebook group found on a phone seized at Erin Patterson’s home have been aired in her triple-murder trial.
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Messages from a phone linked to Erin Patterson to a Facebook message group have been aired at her triple-murder trial.
Called to give evidence on Thursday afternoon, Victoria Police senior digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry was quizzed about a series of Facebook messages located on a Samsung phone at Ms Patterson’s home on August 5, 2023.
Sent to a group including Danielle Barley, Jenny Hay, Bronwyn Rap and Joy Korrs, a profile known as Erin ErinErin vents about her husband’s family on December 5, 2022.
“Simon’s dad contacted me this morning to say that he and Gail had tried to talk to someone about the matters I raised to get “his side” but he refused to talk about it other than to signal he disagreed with what I said,” the message read.
“Beyond that he won’t talk about it. So don said they can’t adjudicate if they don’t know both sides and Simon won’t give his side. (emoji).
“So he said all he can ask is that Simon and I get together to pray for the children (emoji) (emoji) this family I swear to f--king god.”
Another, the following day, said: “I said to him about fifty times yesterday that I didn’t want them to adjudicate (emoji) nobody bloody listens to me. At least I know they’re a lost cause.”
The messages continue: “Wonder if they’ve got any capacity for self reflection at all? I mean clearly the fact that Simon refuses to talk about personal issue in part stems from the behaviour of his parents and how they operate, according to them they have never asked him what’s going on with us, why I keep kicking him out, why his son hates him etc, it’s too awkward or uncomfortable or something. So that’s learned behaviour. Just don’t talk about this s--t.”
“I’m sick of this s--it I want nothing to do with them.
“I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing but it seems their concern about not wanting to feel uncomfortable and not wanting to get involved in their sons personal matters are overriding that so f--k em.”
Samsung phone factory reset four times: court
Prosecutor Jane Warren takes Mr Fox-Henry to a report generated on a Samsung phone she says the jury will hear evidence was provided by Ms Patterson to police on August 5, 2023.
Mr Fox-Henry confirms the report states the phone was examined by a cyber crime squad officer two days later on August 7.
He told the court the report indicates “no usable data was extracted” from the phone.
Questioned by Ms Warren on why there was no data, he tells the jury “based on this report, the device was factory reset”.
The jury is then shown the report which contains a table stating the phone was “wiped locally by user” three times on March 12 at 4.53pm, August 1 at 11.09am and August 5 at 12.20pm.
A fourth entry states the phone was “wiped remotely by user” on August 6 at 5.16pm — when the device was in police custody.
Images of mushrooms, cancer queries found on tablet
Mr Fox-Henry was taken to a series of 13 images found in the Google Photos cache data on a Samsung tablet seized at Ms Patterson’s home.
Several of the images, prosecutor Jane Warren suggests, are of a dehydrator on a kitchen bench, dehydrator trays containing what appears to be mushrooms and what appears to be mushrooms on a tray being weighed by a scale.
The images are dated on May 4, 2023, April 3, 2023 and April 30, 2023.
Several other images depict search results on the Google search engine relating to cancer.
One, dated May 4, states that “ovarian cancer rarely metastasizes to the brain; if it does it is more likely to course with advanced stage carcinomas more than one year after diagnoses”.
It contains a link to the ScienceDirect website with a heading of “Metastatic brain disease in early stage ovarian cancer: a case report”.
Another dated on May 4 contains a text box that reads “Stage 4 ovarian cancer means the cancer has spread to other body organs some distance from the ovaries”.
Stores searched for mushrooms: court
Monash City Council officer Troy Schonknecht was called to give evidence about an investigation he undertook on request by the Department of Health following the death cap mushroom poisoning event.
Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder stemming from a deadly beef Wellington lunch she hosted on July 29, 2023, with members of her husband’s family.
Earlier in the trial, the jury was told Ms Patterson told public health authorities she used fresh mushrooms from Woolworths and dried sliced mushrooms purchased from an Asian grocer in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in the lunch.
Mr Schonknecht told the jury he spent two days, August 2 and 3, investigating more than a dozen grocers across the suburbs of Oakleigh, Clayton and Mount Waverley.
