Erin Patterson trial: The fungi detective, shopping lists and the hard slog of shoe-leather sleuthing

Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall departs the court in Morwell. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

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First an apology.

On day one of Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall’s evidence, your corres­pondent suggested he might later be known as the mushroom ­detective.

This was a mistake.

For what else to describe from the beginning the man charged with investigating an alleged crime involving the use of death cap mushrooms that killed three people?

The mushroom detective – “Yes ma’am”, “no sir” – confirmed his status on Wednesday as he continued his evidence in the Supreme Court trial into whether Erin Patterson murdered three elderly in-laws with death cap-laced beef Wellington’s.

First with the prosecution and then the task of facing Colin Mandy for the defence.

The jury was shown how Eppingstall’s task of investigating the alleged crimes involved a lot of old-fashioned, wearing-out-of-shoe-leather investigating, detailing how he had gone through the shopping records of Patterson, 50, of Leongatha.

The court was tendered lengthy details of Patterson’s shopping between July 23, 2023, and July 27, 2023, ranging from onion shallots to a bucket of sliced mushrooms, puff and filo pastry, five lots of beef eye fillet steak and 1.5kg of potato mash.

The jury was also shown there was Gravox gravy, Cherry Ripes, Twirls, salami, turkey and yog­hurt on the list.

The list went on and on, and it came from the week right before Patterson cooked several beef Wellingtons, allegedly the reason behind the deaths of her parents-in-law and her estranged husband’s aunt.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges, consistently maintaining her innocence.

The court has previously heard evidence that she is a good mother to her two children and had been generous to some of her in-laws.

The mushroom detective gave the jury a brief instruction on the way the supermarket rewards system works, how by the end of the year there was an accumulation of points.

The shopping list also included beans which, the court has heard, was part of the meal served by Patterson that led to the three deaths and the near-death of her former husband Simon Patterson’s uncle, Ian Wilkinson.

Eppingstall explained that in his role as the mushroom detective, he had visited two fungi farms in Melbourne’s outer north, one proudly declaring its skill at growing Agaricus bisporus, or white buttons as they are better known.

Death caps, the court has heard, cannot be commercially cultivated.

Eppingstall was then quizzed about Patterson’s Bendigo Bank records, which included donuts from Outback Jack’s van at Koo Wee Rup, not far from Korumburra, at a cost of $15, and at a cost of $13.10 at a nearby BP, some chewing gum, a wrap and a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich.

The jury, by hearing this evidence, was being given an indication of the process of police work. Which also included a hunt for one of Patterson’s phones.

Eppingstall said Patterson had used several mobile phones and swapped SIM cards between devices in the lead-up to, and shortly after, the lunch.

Police are still to find one of the devices, the court was told.

Late in the day, the jury heard evidence of Patterson’s health history, which included medical records from 2021 onwards, that suggested she had been worried about possible ovarian cancer.

Other GP visits had revealed her concerns about poor appetite, irregular periods, altered bowel and urine movements, pins and needles and that she had put on weight, rising to 116kg.

At one point at the end of 2021, there were concerns she may have had multiple sclerosis, and she had received an ECG referral to check her heart.

The court had also heard that after the Victorian cancer database and doctors’ records were checked, police believed Patterson had never been diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Mandy suggested there was a long history of cancer in Patterson’s family.

By day’s end, Eppingstall had pulled a big shift by anyone’s measure. All day standing in the witness box, with the promise of more on Thursday. Tough work for any mushroom detective.