Erin Patterson trial: Judge’s warning to mushroom case jury

The judge presiding over the trial of Erin Patterson has warned the jury that just because she may have told lies after a lunch she hosted killed three people, it does not mean she should be found guilty.

Erin Patterson is on trial for murder in Morwell, Victoria.

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The judge presiding over the trial of accused mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has warned the jury that just because she may have told lies after a lunch she hosted killed three people, it does not mean she should be found guilty.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Christopher Beale on Friday continued his charge to 14 jurors sitting in the triple-murder trial by giving them instructions as to how to handle the “alleged incriminating conduct” of Ms Patterson, including allegations she lied about foraging for mushrooms or owning a dehydrator.

“I give you this warning,” Justice Beale said on Friday. “Do not reason that just because a person is shown to have told a lie about something, that she must be guilty.”

Ms Patterson has spent more than two months on trial for the alleged murders of her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly knowingly feeding them a toxic beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at a lunch in her home on July 29, 2023.

She has also been charged with the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who was present for the lunch but survived after a lengthy hospital stay.

Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty. While she accepts death cap mushrooms were contained in the meal, she denies putting them there intentionally.

She has admitted to telling some lies after the lunch, but says she panicked and feared her children would be taken from her if held responsible for her guests’ illnesses.

Justice Beale has spent much of his charge this week walking the jury through what the prosecution alleges is incriminating conduct on the part of Ms Patterson.

The alleged conduct the prosecution relies on includes: lying about being unwell after the lunch; lying about using Asian grocer mushrooms in the meal; refusing treatment when first presenting to hospital and being reluctant to receive treatment on her second presentation; being hesitant to have her children medically treated; lying that she fed her children modified leftovers of the meal; resetting a second phone she owned; disposing of her Sunbeam dehydrator at the tip; giving the police a “dummy” phone while concealing usual phone; lying in a police interview about her phone number, that she never foraged for mushrooms and that she did not own a dehydrator.

On Friday, Justice Beale said incriminating conduct included alleged lies and deliberate untruths.

He said the jurors could use the alleged conduct to assess Ms Patterson’s credibility.

“That is not to say just because you find that the accused lied about one matter, you must also find that she’s been lying about everything else. But you can use the fact that she lied ... to help you determine the truthfulness of the other things that she has said,” Justice Beale told the jury.

“It’s one factor to take into account. It’s for you to decide what significance to give those suggested lies. But I give you this warning: do not reason that just because a person is shown to have told a lie about something, that she must be guilty.”

Justice Beale also said the jury could use the alleged incriminating conduct “as evidence that Erin Patterson committed the charged offences”. “In other words, as implied admissions of guilt,” he said.

He said the jury “may only use evidence that Erin Patterson lied in this way if you find that she did tell a deliberate untruth, and the only reasonable explanation for doing so is that she believed that she had committed the charged offences”.

“However, I must warn you that even if you find that the accused believed that she committed the offences charged, you must consider all the evidence when deciding whether the prosecution has proved the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

Justice Beale issued the jury a caution on Friday afternoon as he sent them away for the weekend: “Don’t let anyone get in your ear.”

“Only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room,” he said. “Have a media blackout as far as you’re concerned.”

The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday.