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Summary
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard today:
1. Justice Christopher Beale said jurors would begin deliberating after he concludes his instructions to them on Monday. He said he expected he would finish before lunchtime.
2. The jury heard no evidence about whether Patterson’s children would become ill if they ate the leftover meat from the beef wellingtons with the mushrooms and pastry scraped off, Beale said. He told the jury to disregard the prosecution’s argument that if the children ate the leftover meat they would have also experienced symptoms. “You would be speculating if you went down that path,” he said.
3. Beale said the jury should also set aside the prosecution’s argument that death cap mushroom toxins must have penetrated the meat used in the beef wellingtons.
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The court has adjourned for the day.
Beale will continue instructing the jury from 10.30am tomorrow. We’ll bring you live updates then.
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Judge says Patterson’s explanation for why she wiped her phone was ‘simplest’
The prosecution argued evidence showed a mobile number ending in “783” was Patterson’s normal phone number. Rogers said there were four phones Patterson used in the case.
Rogers said Phone A, which Patterson began using in February 2023, was her usual mobile. She said Patterson’s Phone B – which she handed to police – was a dummy phone. Phone B had four factory resets performed on it during 2023, the court heard.
The prosecution argued Patterson did this because she wanted to conceal the contents of her usual phone. The prosecution argued Phone A was the mobile Patterson used to take photos of death cap mushrooms.
The defence said Patterson did not know police would search her house on 5 August 2023 and it would have been easier to perform a factory reset if she needed to conceal evidence. The prosecution relied on convoluted arguments but Patterson’s account was the “simplest” and “fitted the evidence the best”, Beale says.
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Updated at 07.30 BST
Alleged incriminating conduct over Patterson’s phone number outlined
Beale turns to the next alleged incriminating conduct – lies in Patterson’s formal police interview about her usual mobile phone number.
Police never located one of Patterson’s mobiles – dubbed Phone A – when they searched her Leongatha home on 5 August 2023, a week after the lunch, the court hears. Police said Patterson also mentioned a Nokia phone which was not seized.
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, said police did not seize all the technological devices that were visible at Patterson’s house during the search. Mandy pointed to an image taken during the search, showing an item in a black case, and suggested it was Phone A.
During cross-examination, Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the informant or officer in charge of the investigation, said this was a matter for the jury.
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Updated at 07.34 BST
Judge outlines evidence relating to dumped dehydrator
Beale turns to the disposal of the dehydrator, which the prosecution has argued is incriminating conduct.
Simon said Patterson told him while at Monash hospital on 1 August 2023 that she had done a blind taste test with their daughter using dehydrated mushrooms, Beale says. Simon said he did not know Patterson owned a dehydrator before this conversation.
Patterson said during this conversation Simon asked if she used the dehydrator to poison his parents at the lunch. During cross-examination, Simon rejected this.
Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos, the chief toxicologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, said death cap mushroom toxins were detected in samples collected from the dehydrator, the court hears.
Patterson said she dumped the dehydrator on 2 August 2023 because child protection were visiting that day and she feared she would be blamed and have her children removed.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said the alleged sustained coverup by Patterson included the disposal of the dehydrator. Patterson dumped the appliance within a few months of purchasing it and the only reasonable explanation of this was incriminating conduct, the prosecution argued.
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, argued his client did not dispose of the dehydrator when she first dehydrated mushrooms. Instead, she broadcasted this to her Facebook friends whom she met in a true crime group. Mandy said Patterson dumped the dehydrator after the lunch because she thought people would wrongly think she deliberately poisoned the lunch guests.
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Updated at 06.47 BST
Judge discusses evidence regarding accused’s reluctance to be medically tested
The next alleged incriminating conduct the prosecution has alleged is Patterson’s reluctance to have herself medically tested at hospital.
Leongatha hospital nurse Cindy Munro testified that while assessing Patterson on 31 July 2023 she said multiple times she didn’t want any medical interventions, including IV fluids and a cannula. When Foote arrived, she convinced her to be treated with IV fluids.
Patterson was commenced on NAC – a liver function medication – shortly after midday, the court hears.
Patterson testified that she was reluctant to receive treatment during her first presentation at the hospital, where she discharged herself within minutes of arriving, but not the second.
Patterson rejected Munro’s evidence that she told her she didn’t want to be cannulated, Beale says. He reminds the jury of Patterson’s testimony:
The whole point of being in hospital was to get treatment.
The prosecution said Patterson was reluctant because she knew she was not suffering death cap mushroom poisoning, Beale says.
The defence said the evidence that Patterson was initially reluctant to receive treatment was contradictory to a person faking an illness.
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Updated at 06.20 BST
Court hears about Patterson’s reluctance to have her children medically assessed
Beale turns to the next incriminating conduct that the prosecution has alleged –Patterson’s reluctance to have her children medically tested.
Simon testified that both children had past unpleasant experiences at hospitals. Dr Chris Webster said he told Patterson, who said she was concerned her children would be frightened if tested, they could be “scared and alive or dead.”
Dr Veronica Foote said while assessing Patterson at Leongatha hospital she was told the children had eaten beef wellington leftovers, with the mushrooms and pastry scraped off.
Foote recalled imploring her to not drive to collect her children, warning she could become very unwell.
Patterson said she asked Dr Foote why medical staff assumed it was death cap mushroom poisoning. Foote said she could not provide more information due to privacy, Patterson said.
Patterson said she did not think it was a real risk that her children might die from the leftovers, despite the warning from Webster.
The prosecution argued Patterson was reluctant to have her children medically tested despite medical staff warning her of a lethal risk. The prosecution said the jury should reject Patterson’s testimony that she was only reluctant at first as she wanted to understand the medical concerns.
The defence argued Patterson made arrangements for her children to be brought to hospital to be assessed when the seriousness of it was explained to her.
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, said this was not hours of delay.
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Updated at 06.15 BST
Jury heard ‘no expert evidence’ on leftovers with mushrooms scraped off
The prosecution argued if Patterson’s children ate leftover meat they would have experienced some symptoms, the court hears. Beale says no expert testified about whether the children would become ill if they ate meat with the mushrooms and pastry scrapped off.
He says:
You have no expert evidence as to whether that be the case.
You would be speculating if you went down that path.
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Court resumes
The jurors have returned to the courtroom in Morwell.
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Updated at 05.24 BST
The court has adjourned for a lunch break.
Beale will continue instructing jurors from 2:15pm.
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Judge outlines evidence on whether children had eaten lunch leftovers
Beale turns to evidence about Patterson’s alleged lie about feeding her children leftovers of the beef wellington lunch.
Simon, her estranged husband, testified that on 31 July 2023 Patterson mentioned their children had eaten the leftovers of the meal. Patterson’s children said their mother told them they were eating leftovers the day after the lunch, the court hears.
Webster said Patterson told him on 31 July 2023 her children had consumed the leftover meat from the beef wellingtons, Beale says.
Dr Veronica Foote from Leongtha hospital said when she reviewed Patterson later that day she said her children had eaten the leftovers, with the mushrooms and pastry scraped off.
Patterson disputed the prosecution’s suggestion that she lied about feeding her children leftovers off the beef wellington.
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Updated at 05.59 BST
Judge outlines evidence on Patterson’s recollection of dried mushrooms purchase
Patterson said she told Dr Conor McDermott that dried mushrooms may have been purchased from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley, the court hears.
McDermott testified that Patterson only mentioned Oakleigh.
The prosecution argued Patterson’s story about the source of the dried mushrooms kept changing and she was not forthcoming with the Department of Health, Beale says. The prosecution argued Patterson “sat on her hands” and was slow to respond to the department, the court hears.
The defence said Patterson spoke to 21 people in a 24-hour period after the lunch and delays could impact recollection of events, the court hears. The defence said Patterson never said she was certain about the location of the Asian grocer. No investigation of Asian grocers in Glen Waverley was conducted despite Patterson mentioning this suburb, the court has heard.
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Updated at 05.37 BST
Patterson said she did not lie to police about buying dried mushrooms from Asian grocer, court hears
Beale turns to Patterson’s evidence about the dried mushrooms.
He says Patterson said she realised on 2 August 2023 that she may have put foraged mushrooms in a plastic container including store-bought mushrooms that she had used in the beef wellington.
