Erin Patterson trial: Jurors sent out to deliberate verdict in mushroom murder case

Two jurors in the triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson have been balloted off as the remaining jurors are sent out to deliberate.

Jurors in the triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson have been sent out to begin their deliberations on a verdict.

The direction, from Justice Christopher Beale, occurred at 1.02pm on Monday just minutes after two jurors were balloted off.

The 14-member panel returned to court following a short break to say their goodbyes to the fellow jurors they’d come to know over the past 10 weeks.

“A very warm thank you to those two people balloted off,” Justice Christopher Beale said ahead of the ballot.

“I don’t know if you’ll feel relieved or frustrated, but rest assured you’ve made a very important contribution to the administration of justice.”

The ballot comes after Justice Beale told jurors that any verdict they reached would have to be unanimous and took the group though the formal process.

He said jurors had hopefully brought their luggage with them as they would be sequestered for the duration of their deliberations.

Erin Patterson told the jury she loved her in-laws and did not poison them intentionally. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

The two members balloted off, both men, were led from the court.

The remaining 12 jurors, seven men and five women, were then asked to retire and reach a verdict.

They will be deliberation from Mondays to Saturdays and given a rest day on Sunday.

Earlier Justice Beale said he would take verdicts, if any are reached, between normal court hours of 10.30am and 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.15pm.

Ms Patterson, 50, is facing trial after pleading not guilty to murdering three of her husband Simon Patterson’s family members and the attempted murder of a fourth.

Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, died in early August, 2023, from multiple organ failure linked to death cap mushroom poisoning.

The case centres around a lunch Ms Patterson hosted on July 29, 2023, at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s southeast, where the accused woman served beef wellingtons containing death cap mushrooms.

Prosecutors allege Ms Patterson deliberately sought out and included the deadly fungi intending to kill or at least seriously injure her four guests.

Her defence argues the case is a tragic accident, Ms Patterson also fell ill and she did not want to harm anyone.

Lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson and his daughter Ruth Dubios were present in the packed courtroom. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

When the matter returned to court in Morwell on Monday, Justice Beale began by having three jury keepers sworn in to assist jurors over the course of their deliberations.

Justice Beale then turned to his summing up of the evidence and arguments in relation to four alleged lies the prosecution argued should be used to assess Ms Patterson’s credibility.

Those allegedly were that she was “very, very helpful” to the Department of Health, lies about the reason for the lunch, and lies about telling the lunch guests she had cancer and whether she was planning gastric bypass surgery.

Court sketch of Ms Patterson. Picture: NewsWire / Anita Lester

Justice Beale turned to Ms Patterson’s evidence that she planned to use a possible cancer investigation as cover to receive weight-loss surgery without having to tell her husband’s family.

Giving evidence, Ms Patterson pointed to a September 2023 appointment she had at the Enrich Clinic in Melbourne she said was a pre-assessment for gastric bypass.

Justice Beale told the jury the prosecution had alleged this was the “starkest lie” Ms Patterson told in the witness box after a last-minute investigation found the Enrich Clinic never offered gastric bypass or any other surgery.

Ms Patterson accepted the clinic did not offer this when shown a statement from the practice but said she was “puzzled” because that’s what she thought the appointment was for.

She explained it may have been other weight-loss options such as liposuction, which Enrich did offer until mid-2024.

Justice Beale told the court the defence argued Ms Patterson was “honestly mistaken” when she gave the evidence.

Turning to the four alleged lies, Justice Beale said if jurors found the accused lied about something, they could use that to determine her credibility on other things she said.

“That is not to say just because you find she lied about one matter that she lied about everything else,” he said.

“It is for you to decide what significance to give these alleged lies.”

Justice Beale warned jurors they could not reason that because a person had told a lie about something they must be guilty.

Don and Gail Patterson died a day apart in early August 2023. Picture: Supplied.

Heather Wilkinson was the first guess to die on August 4, while her husband Ian Wilkinson recovered following more than a month in hospital. Picture: Supplied.

D-Day for mushroom trial jury

On Friday, Justice Beale told jurors he expected to complete his summing up of the evidence, arguments and legal principles by noon on Monday.

Then, he said, the 14-person panel of Victorians would be reduced to 12 with a random ballot before jurors are asked to retire and begin deliberations.

“I’ll be completing the charge prior to lunchtime on Monday, at which point we’ll have the ballot and away you go so to speak,” he said.

At the start of the trial 10 weeks ago, jurors were told they would be sequestered for the duration of their deliberations.