Initially, he said, he was told the purchase was likely in April 2022 and came in a clear, unbranded bag.
Later, he said health authorities informed him the purchaser had confirmed they were dried, sliced, appeared to be repackaged, looked like Shiitake or Porcini mushrooms and were about 100g.
As he was taken through a report of his findings, which included photos of packaged mushrooms and the stores, Mr Schonknecht said the majority came in commercial packaging.
In only one store, Golden Grocery in Oakleigh, he said he found repackaged mushrooms, but the store had the bulk 3kg bag and said they repackaged them because customers wanted a smaller size.
Mr Schonknecht told the jury he sent through a photo to the Department of Health, who showed the image to the “purchaser”.
He said he was told the packaging “was correct” but the store didn’t look the same and the mushrooms purchased were “half the size”.
Mr Schonknecht told the jury each store confirmed they had not recently changed suppliers or sold mushrooms acquired from a non-commercial source locally.
Ms Patterson cried in hospital, jury told
Called to give evidence, Leongatha hospital nurse Mairim Cespon told the jury she assisted Ms Patterson after she checked into hospital about 9.48am on July 31.
The court was told Ms Patterson initially presented at 8.05am but discharged herself against medical advice five minutes later.
Ms Cespon told the court Ms Patterson became “emotional and started crying” when she was told by Dr Chris Webster her two children would need to be assessed.
The court was told Ms Patterson had advised her children had eaten the lunch leftovers on July 30 with the pastry and mushrooms scrapped off.
“She was asking if it is really necessary for them to be assessed because they don’t have any symptoms,” Ms Cespon said.
“Doesn't want them to be stressed or panicked … for the kids to be pulled out of school.”
Ms Cespon said Ms Patterson rated her pain at a 7/10 and complained about nausea, a “cramp-like pain” and diarrhoea.
The jury is shown a chart Ms Cespon completed of Ms Patterson’s bowel movements while at Leongatha Hospital.
Ms Cespon said she sighted liquid bowel movements using a “witches hat” device at 10am, 10.04am, 10.06am, 10.15am and 11.50am.
A sample taken, she confirmed, was clear, mostly liquid with some brown sediment.
Judge’s warning to mushroom trial jurors
One question and answer between Mr Fox-Henry and a prosecutor on Wednesday prompted a firm warning from the trial judge to the jury.
Mr Fox-Henry told the court he was tasked with generating a report about the contents of a Cooler Master computer seized from Ms Patterson’s home following the lunch.
He took the jury through a series of records that captured online activity on the device in the evening of May 28, 2022.
One of the records captured a visit to a specific page on the citizen science website iNaturalist at 7.23pm.
“Deathcap from Melbourne, Vic, Australia on May 18 2022 … Bricker Reserve, Moorabbin - iNaturalist,” the headline for the page read.
Mr Fox-Henry was quizzed by prosecutor Jane Warren about the specific URL listed and, if it remained available online, if one copied the URL into a browser the web page would load.
He confirmed that it would.
The exchange prompted a warning from Justice Christoper Beale that the jury should not test this out themselves.
“Don’t be tempted overnight to … put any of these URL addresses into Google and conduct your own searches, okay? You’re not investigators,” he said.
The warning echoes Justice Beale’s direction to jurors at the start of the trial that the must decide the case only on the evidence before the court.
“When you retire to consider your verdict, you will have heard or received in court all the information that you need to make your decision,” he said.
“You must not conduct your own research into the case or discuss the case with others who are not on the jury.”
On Wednesday, Victoria Police senior digital forensic officer Shamen Fox-Henry was the sole witness called to give evidence and will return to the stand on Thursday.
When the trial resumed about 11.40am, Justice Christopher Beale advised jurors the plan was to interpose two witnesses before Mr Fox-Henry continued.
Ms Patterson is facing trial accused of murdering her husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson.
Ms Wilkinson’s husband, Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell gravely ill but recovered.
Prosecutors allege Ms Patterson deliberately spiked the lunch with “murderous intent”, while her defence argues the case is a “tragic accident”.
The trial continues.
Originally published as Erin Patterson trial: Facebook messages aired in mushroom murder trial
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