Inside the first week of the mushrooms murder trial as Simon Patterson gives evidence
The court heard in granular, perhaps embarrassing detail of how the marriage between Erin and Simon Patterson was not quite right.
Each morning Erin Trudi Patterson walks into the first-floor courtroom in Morwell, east of Melbourne, and sits in the dock, looking at the backs of the members of the public gallery and the heavy hitters at the bar table.
Carrying two sets of glasses and dressed in pink, blue or khaki, Patterson has been silent and earnest, save for the occasional signs of emotion, including tears.
When she can, she communicates quietly with the court staff, has traded greetings with a friend, while members of the gallery are often looking back with interest.
Not much seems to be off limits in the courtroom, as lawyers and her estranged husband Simon Patterson discuss everything from her weight, self-esteem and faith, to her bowel movements, post-natal depression and a perceived 70th birthday celebration snub – as well as text messages, photographs, discussions about mobile phones, security images, and how police had determined a toilet break the day after the lunch lasted for just nine seconds.
The court also heard this week in granular, perhaps embarrassing detail of how the marriage that collapsed in 2015 was not quite right, with multiple separations before the financial end.
Amid the detail of alleged murder victims dying in hospital from death cap mushrooms, Patterson was also described as variously witty, highly intelligent and a focused mother of two.
She was also generous.
Evidence was given that she had loaned many hundreds of thousands of dollars to Simon’s relatives so they could buy houses, and of frequent travel, including overseas trips. She inherited $2m from a grandmother.
Simon Patterson conceded in evidence that his estranged wife had a good relationship with his father Don, who died at 11.30pm on August 5, 2023, just days after the lunch.
Critically, her barrister Colin Mandy SC boiled down Patterson’s defence for the jury.
“The defence case is that Erin Patterson did not deliberately serve poisoned food to her guests at that lunch on 29 July, 2023. She didn’t do it deliberately, she didn’t do it intentionally,’’ he said after the prosecution opening.
“The defence case is that she didn’t intend to cause anyone any harm on that day. The defence case is that what happened was a tragedy and a terrible accident.
“So as you listen to the evidence, you should consider, when it comes to that fundamental issue of Erin’s intention, did she have a motive to kill these four family members?
“What was her relationship with them, especially Don and Gail Patterson? What relationship did her children have with them?
“So that issue, the issue of intention, is the critical issue in this trial.”
Then, of course, there were the things the prosecution says don’t add up. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC argued Patterson had cooked the lunch to kill the guests, effectively coaxing Don Patterson, his wife Gail and Ian and Heather Wilkinson with the false claim that she had cancer and needed a way forward to manage the children.
The court was told there were many contradictions in what Patterson said and what actually happened.
The defence has admitted Patterson foraged for mushrooms, had not been diagnosed with cancer, failed to tell the truth to police and had thrown away a food dehydrator allegedly used to prepare the meal.
Mandy’s response to the prosecution’s opening was clear about the question of lies. His client had panicked.
“The dehydrator. The prosecution says she got rid of the dehydrator and that makes her look guilty. She admits that. She admits that when she was interviewed by the police on the same day that one of the lunch guests died, that she lied about getting rid of the dehydrator.”
Mandy argued Patterson had acted in a state of panic after the fallout over the meal was so catastrophic. “She also lied to the police about foraging for mushrooms. She admits that,’’ he told the jury. “She did forage for mushrooms. Just so that we make that clear, she denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms.”
He argued there were reasons for the lies as the sheer weight of pressure rained down on her after the lunch, including from police and the media.
“Might someone panic in a situation like that? he asked. “Is it possible that people might do and say things that are not well thought out and might, in the end, make them look bad? Is it possible that a person might lie when they find out that people are seriously ill because of the food that they’ve served up?”
The court heard Patterson served the meal of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans on different plates – the four visitors’ food on large grey plates and her own on a smaller tan/orange-coloured plate.
