Erin Patterson trial: Alleged mushroom poisoner tearful in witness box as queues form outside

Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson has told a court she does believe there were death cap mushrooms in the beef Wellington lunch she served her in-laws.

The 50-year-old returned to the stand on Tuesday for her second day of giving evidence as a defence witness.

Asked point blank if she agreed the lunch must have had death cap mushrooms, Ms Patterson said: “Yes I do”.

Her barrister Colin Mandy SC then followed up asking if she knew where the mushrooms used in the lunch came from.

“The vast majority came from the local Woolworths in Leongatha, there were some from the grocer in Melbourne,” she told the court.

Ms Patterson was then cut off as Mr Mandy asked a new question about whether she remembered purchasing from the Asian grocer.

She told the court the “specific purchase” was not clear.

“I know it was in the April school holidays. I think we went there for a week or two,” she said.

Ms Patterson told the court she would regularly purchase mushrooms from Asian grocers, identifying shiitake, porcini and enoki varieties.

But she said she would also buy packets of dried mushrooms called “wild mushroom mix or forest mushroom, they weren’t specific about the type”.

Ms Patterson told the jury she would regularly forage for wild mushrooms and used a dehydrator to preserve them for use later.

“I liked eating wild mushrooms, but it’s a very small season and you can’t keep them in the fridge,” she said.

“So there was the botanic gardens in Korumburra, there was my property on Shellcott Rd, there’s a rail trail leading out of Leongatha in both directions… also on my block on Gibson St.”

In early 2023, she said she foraged mushrooms, “mainly field mushrooms” but also others she identified as slippery jacks and honey mushrooms.

Ms Patterson said if she didn’t think she was going to use them soon, she would slice the mushrooms, dehydrate them and store them in the pantry.

‘Do you have a memory of putting wild mushrooms into a container which already contained other dried mushrooms?” Mr Mandy asked.

“Yes, I did that,” Ms Patterson responded.

She told the court the mushrooms purchased from an Asian grocer in April weren’t used for a pasta dish because they were “very pungent” and taken home in a Tupperware container. Mr Mandy was stopped at that point by Justice Christopher Beale, who sent the jury home until Wednesday. Ms Patterson is expected to return to the witness box when the hearing resumes.

She is accused of deliberately poisoning a beef Wellington lunch she hosted for her estranged husband’s parents and aunt and uncle on July 29, 2023.

The mother of two was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after Don Patterson, his wife Gail and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died from organ failure in the week after the meal.

Ms Wilkinson’s husband, long-serving Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but recovered.

Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty, with her defence arguing that while the lunch did contain poisonous mushrooms, she did not intentionally poison anyone and the case is actually a tragic accident.

‘Swear to f--king god’: Erin’s messages revealed

Ms Patterson was taken by her barrister through a series of messages sent in December 2022 to a messages in a Facebook group she was part of.

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard the group of women had formed out of a mutual interest in true crime but that it had developed into a space where each participant shared details about their lives and supported each other.

Ms Patterson told the court at the time, she was feuding with Simon about child support costs and had turned to his parents, Don and Gail, to hopefully mediate.

She said they’d assisted with resolving disputes previously, but his parents did not want to get involved this time and were advocating for the separated couple to sort it out themselves.

The jury were shown messages Ms Patterson sent to the online group, complaining about Don and Gail’s reaction.

“So he said all that he can ask is that Simon and I get together to pray for the children (Emoji) (Emoji) this family I swear to f--king god,” the message reads.

Another message said she was; “sick of this s--t I want nothing to do with them.”

Ms Patterson told the court she was feeling really hurt, really frustrated and “a little bit desperate”.

She said she viewed the group as a “safe venting space” and knew the other participants would support her being annoyed.

“I needed to vent, I needed to get my frustration off my chest. And the choice was either go into the paddock and tell the sheep or vent to these women but I regret the language I used,” she said.

Her voice breaking, Ms Patterson said she wished “I never said it”.

“I feel ashamed for saying it and I wish the family didn’t have to hear I said that, they didn’t deserve it,” she said.

“I was really frustrated with Simon but it wasn’t Don and Gail’s fault, it wasn’t the family’s fault, it wasn’t really even entirely Simon’s fault.”

‘They tasted good’: Erin picked, ate mushrooms

Shortly before the lunch break, her barrister Colin Mandy SC brought up Ms Patterson’s interest in mushrooms.

She told the jury she had always loved mushrooms, purchasing every variety she could find, including exotic mushrooms from Asian grocers in Melbourne.

“They just taste more interesting, more flavour,” she said.

Over the Covid period, in 2020, Ms Patterson said she began to notice wild mushrooms growing while on walks at the Korumburra botanical gardens and the local rail trail.

At the time, she said she was living on a three-acre block, and saw mushrooms growing in animal paddocks.

“The first I remember is the dog was eating some of them… I picked all the mushrooms I could see to figure out if that would be a problem,” she said.

She turned to Facebook groups to identify them and her interest in wild mushrooms grew, Ms Patterson told the jury.

Over a period of months, she said she grew confident she could identify “field mushrooms and horse mushrooms” growing on the property.

“When I got to a point I was confident what they were, I cut a bit off, fried it up with butter, ate it and saw what happened,” she said.

“They tasted good and I didn’t get sick.

“If I saw the same mushrooms growing I would usually pick them and sometimes put them in meals we all ate.

“I chopped them up very small so they couldn’t pick them out.”

‘Dr Google’: Erin describes health fears

The topic of questioning moved on to Ms Patterson’s health concerns during Tuesday morning’s evidence, and she conceded she never had cancer nor received a needle biopsy.

Prosecutors allege she used the “false claim” of a cancer diagnosis as the impetus for the lunch, while her defence argues she raised a suspicion she had ovarian cancer at the lunch.

