Mushroom murder trial: Erin Patterson denies dehydrator practice runs
Erin Patterson has denied performing dehydrator practice tests on Woolworths mushrooms in order to not ‘waste’ the deadly fungi she allegedly used to kill three people.
Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson has denied performing dehydrator practice tests on Woolworths mushrooms before using the machine to dry out deadly fungi she allegedly put in a beef Wellington to kill three people.
Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Ms Patterson rejected assertions that she lied about having an interest in foraging edible mushrooms to explain how wild deadly fungi ended up in the meal.
She did not accept a suggestion that the police did not detect any online searches for non-toxic mushrooms when examining a computer seized from her home.
Ms Patterson has been charged with the murder of Mr Patterson’s parents and aunt after allegedly deliberately feeding them the beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at a lunch in her home in mid-2023.
She has also been charged with the attempted murder of Mr Patterson’s uncle, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch and has watched in court as Ms Patterson has given evidence.
Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Senior crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC on Wednesday suggested Ms Patterson performed tests on button mushrooms from Woolworths in her Sunbeam dehydrator, before drying out death cap mushrooms in the same machine.
Dr Rogers showed the court two pictures of mushrooms in Ms Patterson’s device.
She said the first, dated April 30, 2023, showed dozens of Woolworths button mushrooms on dehydrator racks, while the second, from May 4, 2023, showed dried-out death cap mushrooms.
Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson “didn’t need to preserve Woolworths mushrooms” because they are not seasonal.
“I suggest that you were testing how to dehydrate mushrooms using these button mushrooms. Agree or disagree?” she asked.
Ms Patterson: “What do you mean by testing?”
Dr Rogers: “You were seeing how it would go dehydrating button mushrooms in your dehydrator?”
Ma Patterson: “I don’t really understand the question. I dehydrated the mushrooms to eat them.”
Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson “practised using the button mushrooms first so as not to waste” the death cap mushrooms.
“I suggest you did that because you knew (the mushrooms in the second image were) death cap mushrooms … and you wanted to preserve them,” Dr Rogers said. “Correct or incorrect?”
Ms Patterson: “Incorrect.”
Dr Rogers on Wednesday also suggested Ms Patterson “made up” a story about picking and eating edible mushrooms, after the court was shown evidence in which her son said he never knew his mother to forage mushrooms.
“This is a story you have made up for this jury. Agree or disagree?” she asked.
Ms Patterson: “Disagree
Dr Rogers suggested there was no mention of picking wild mushrooms in 4000 pages of text messages she exchanged with Simon Patterson, nor in messages with online friends she met through a true crime Facebook group. Ms Patterson accepted that was true.
On Wednesday she denied travelling Loch after retired pharmacist Christine McKenzie spotted death cap mushrooms there and posted their location online.
Dr Rogers took the court to evidence given by a telecommunications expert showing there was a “possible visit to the Loch postcode” on April 28, 2023.
On April 18, 2023, Ms McKenzie made a post to the iNaturalist online nature sharing platform citing the location of death cap mushrooms at the Loch Reserve.
Dr Rogers: “I suggest you travelled to Loch from Korumburra on April 28, 2023.”
Ms Patterson: “I don’t know.”
Dr Rogers: “I suggest you went to the Loch Reserve where Christine McKenzie had sighted death cap mushrooms. Correct or incorrect?”
Ms Patterson: “Incorrect.”
Dr Rogers: “I suggest you remained in the area for about an hour.”
“Well I didn’t go to the reserve,” Ms Patterson replied.
The court has also previously heard Tom May, a Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria mycologist, tagged the location of death cap mushrooms to Neilson St, Outtrim on May 21, 2023, under his iNaturalist profile FunkeyTom.
Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson went to Outtrim on May 22, 2023 and visited Neilson St.
Dr Rogers: “I suggest you went to Neilson St in Outtrim looking for the death cap mushrooms as posted by doctor Tom May. Agree or disagree?”
Ms Patterson: “Disagree.”
The trial continues.
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