The people at the lunch were Simon Patterson’s parents Don and Gail, both 70, and his aunt and uncle Ian, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, who was 68. Don, Gail and Heather all died after ingesting death cap mushrooms.
The court heard the lunch group said grace and later prayed for Erin after the topic of the alleged cancer diagnosis was raised. The meal was served at 12.50pm.
The accused plated the meal of individual beef Wellingtons that were prepared as a piece of steak covered with mushrooms and completely encased in pastry.
Rogers, for the prosecution, told the jury there were falsehoods. “The prosecution case is that the accused did not ingest death cap mushrooms at the lunch and did not suffer from amanita poisoning,’’ she said.
“It is the prosecution case that the accused used the false claim that she had serious medical issues to ensure and to explain why the children would not be present at the lunch on 29 July.’’
Rogers said that when the diners arrived at Patterson’s house they inspected the house and grounds before gathering in the dining room.
She said Patterson allegedly served her portion of the meal on a tan or orange plate before they sat down to eat off their grey plates.
The court heard that Heather Wilkinson had told family before her death that Patterson had used a different plate.
“I noticed Erin had put her food on a different plate to us. Her plate had colour on it, I wondered why that was,” Rogers quoted Wilkinson as saying.
About 11 or 12 hours after the lunch had finished, the guests had fallen ill, and their conditions had deteriorated over the next week until they died.
The court heard that Simon Patterson had opted not to attend the July 29 lunch and that his estranged wife had been upset that he would not be going.
Erin Patterson, 50, allegedly pushed her estranged husband to attend the lunch, saying she had spent a “small fortune” on beef eye fillet and might never be able to host such a gathering again.
The day prior to the lunch, Simon Patterson told his ex partner that he was “too uncomfortable” to attend, the jury was told.
“Sorry, I feel too uncomfortable about coming to lunch with you, Mum, Dad, Heather and Ian tomorrow, but am happy to talk about your health and implications of that at another time if you’d like to discuss on the phone,” he texted Erin.
She allegedly responded: “That’s really disappointing. I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I’m facing and spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet to make beef Wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal, as I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time.”
Rogers said the day after the lunch, when the guests were crippled with illness, Erin Patterson told her children that she was ill with diarrhoea and would not be able to go to church.
Patterson later drove her son to a flying lesson an hour away – which was later cancelled – making it a two-hour return trip.
Rogers said: “At 3.20pm they stopped at the BP service station in Caldermeade (southeast of Melbourne) and purchased a type of sour confectionary, a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and a sweet chilli chicken wrap.
“The accused is captured on CCTV entering the public toilet at the service (station) and exiting nine seconds later before she selected the products from the store.”
The next day, two days after the lunch had been served, Erin Patterson went to Leongatha hospital shortly after 8am, the court heard.
Rogers said a doctor had explained to the accused that there was as a high level of concern regarding possible death cap mushroom poisoning and made it clear that the accused had been exposed to a potentially lethal toxin.
“And he asked the accused where she’d obtained the mushrooms used in the beef Wellington. The accused replied that she had bought them at Woolworths,’’ Rogers said.
A nurse took Patterson’s heart rate, which was high, and she was “extremely tachycardic”. Her blood pressure was also elevated.
The court was told that soon afterwards, Patterson left the hospital against advice, after being told the children needed to be brought in to check their health.
Rogers said a doctor called triple-0 about 9.30am out of concern for Patterson’s health.
She then presented again at 9.48am, complaining of diarrhoea and nausea, telling a staff member that her two children had eaten the beef Wellington leftovers.
“She specified that her two children ate the meat but not the mushroom or the pastry surrounding the meat,’’ Rogers said.
The prosecutor said that around midday the accused was treated with a liver protective drug and about 12.30pm she was taken to the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne.
Erin Patterson denies any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case continues on Monday with Simon Patterson to continue giving evidence.
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