“Have you ever had cancer?” Mr Mandy asked.

Ms Patterson responded: “I have not.”

A short time later the barrister asked if she was ever worried about cancer.

“Yes, I was quite worried about it,” she replied.

Ms Patterson outlined how over the years she had several negative experiences with the hospital system not believing her when she raised concerns about her children’s health only to be proven right.

“What they communicated to me was I was an over anxious mother and should just relax,” she said.

“It considerably damaged my faith in the hospital system. I didn’t trust that these people knew what they were doing and I was in a heightened state of anxiety.”

From about the end of 2021, Ms Patterson told the jury that she had a “multitude of symptoms”, including fatigue, abdominal pain, headaches and weight gain.

She said she turned to “Dr Google” amid her mistrust of the medical system.

She told the court that she convinced herself that she had ovarian cancer, then a brain tumour, then multiple sclerosis, lupus and a “whole family of auto-immune disorders”.

“I think I wasted a lot of time, not just my time but medical people’s time, through all my Dr Googling,” she said.

“It’s hard to justify it, but with the benefit of hindsight, I just lost so much faith in the medical system.

Mushroom cook’s $400,000 loan to in-laws

Ms Patterson was quizzed on her finances, revealing she received a large inheritance after her grandmother died in 2006 and her mother in 2019.

She said the inheritance allowed her and Simon Patterson to purchase property, as well as assist Simon’s siblings to purchase their family homes with interest free loans.

For the three siblings and their partners, it was “in the order of $400,000… maybe a little less” each to be paid back as they could, she said.

“We were able to help out Simon’s siblings as well with help to buy their homes,” she said.

“It was understood that it would be regular but the amount was of their choosing and the timing was of their choosing.”

Ms Patterson told the court Simon’s brother Nathan and his partner Merryn had repaid the loan as had his other brother Matthew and his wife Tanya.

She said she was “not sure about the status” of Simon’s sister Anna Terrington and her husband Josh’s loan.

Another part of the inheritance, she said, was used to start a second-hand bookshop in Quinninup in Western Australia she operated for a year.

Ms Patterson said after they separated in late 2015, her and Simon split everything down the middle, including their properties and debts.

Asked why she included Simon’s name on the title of a property purchased in the Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley in 2019, Ms Patterson said it was a signal to Simon demonstrating commitment.

“I always thought we would bring the family back together, that’s what I wanted and I did that because I wanted some way to demonstrate that to Simon… something tangible to say I see a future for us,” she said.

Wild scenes outside mushroom trial

Crowds are gathering outside the Latrobe Valley Magistrate’s Court, where mushroom cook Erin Patterson is facing trial.

Members of the public crowding around the entrance of the regional courthouse from 6am on Tuesday morning, hoping to get a glimpse of the mother of two as she gave evidence for a second day.

Doors opened at 9am, with those lucky enough to escape the freezing temperatures then forced to line up a second time outside courtroom 4.

‘Love me’: Erin tearful in witness box

Ms Patterson told the jury on Tuesday morning that her friendship with her husband never changed after their separation in 2015.

Ms Patterson, 50, first took the stand on Monday after Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC closed the prosecution case.

Giving evidence for 45 minutes until the hearing was adjourned, the mother of two detailed the early stages of her relationship with estranged husband Simon Patterson.

She returned to court on Tuesday, wearing a navy blouse with white spots and standing about eight metres opposite the jury as they entered.

Under questioning from defence barrister Colin Mandy SC, Ms Patterson said the “primary” issue that caused a break down in her relationship with Mr Patterson was communication.

“If we had a disagreement, or any kind of conflict, we didn’t seem to be able to talk about it in a way where either of us felt heard or understood,” she said.

“We really liked each other still, it was just the living together that didn’t work.”

Ms Patterson told the jury that after their separation in 2015, she remained a part of her husband’s family and was included in family events.

“It never changed, I was just their daughter-in-law and they just continued to love me,” she said tearfully.

Erin details family concerns

Taking the stand shortly after 3.30pm on Monday, Ms Patterson began to answer questions about her relationship, struggles with her weight, religious beliefs, motherhood and the lead-up to the fatal lunch.

Her voice started off soft, growing in volume and confidence as the minutes ticked over but faltered once when talking about the “very traumatic” birth of her son in January 2009.

Frequently, she would pause for a second or two, her eyes closed, before answering a question.

Ms Patterson told the jury that she first met her husband when the pair were working at the Monash City Council in Melbourne in 2004.

She said they first began socialising through friends at the council, but the relationship grew deeper through “conversations about life, religion and politics” while camping together.

Describing herself then as a “fundamental atheist”, she said she sought to convert her Christian boyfriend before attending a service from Mr Wilkinson.

“I had a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me,” she said.

Ms Patterson said she developed a close relationship with Don and Gail and was walked down the aisle by Simon’s cousin, David Wilkinson, in June 2007 because her parents were on a train in Russia.

Soon after the couple hit the open road, “meandering” across the country before settling for a time in Perth.

Here she said she fell pregnant and their son was born before they continued their road trip across the Top End.

After months on the road, Ms Patterson said she’d “had a gutful” and flew from Townsville back to Perth and the couple separated for the first time.

“What we struggled with over the entire course of our relationship … we just couldn’t communicate well when we disagreed about something,” she said.

“So we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.”

Ms Patterson said she felt her relationship with her estranged husband’s family had grown distant in the first few months of 2023 but said her relationship with Simon was “functional”.

“I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, had perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us,” she said.

“We saw each other less … I’d begun to have concerns that Simon was not wanting me to be involved too much with the family anymore. Perhaps I wasn’t being invited to so many things.”

The trial continues.