Attempted murder charges dropped against accused mushroom cook killer
The judge has told the jury in the Erin Patterson trial to decide “with their heads, not their hearts” if she is guilty or not guilty of murdering three people with death cap mushrooms, with the jury also learning that three charges against her had been dropped.
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Three attempted murder charges against accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson have been dropped, the jury has been told on the first day of her highly anticipated trial.
Ms Patterson, 50, was accused of trying to kill her estranged husband Simon Patterson three times.
But it can now be revealed that those charges had been withdrawn by prosecutors as the Supreme Court jury in the triple-murder trial of Ms Patterson was empanelled in Morwell on Tuesday.
Justice Christopher Beale ordered the 15-person jury, comprising 10 men and five women, not to conduct their own research and to decide the case “using your head, not your heart”.
“It is for you, the jury, and you alone, to decide whether she is guilty or not guilty of the crimes alleged against her,” he said.
Ms Patterson is standing trial after she was charged with murdering her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, following a deadly mushroom meal at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
Ms Patterson has also been charged with attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, who survived the meal.
Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to the charges, with Justice Beale noting “she denies that she deliberately poisoned anyone”.
“I expect most of you, if not all of you, will be aware that the accused hosted a lunch … to which she had invited her estranged husband … and her in-laws,” he told the jury pool at the start of the day.
“Simon Patterson did not attend but his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, did attend that lunch.
“The accused served individual beef wellingtons to her lunch guests, three of whom subsequently died from death cap poisoning.”
He said Don, Gail and Heather died on August 4 and 5, days after the lunch.
Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC and defence barrister Colin Mandy SC will deliver their opening addresses to the jury on Wednesday.
Simon and Ian will give evidence in the trial and are among more than 100 witnesses.
The 15-person jury was empanelled at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts after an hours-long process, with 120 locals from the Gippsland area comprising the jury pool.
But only 12 jurors will return a verdict at the end of the trial.
In his directions to the jury on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Beale said the three additional charges of attempted murder Ms Patterson was facing had been discontinued.
“In other words, those charges have been dropped and you must put them out of your mind,” he said.
No further details of the allegations were aired in court.
Wearing a pink and white striped long-sleeved shirt, Ms Patterson sat in the dock at the back of courtroom 4 as the jury was delivered the directions.
Justice Beale told the jurors Ms Patterson does not have to “prove anything”.
“It’s not for her to demonstrate her innocence, but for the prosecution to prove the charges they have brought against her,” he said.
He added: “You should dismiss any feelings of sympathy or prejudice you might have … no such emotion has any part to play in your decision. You are the judges of the facts.”
The court heard the jurors must not search for information about this case on Google and must not discuss the case on Facebook, Twitter or blogs.
“It’s not for jurors to go looking for information,” he said.
Earlier, before the jurors were empanelled, Justice Beale revealed that they will not be permitted to go home once they start their deliberations.
“Instead, they will be bussed to a hotel at an undisclosed location, where they will stay overnight and be bussed back to the court the next morning to continue their deliberations,” he said.
“The jurors’ contact with the outside world whilst sequestered will be very limited.”
Given the “intense and prolonged media interest”, he also told members of the jury pool that if they had listened to any of the podcasts about the case, they should ask to be excused.
“Over the last 20 months, there have been many newspaper and magazine articles about this case … there’s been online commentary and podcasts,” he said.
“It is unrealistic to expect that the jurors selected can erase that prior information from their minds, but it will be their task to bring an open mind to their consideration of the evidence and decide the case solely on the evidence.”
The trial is expected to run for six weeks.
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