Erin Patterson verdict: Simon Patterson and the moment trial almost tanked
The estranged husband of the mushroom killer was not told he could object to giving evidence against his wife until hours after he had started testifying.
The estranged husband of mushroom murderer Erin Patterson was not told he had the right to object to giving evidence against his wife until he was midway through giving his testimony in the witness box.
In a moment that threatened to derail Patterson’s triple-murder trial, Simon Patterson was informed he did not have to testify against his spouse by Victorian Supreme Court judge Christopher Beale only after the jury had already heard hours of his evidence.
“I made certain assumptions and I just want to confirm that those assumptions are correct. The spouse of an accused person has a right to object to giving evidence,” Justice Beale told Mr Patterson, in the absence of the jury.
“I’ve assumed that, from the history of this matter, you’ve been informed of that right previously and were willing to give evidence nonetheless. Now, are those assumptions correct?”
Mr Patterson replied saying he “didn’t know” he had the right to object, but indicated he would likely be happy to proceed.
Justice Beale: “All right. I don’t want to spring anything on you, but if you want some time to consider the matter, I’m happy to give it to you, but equally I’m happy for us just to proceed.”
Mr Patterson paused briefly, before saying: “I’m happy to proceed giving evidence.”
“I’m willing to give evidence. I think if I had have been offered that before, I still would have said the same thing,” he said. “I’m quite comfortable about that.”
Mr Patterson, an engineer, has barely spoken publicly since the lunch at which Patterson murdered his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, with a beef Wellington she had poisoned with death cap mushrooms.
He was the first witness to give evidence in his wife’s murder trial, and was not permitted to watch proceedings until after his evidence concluded.
“I have a lot to grieve and am grieving a lot about all this stuff here, as I’m sure you can imagine,” Mr Patterson told Justice Beale, in the absence of the jury.
“One thing that is really difficult is not being able to follow what happens – I haven’t been – as a witness, and for understandable reasons, I haven’t been able to follow along throughout the trial.
“Your Honour, would you be able to make available – after all the legal proceedings are finished – the transcripts of all those hearings … for me to be able to, as I grieve the legal process, to help me deal with that grief. It will take me years.”
Mr Patterson spoke at a memorial service in honour of his parents on August 30, 2023, but has not sought publicity.
He is well-regarded in his community, as is his broader family. He lives relatively modestly in a house on the outskirts of town on a large semi-bush block.
Mr Patterson has engaged consultant Jess O’Donnell as his media adviser.
Mushroom Murders
Patterson’s online friends have dumped the killer cook. But one ally remains
In unseen messages to her online friends, Erin Patterson – who used a cartoon witch as her Facebook profile picture – said her childhood was akin to growing up in a Russian orphanage, and described her mother as a ‘cold robot’.
Rare, poignant Instagram post a window into mushroom killer’s strange world
Detectives were hot on the heels of Erin Patterson’s sandals as she went on a mad race to delete data, wipe her social media footprint and hide evidence. But the few historical photographs she left behind paint a rather odd picture.
How Erin Patterson’s legal team faced a double-edged sword
As global headlines cast Erin Patterson as an evil Shakespearean witch who murdered her relatives, I am left with a sense of unease about just how accurate that is.
Lasting memories from my time in the ‘mushroom bubble’
Throughout Erin Patterson’s murder trial, an unlikely cast – detectives, lawyers, journalists and mourning relatives – shared coffees and hushed conversations at a quiet cafe just metres from the courtroom. But there were unspoken rules in play.
Shroud of secrecy lifted at Erin Patterson’s home
Black tarps shielding Erin Patterson’s home have been quietly removed, but the convicted killer’s Leongatha property remains a magnet for gawkers.
Renowned writer to co-author book on mushroom murders trial
Helen Garner, one of the country’s most revered writers, is to co-author a book about Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
True crime minus truth: Narcissist? Nup, the woman was out of control
After Erin Patterson was found guilty, Nine media ran an article roughly diagnosing her as a narcissist by someone who’d never met her. When did violent crime become light entertainment?
Brought to (Face)book: how trial landed social media users in legal hot water
Throughout the mushrooms murder trial social media posters and commenters were often in breach of sub judice and in contempt of court, raising concerns for the courts.
Hygiene, drink driving and trouble at work: Patterson’s chequered past revealed
Erin Patterson was working as an air traffic controller when colleagues became concerned about her behaviour.
Mushroom cook’s ex-home town wants to move on
Korumburra locals living with the fallout of Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial are afraid to speak, sick of the spotlight, and desperate to reclaim their town from a story that won’t fade.
Cold, snarky, cynical, a liar: how Erin Patterson revealed herself
There’s a reason accused people don’t usually give evidence. It’s a huge risk: a threefold gamble that the accused is smarter than the crown prosecutor, capable of charming a jury, and telling the truth.
The moment Erin Patterson’s trial almost tanked – and the six words that saved it
The estranged husband of the mushroom killer was not told he could object to giving evidence against his wife until hours after he had started testifying.
Church draws on mushroom lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson’s strength
A country church congregation at the heart of the mushroom murders case has drawn on the strength of its pastor to express its pain at the loss of three parishioners.
Hometown mushroom warning before Erin Patterson ‘went foraging’
It was no secret in Korumburra that dangerous mushrooms were in the midst of the region, with a warning issued in the days before the murderer was accused of looking for death cap mushrooms.
RecipeTin Eats weighs in after mushroom murder verdict
Home cook Nagi Maehashi says she was saddened to learn her beef Wellington recipe – which was created to bring ‘joy and happiness’ – was used by Erin Patterson to kill her estranged husband’s relatives.
‘Gratuitous invasion of privacy’: photographs of a killer the ABC didn’t want to show
Even as Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three people, a furious debate among the leadership of the ABC news division centred on concerns about her ‘distress’ | READ THE LEAKED EMAILS
ABC’s half-baked thinking on a murderer’s rights
The responsibility of news outlets is not to present a highly sanitised version of the world. Thje foremost obligation is to inform, on matters of public interest, without fear or favour.
No doona or pillow: Patterson’s complaint as she returns to prison
Erin Patterson spent her first night in jail as a convicted murderer next to several infamous inmates, having been in custody since November 2023.
Killer in the kitchen: Justice served cold to Patterson who faces long jail term
Erin Patterson could die in jail as the nation’s most notorious female prisoner after a jury found her guilty of three killings from serving toxic beef Wellingtons to four elderly people.
Simon Patterson’s unusual plan to spill the beans on killer ex-wife
The husband of mushroom killer Erin Patterson is planning to eschew hundreds of thousands of dollars in mainstream media deals to go his own way when he tells his story.
When Patterson ignored her doctors and left hospital | HEAR THE TRIPLE-0 CALL
A recording of an emergency call made by a doctor concerned for Erin Patterson’s welfare after she left hospital despite claiming to have eaten a poisonous beef Wellington has been released.
A pathetic graveyard of fiction: At last, the full Erin is outed
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.
Erin Patterson’s motive is obvious: coercive control
The crown should have presented jurors with a clear motive from the beginning of this trial – and if Erin Patterson were a man, the motive would have been crystal clear.
The moment Ian Wilkinson, who survived Patterson’s deadly meal, faced his wife’s killer
The sole survivor of Erin Patterson’s deadly beef Wellington lunch stared darkly at the accused when he first walked through the court, leaving Patterson as isolated as ever.
—
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout