Triple murderer Erin Patterson’s husband accused her of a sinister, rolling plot to kill him several times with poisoned food including pasta, chicken curry and stew before she murdered his parents and aunt with death cap mushrooms.

Several months before the killer mushrooms lunch, Simon Patterson openly questioned whether his estranged wife had been trying to kill him in 2021 and 2022, leading to several near death illnesses.

The details were never revealed to the murder trial jury but included conversations among family members and with a doctor about Simon Patterson’s suspicions in the lead-up to the 2023 killings in Leongatha.

Previously suppressed evidence also linked Patterson to a series of possible computer searches on family devices relating to poisons - including hemlock - as well as a book on common homicidal poisonings and possibly rat poison.

Justice Christopher Beale on Friday lifted suppression orders on the case, exposing for the first time publicly how Simon Patterson suspected his wife of trying to kill him multiple times.

The pre-trial evidence revealed there were discussions held between Simon and his father Don, Simon’s doctor Chris Ford and other family members.

But the talks failed to stop Patterson going on her murderous spree on July 29, 2023.

The court also on Friday released for the first time publicly the police video of the record of interview, where the convicted murder blatantly lied soon after the lunch about foraging and her food dehydrator.

Patterson, wearing a black shirt and with her hair cascading over her slumped shoulders, listened silently to the proceedings from a room at Victoria’s women’s prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

Patterson pleaded not guilty to all charges and much of the previously unheard evidence was kept from the jury for reasons including the dropping of several attempted murder charges relating to Mr Patterson.

Simon Patterson came to believe months before the death cap lunch that his estranged wife had tried several times to kill him and this theory became an open secret among his family, according to pre-trial evidence.

Family discussions had continued in the days after the three murders and attempted murder of Pastor Ian Wilkinson.

Mr Patterson suspected his wife had tried in 2021 and 2022 to kill him with poisoned food including pasta, chicken curry, stew, toxic sandwich wraps and possibly cookies.

Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said Patterson was undeterred by her unsuccessful “dummy runs” on her estranged husband, and acted with intent when she poisoned his relatives.

He described Patterson as someone who appeared “highly intelligent” and “capable of forward-planning”.

“She’s bad, not mad,” he told The Australian, acknowledging that he had not personally assessed her.

“People in the general public might think her behaviour was crazy, and it is, but not in a legal sense. In a legal sense she knew what she was doing.”

He continued: “She’s not somebody who is out of touch with reality. She’s not talking to spacemen or driven by delusions.”

Simon Patterson’s warnings raise questions about whether it may have been enough to prevent Erin Patterson killing her three elderly victims and attempting to kill the local Baptist pastor.

Simon Patterson was so suspicious of his murderous wife’s behaviour that he later kept a spreadsheet of near-death experiences where he was paralysed and lost a large part of his bowel.

After eating a special wrap made by his wife, he was paralysed, his tongue, neck and lips his only moving parts.

The common denominator, Mr Patterson believed, before falling ill was that Erin Patterson had cooked and prepared meals for him, according to evidence given to police.

Simon Patterson discussed his concerns with Dr Chris Ford, in February 2023, five months before the death cap lunch, wondering whether Erin Patterson had tried to kill him with radiator antifreeze in cookies she had baked for him.

Other family members to hear about his concerns included his brother Matt and talks were also held with his cousin Tim Wilkinson and his sister Anna Terrington also was worried about the July 29, 2023, lunch after hearing about her brother’s concerns.

A suppression order preventing the publication of the details was previously imposed by Judge Beale on the details of the alleged murder attempts.

Erin Patterson was found guilty of three murders and one attempted murder of her estranged husband’s relatives. Killed were Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Ian Wilkinson, 71, almost died from death cap poisoning.

Aged 50, Patterson may never be released from jail but a pre-sentence hearing will be held on August 25 and 26, with the prosecution stating there would likely be many victim impact statements to be read out.

The details of the alleged Erin Patterson kill plots were kept secret because two planned trials were to be held to deal with all of the charges made by police, the Court of Appeal deciding the so-called “Simon charges” should be heard in a different trial.

There were several reasons advanced for Mr Patterson’s illnesses relating to gastrointestinal issues and no poison was found by his doctors.

However, when he fell ill he was treated for a wide range of possible issues, including kidney damage, a bowel obstruction and a bacterial infection.

Mr Patterson wisely decided not to attend the lunch that killed his parents amid concerns about his health. He had been troubled for 18 months about why he had been falling ill .

Detectives began focusing on Erin Patterson as a murder suspect in the case of the July 2023 death cap mushroom lunch after they discovered the alleged co-ordinated campaign to kill Simon.

Dr Ford gave evidence about the poisoning concerns raised by Simon Patterson.

Asked if he took his concerns seriously and that poisoning by Erin was a possible explanation for the illnesses, Dr Ford said: “It was a possible explanation, yes.’’

The Australian broke the story of the mass poisoning on August 5, 2023. On August 7 Homicide Squad chief Dean Thomas named Erin Patterson as the only suspect in the murder case, more than a week after the beef Wellington was served.

The attempted murder charges related to Wilson’s Promontory on September 6, 2022, Korumburra on or after November 16, 2021, and at Howqua on or after May 25, 2022.

Expert medical witnesses were unable to provide clear evidence of poison.

The pre-trial hearing also was told that Simon had discussed his concerns with his brother Matt – a pastor – at a Ben Harper concert in Melbourne on February 7, 2023.

Simon was so concerned that he changed his end-of-life care plans to include his father and brother rather than his wife.

Ian Wilkinson’s daughter Ruth Dubois said she had become aware of the allegations while at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne as both her parents were fighting for life.

“That’s where I was made aware of Simon’s suspicions,’’ she said.

“He wanted to tell us that he suspected that his own illnesses had been a deliberate act.’’

Police gathered CCTV, phone and computer records and interviewed scores of witnesses, discovering that Patterson also had a network of online friends interested in true crime and who had kept potential evidence about the case.

While Patterson was charged with attempting to murder Simon several times, the attempted murder allegations were never heard publicly.

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You had to be sitting close to see it, but Erin Patterson’s throat moved ever so slightly when her mother-in-law’s name was raised. But not even the guilt of killing a kind old soul was enough to make her break out in proper emotion.

The pre-trial court heard that Patterson had helped nurse Simon back to health at one stage, helping co-ordinate his recovery, and had played a role in deciding whether surgery should go ahead.

For all the negatives about Erin Patterson, there also was conflicting evidence about the sort of person she was, with witnesses in the case agreeing that she had shown signs of being a good mother.

Even close relatives of the deceased acknowledged that she cared for her children and online friends also have said that she seemed to be a good mother.

However, this is juxtaposed with the reality that good people don’t kill elderly people who have done nothing to them.

Patterson will have been in prison for two years in November and endured 10 weeks of inconvenience when the trial was held in Morwell, which is near her local community at Leongatha.

The judge said that the next hearing in the sentencing phase would not be held in Morwell, in the Latrobe Valley, rather it would be held in Melbourne.

Major Supreme Court trials are mostly held in Melbourne but defendants have the right, where possible, to have their cases in their local communities, judged by their peers.

This decision, however, became logistically difficult for the court staff in trying to keep the jury separated in their accommodation from journalists, police and others because of the lack of decent hotels in country areas generally.

Patterson will get the opportunity, through her lawyers, to plead her case for a reasonable sentence but the level of intent and preparation in a case like this is unlikely to help her cause, senior legal sources have told The Australian.

This is because of the nature of the crime, where poisoning requires significant effort on the killer’s behalf.