Here’s a recap of what the jury heard today
The trial has been adjourned for the day. Here is a recap of what the jury heard on day 21 of Patterson’s trial:
1. Jurors were shown Erin Patterson’s Woolworths purchase history, which included two items of 500g sliced mushrooms bought on 23 July 2023 in Leongatha.
2. Jurors were shown text messages between Patterson and her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, in which the pair discussed medical appointments for Patterson, including a needle biopsy on 28 June 2023. Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall said obtained medical records found no appointment matching this.
3. Eppingstall said no cancer diagnosis for Patterson was found on the Victorian cancer registry database.
4. Police never located a phone connected to Patterson that the prosecution labelled “Phone A”, the court heard.
5. The jury was shown screenshots of webpages, including death cap mushroom sightings on the iNaturalist website. The URLs, which Eppingstall copied and pasted into a web browser in December 2024, were extracted from a computer seized from Patterson’s house in August 2023.
We’ll bring you live updates tomorrow from 10.30am.
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Detective agrees text messages consistent with Patterson Googling symptoms
Under cross-examination by Erin Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall agrees the text messages are consistent with Patterson being very concerned about her health and Googling her symptoms.
Under questioning by Mandy, Eppingstall says he understands Patterson had previously discharged herself from a medical setting.
Mandy shows a discharge at own risk form for Patterson dated 24 January 2015.
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The jury is then shown Signal messages between Erin and Simon Patterson from 4-5 January 2022.
Mandy says this is while Patterson was on a trip to Tasmania.
On 4 January 2022, Simon writes: “How’s your back today?”
Erin replies on the same day:
It’s getting better each day. It’s my heart that’s troubling me. I’m struggling with the energy to do basic things like get in and out of the car and after I have a shower I need to lie down and rest because the whole ordeal exhausts me …
Later that day Erin messages Simon:
It feels like my heart is working overtime to deliver oxygen to my body and not doing it very well. I’m breathing so hard after everything I do.
Simon replies:
Holy crap, that sure is a whole lot more extreme than “low energy.” That’s making it really difficult to do normal life …
On 5 January 2022, Erin messages Simon:
I’ve been reading a lot about echocardiograms, which is the ultrasound of the heart that I need, that I’m scheduled for at korumburra [sic] hospital on Feb 3rd …
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Notes from an appointment with a doctor on 11 October 2021 say Patterson has experienced “worsening swelling in feet”.
A “complete history” of Patterson at Leongatha Healthcare is shown to the jury.
It says her father had pancreatic cancer, her paternal and maternal aunts had ovarian cancer and her daughter had a benign ovarian mass at six months.
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Mandy then shows Eppingstall some of Patterson’s medical records between 2021 and 2023.
Eppingstall says they “look like medical records” and says he cannot remember reading this record.
One page shows a consultation on 21 October 2021 with a doctor in Leongatha.
The notes say “Erin worries about ovarian cancer. Has been googling her symptoms, thinks her symptoms have be suggestive of ovary [sic] cancer – US Ovaries …”
US refers to ultrasound, the court hears.
The next note says some results were received and were “fine”. The notes say an “MRI” has been booked for 6 November.
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Mandy asks Eppingstall about the evidence he obtained of various health records for Patterson.
He asks Eppingstall about records in 2023 that related to ovarian cancer or a complaint about this.
Mandy asks if any records prior to this showed Patterson was concerned about ovarian cancer.
He says a March 2023 record showed she attended Leongatha Health and got a self-administered test. Mandy says this is for cervical cancer.
Eppingstall says police found no records that indicated Patterson’s concern about ovarian cancer.
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Lead detective being cross-examined
Warren has concluded examining Eppingstall.
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, has begun cross-examining Eppingstall.
He begins by asking whether Patterson has any prior criminal history.
Eppingstall says she does not.
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Another screenshot shows the term “inaturalist” searched in Bing.
The next screenshot shows the homepage of iNaturalist as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.
Eppingstall says he attended the Korumburra Middle Hotel to inquire about purchases made by Patterson in May 2022.
He said the venue found a home delivery for a family meal on 28 May 2022.
It was delivered to Patterson’s home at the time in Korumburra, the court hears.
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The next screenshot shows a reported death cap mushroom sighting in the Melbourne CBD posted to iNaturalist on 18 May 2022, Eppingstall says.
Another screenshot shows a Google search of the term “Korumburra middle pub”.
The next screenshot shows the website of the Korumburra Middle Hotel.
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The first screenshot shows a world map with red dots indicating death cap mushroom sightings posted on iNaturalist as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.
Eppingstall says the second screenshot shows the “observation” section of the iNaturalist websites and is zoomed into the Victoria area.
On the right-hand side is a list of recent death cap sightings as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.
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Court shown screenshots of webpages found on computer seized by police
Prosecutor Jane Warren asks Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall about a report for the Cooler Master computer that detectives seized from Erin Patterson’s house on 5 August 2023.
Warren asks Eppingstall about the “Chrome web visits” listed in the report.
It shows several URLs for the citizen science website iNaturalist on 28 May 2022.
Eppingstall says he put all the URLs listed in the report into a web browser and took screenshots of the webpages.
He says this was done on 9 December 2024.
Jurors are shown the screenshots of the webpages Eppingstall found.
Justice Christopher Beale tells jurors the images are screenshots taken in 2024 and “it’s being put in evidence because of alleged activity by the accused on these pages on 28 May 2022”.
He reminds jurors about previous evidence that information on a webpage may have changed between 2022 and 2024.
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Prosecutor Jane Warren asks Eppingstall about call records for the mobile phone number ending “783”.
She says Simon Patterson previously gave evidence that he told Erin Patterson on 30 July his parents were unwell after the lunch. He says he could not be sure if he also mentioned Ian and Heather, Warren says.
Simon said the accused told him on this date she had experienced diarrhoea which was quite frequent, Warren says.
The jury is shown call records, with some rows highlighted.
One highlighted call was on 30 July 2023 at 11.08am. Eppingstall says the call records show a phone call from Simon to Patterson.
It indicates the phone connected … The call duration was six minutes and 18 seconds.
Another highlighted call at 2.23pm shows a call from Simon to Patterson lasting six minutes and 6 seconds, Eppingstall says.
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The jurors are back in the courtroom.
Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall is continuing to give evidence.
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The court has adjourned for a lunch break.
The trial will resume at 2.15pm.
Eppingstall tells the court that police have never located Patterson’s “Phone A”.
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Sim card placed into different phone while police searched Erin Patterson’s home, court hears
Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall says police also found a second mobile phone number attached to Erin Patterson’s name. It ended in the digits “783”.
Police found phone records dating back to 2019 for the phone, the court hears. The prosecution calls this “Phone A”.
The jury is then shown call charge records, which Eppingstall says show the sim card is switched from “Phone A” into a different phone.
He says this was a Nokia mobile phone.
The records show it occurred at 1.45pm on 5 August 2023. Eppingstall says this was while police were searching Patterson’s house in Leongatha.
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Eppingstall says the sim card was placed in a Samsung Galaxy A23 mobile phone.
This is the same mobile phone that the court previously heard had several factory resets performed on it, the jury is told.
Eppingstall says Patterson provided a Samsung Galaxy A23 to police after officers conducted a search of her Leongatha home on 5 August 2023.
He says the sim card in the phone was connected to a number ending in the digits “835”.
Eppingstall says searches on a database revealed the number was connected from 11 July 2023 – less than three weeks prior to the lunch.
He says the sim card was used in a tablet device until 3 August 2023 before it was put in a mobile phone and handed to police.
The jurors are then shown several Facebook messages sent by Patterson to her online friends.
17 December 2022 Patterson sends a Facebook message:
My phone screen is broken and it won’t respond to any commands or anything. Everything is on my phone, all my passwords are in my passwords vault and I was trying to log into it on my laptop and it was sending an authorisation email to my emails which I couldn’t access because I didn’t have my password which was inside my password vault.