Beale says Patterson said she did not lie in her police interview when she told investigators she purchased dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh in April 2023 and used these in the beef wellington.
While testifying, Patterson agreed she did not mention to Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha hospital she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer, the court hears.
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Updated at 05.34 BST
Judge outlines evidence from child protection worker and virologist
Beale says child protection worker Katrina Cripps testified that she first spoke to Patterson on 1 August 2023.
Cripps said Patterson told her she bought fresh mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh or Clayton. When asked on 2 August 2023 if she had picked the mushrooms used in the beef wellington meal, Patterson was looking at her phone and did not reply, Cripps said.
Beale reminds the jury of evidence from Dr David Lovelolock, a virologist at Agriculture Victoria in August 2023 who analysed leftovers of the beef wellington meal.
Lovelock said death cap mushrooms were found in two out of seven test tube samples containing substance from a dehydrator dumped by Patterson in the days after the mushroom lunch.
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Updated at 03.12 BST
Beale turns to the evidence of Victorian health department official Sally Ann Atkinson. She testified that Patterson told her on 2 August 2023 she could not remember the Asian grocer she bought the dried mushrooms from. But she pointed to possible suburbs – Oakleigh, Clayton or Mount Waverley.
She said she originally purchased them for a pasta dish but when she opened them she noticed a funny smell and opted to not use them.
Atkinson said Patterson later mentioned Glen Waverley on 3 August 2023 as a possible suburb where the Asian grocer was located. Atkinson said this was the first time Patterson mentioned Glen Waverley, the court hears.
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Updated at 03.38 BST
Judge outlines evidence around alleged incriminating conduct
Justice Beale turns to Patterson’s second alleged incriminating conduct – lying about where the dried mushrooms used in the beef wellingtons came from.
The prosecution has labelled certain conduct as incriminating, meaning it is an implied admission of guilt, the court has heard. The defence has argued there are other innocent explanations for the conduct the prosecution relies on.
Beale outlines the evidence the jury has heard in the case regarding the source of the mushrooms in the beef wellingtons Patterson cooked.
Dr Conor McDermott, a toxicology registrar at Austin hospital, said Patterson told him she sourced button mushrooms, pre-sliced from Leongatha Safeway and mushrooms from a Chinese food store in Oakleigh. McDermott said Patterson said she did not have the packaging for the dried mushrooms.
Matthew Patterson, the son of Don and Gail Patterson, said he phoned Patterson on 31 July 2023 and she said she bought fresh mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from a Chinese shop in the Oakleigh area.
Dr Laura Muldoon, from Monash hospital, said she spoke to Patterson on the same day. She recalled Patterson saying she used dehydrated mushrooms from a Chinese grocery store in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley and did not have any of the packaging.
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Updated at 05.35 BST
Judge to finish charge on Monday, jury told
The jury has entered the court room in Morwell.
Beale is continuing to deliver his instructions to the jury, known as the judge’s charge.
He tells jurors he will finish his charge on Monday before lunchtime.
“You’ll be able to go home for the weekend,” he says.
After the charge is delivered a ballot will be held to determine which 12 jurors will deliberate the verdicts, Beale says.
“And away you go, so to speak,” he says.
Beale reminds the jury they’ll be sequestered after each day of deliberations.
This means jurors will be taken to supervised accommodation after each day of deliberations to ensure they don’t have contact with the outside world.
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Updated at 02.11 BST
What the jury heard yesterday
Before today’s proceedings gets under way, here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Wednesday:
1. Justice Christopher Beale told jurors he would not finish instructing them on Thursday, meaning the earliest deliberations could begin is Friday.
2. Beale said the jury did not need to accept the opinions of expert witnesses in the trial. He said the testimony of expert witnesses were pieces of evidence the jury could choose to accept or reject. The jurors were the “judges of the facts in this case”, he said.
3. Beale began outlining Patterson’s alleged incriminating conduct that the prosecution has raised. He said the defence has argued there are other innocent explanations for the conduct the prosecution relies on.
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Updated at 01.56 BST
Welcome to day 38
Welcome to day 38 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
Justice Christopher Beale will continue instructing the jurors this morning before they begin their deliberations later this week.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent”, but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
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Updated at 01.55 BST