On the same day Patterson messages:
Anyway I’ve been googling everything trying to get into my phone and emails and just couldn’t but then something suggested I could do a hard reboot of my phone and restart it in safe mode...”
On 19 December 2022, Patterson messages her online friends to say she has bought a Samsung Galaxy A23 mobile phone.
The cheapest I could get while not being an absolute piece of shit phone …
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The court hears that on 11 May 2022 the mobile seized from Patterson’s house connected to the Poowong Bay station between 17.25 to 6.29pm.
On the same day, Patterson messaged Simon at 5.49pm, the court hears.
The message reads:
Cool thanks. [our daughter] had a collision with another kid on the bbball court. Went down flat and hurt her knee. She came off crying and had a cuddle then ran back out two mins later. She’s a tough nut.
Simon replies at 10.02pm:
That’s cool. She is a tough nut and keen to play come hell or high water.
Erin replies at 10.04pm:
She’s good at dribbling while running down the court.
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Simon replies on 17 March 10.24pm:
Yeah I dunno. Sounds like this guy (I think it’s a guy) can positively effect joints. I suspect it’s worth a try. May ease pain even if it doesn’t heal him, anyway.
Erin later messages Simon:
Hey I really hope you can come see [our son] play bball this season even if you have to miss a Bible study. He’s playing really well … I was super proud of how far he has come.
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More messages between defendant and ex-partner shown
The jury is then shown a message sent by Erin to Simon on 17 March at 8.09pm :
I’m feeling very unhappy about [our son’s] hip. He came from school saying it was hurting quite a bit this week, and not just doing sport but whenever he stands up from a sitting position, and right now during basketball he says it is hurting quite a bit. The bloody orthopedic surgeon can’t see him again until April 27th. That just doesn’t feel good enough.”
Simon replies the same day at 10.02pm:
It’s 6 weeks away, eh. Not sure what to do about that. Maybe try to attack it another way before then? Dave at work mentioned some kind of masseuse he has used who helped him a lot …”
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More phone records shown to jury
The jury is shown a table listing connections from Patterson’s phone to the Poowong Central base station.
On Wednesday 9 March 2022 a connection commenced at 5.31pm and ceased at 6.27pm, the court hears.
On Thursday 10 March, a connection commenced at 7.42pm and ceased at 8.33pm, the table shows.
The jury is then shown messages from the app Signal extracted from a mobile phone seized from Patterson’s home. The messages are between Patterson and her estranged husband, Simon.
One message is sent from Simon to Erin on 10 March 2022 at 5.12pm:
Hey I think [our son] has bbball tonight. Are you geared up for it?
Erin replies at 5.15pm the same day:
Yesh, although idk if I have bball shorts for him. I’ll check.
At 5.17pm Erin writes:
yeah we have shorts and his game is 7.40.
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Jurors shown text messages from defendant referencing medical appointments for which there are no records
Jurors are then shown an extraction report from Gail Patterson’s mobile phone, which contains text message sent and received.
A text message sent by Gail to Erin on 28 June 2023 is shown:
Hi Erin, Just wondering how you got on at your appointment today? Love Gail and Don.
Eppingstall says Patterson’s Medicare records showed she had no medical appointments that day.
In a message shown to the court, Erin replied at 11.52am on 29 June.
Hi Gail. Sorry I had taken [Patterson’s daughter] to see a movie last night. We saw the Little Mermaid. The appointment went ok. Thanks for asking. I had a needle biopsy taken of the lump and I’m returning for an MRI next week …
Eppingstall says police identified no record of Patterson having a needle biopsy for her arm or being scheduled for an MRI appointment.
Gail later replied: “That’s a test of patience isn’t it!? Praying you’ll know God’s peace …”
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Jury shown text message defendant sent to lunch attenders
On 5 July 2023 Gail texted Patterson to ask about her medical appointment the prior day, the court hears.
The jurors are shown a text message Patterson sent to Gail on 7 July 2023:
Thanks for your message Don and Gail. There’s a bit to digest with everything that’s come out of it all. I might talk more about it with you both when I see you in person.
Eppingstall says records showed Patterson had no medical appointments on 6 July 2023.
He says Patterson had one medical appointment in June at Mount Waverley GP regarding a complaint about “rib soreness” due to a reported fall weeks earlier.
Patterson was referred for an X-ray which was clear, the court hears.
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Jury shown pages from Gail Patterson’s diary
The jury is then shown pages from Gail Patterson’s diary.
The entry on 24 June 2023 says “Lunch with Erin [and her children].”
The entry on 28 June 2023 says ‘Erin – St Vincent’s arm lump”
Eppingstall says police made inquiries about whether Patterson had a St Vincent’s medical appointment on that day.
There were no medical records found of Patterson attending St Vincent’s on 28 June 2023, the court hears.
The entry on 29 July 2023 says: “lunch at Erin’s w Heather and Ian.”
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Eppingstall details medical records showing no evidence Patterson diagnosed with cancer
On 7 September 2023, Eppingstall says he received information from the Victorian cancer registry database that there was no evidence of Patterson being diagnosed with cancer.
Eppingstall says he also obtained Patterson’s medical records for 2023. This involved getting Medicare records and then getting warrants to obtain records from providers.
It showed Patterson had been to three medical centres in 2023 – Leongatha Health, Korumburra medical clinic and Mount Waverley GP, Eppingstall says.
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More heard on mushrooms cultivators who supplied Leongatha Woolworths
Eppingstall says police investigated which company supplied fresh mushrooms to Woolworths in Leongatha.
Two mushroom suppliers were identified as supplying the Leongatha Woolworths.
A police officer visited one facility on 6 September 2023 and observed the process of cultivating mushrooms.
The court previously heard that death cap mushrooms cannot be cultivated.
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Patterson’s Woolworths purchases prior to deadly lunch included sliced mushroom
Eppingstall says as part of the investigation into the beef wellington lunch, police obtained Patterson’s Woolworths transaction history between 23 July 2023 and 2 August 2023.
The jury is shown the transaction history. Two records, highlighted on the list, show 500g of sliced mushrooms which were purchased by Patterson on 23 July 2023 – six days prior to the lunch.
Other highlighted records are 1kg of puff pastry, filo pastry and shallot onions.
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Defendant’s daughter remembers visiting Asian grocer after rewatching video evidence
Prosecutor Jane Warren asks Eppingstall about evidence by Patterson’s daughter given during a prerecorded police interview that was played to the court earlier in the trial.
In the video Patterson’s daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had not been to an Asian grocer with her mother before.
Eppingstall says when Patterson’s daughter rewatched her evidence, with a child witness support person, she said she remembered going to an Asian-style food store for cooking with her mother on one occasion.
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Jurors enter courtroom
The jurors have entered the courtroom in Morwell.
Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of the investigation into the lethal lunch, is continuing to give evidence.
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We are waiting for the jurors to enter the court room in Morwell.
Here’s a report from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, on what the jury heard on Tuesday:
Day 20 recap
While we wait for today’s proceedings to get under way, here is a recap of what the jury heard on Tuesday:
• A Victorian Department of Health official said the investigation into the fateful lunch concluded it was “highly unlikely” that commercial mushroom supply chains were contaminated with death cap mushroom toxins.
• A homicide detective said Erin Patterson “expressed surprise” when she learned that some of her guests had died while police conducted a search of her property on 5 August 2023.
• The prosecution called their final witness in the trial, Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, who led the police investigation into the lethal lunch. During his testimony, the prosecution played jurors a video of Patterson’s police interview recorded on 5 August 2023.
• In the video, Patterson told police she did not own a dehydrator but owned manuals for lots of things. The court was previously shown photographs of a manual for a Sunbeam dehydrator that police located in a kitchen drawer during the search of Patterson’s Leonagtha house on 5 August 2023.
• Eppingstall said police tried to track Patterson’s vehicle during an 11-minute window on the evening following the lunch when she dropped her son at Subway in Leongatha and picked him up. He said police were unable to find any footage to determine where she had gone during this time.
Welcome
Welcome to day 21 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin after 10.30am once the jurors enter the court room.
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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