The trial has concluded for the day
Here’s what the jury heard on day 10 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial:
1. Dr Laura Muldoon, who treated Erin at Monash medical centre, said the mushroom cook appeared “clinically well” on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
2. Medical testing showed Erin had no signs of liver toxicity before she was discharged from Monash medical centre on 1 August, the court heard.
3. Jurors were shown a photo of the remains of the fateful beef wellington meal. The photos show a pastry encasing a brown paste. There are also leftovers of the brown paste in the photo.
4. An internationally renowned mushroom expert, Dr Thomas May, told the court he posted a post of death cap mushrooms he had spotted on a walk to the “citizen science” website iNaturalist. He said the post included several photos, latitude and longitude and geo-coordinates, but not the specific street.
We’ll be back at 10.30am for day 11’s proceedings. Thanks for following along.
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Foraging may have become more popular during Covid-19 pandemic, mushroom expert says
Lawyer Sophie Stafford asks Dr Thomas May about “mistaken identity” in the context of mushroom poisoning.
He says “mistaken identity” is when a person thinks they are collecting one thing but it can instead be toxic. He says this is the most common form of poisoning.
Stafford asks May about a study he conducted on the accuracy of apps used to identify poisonous mushrooms.
He says there is concern about the apps, which use AI technology, misidentifying Australian species.
May says there is a “rising interest” in mushroom foraging in Victoria that may be associated with the pandemic.
He says the Victorian Poisons Information Centre recorded an increase in calls during the Covid-19 period.
But he says it was also a “rather wet” period and it is hard to disentangle these two factors.
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No simple rules to distinguish toxic from edible mushrooms, expert agrees
Lawyer Sophie Stafford asks Dr Thomas May if there are no simple rules to distinguish toxic mushrooms from edible mushrooms in the wild.
“Yes,” he says.
He says it is generally only after consumption that it can be determined if a mushroom is toxic.
May agrees that the Amanita species contains toxic and edible mushrooms.
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Fungi expert agrees death cap mushrooms under-reported in regional areas
Lawyer Sophie Stafford says Dr Thomas May has made clear the limitations of his opinion when looking at the 10 images and where he required further information.
“That is correct,” he says.
Under cross-examination by Stafford, May agrees that death cap mushrooms may not be reported on websites like iNaturalist because there are no regular surveys in the state besides “sweeps” done at some locations in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.
He agrees there is an under-reporting of death cap mushrooms in regional areas.
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Fungi expert shown pictures of mushrooms in court
Erin Patterson’s lawyer, Sophie Stafford, has begun cross-examining Dr Thomas May.
Stafford is taking May through 10 images of mushrooms and asking him to identify which ones are consistent with death caps.
May says some images do not reflect the actual colour of the mushroom which can make it difficult to determine the species.
For all of these images there might be a possibility … it could be something else.
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Fungi expert posted death cap mushroom location on naturalist site
Fungi expert Dr Thomas May says on 21 May 2023 he submitted a post about some death cap mushrooms he had spotted on a walk to the iNaturalist website with “several photographs”.
The post included the location of Outtrim.
He says he submitted the post under his iNaturalist profile name “Funkey Tom”.
The jurors are shown a screenshot image of the post.
May says the location uploaded was “fairly accurate.”
He says he dropped a pin location in the post to show where he had spotted the death cap mushroom.
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‘High confidence’ mushrooms shown to him by police were death cap, expert tells court
The jurors are now shown three images of mushrooms that were supplied to Dr Thomas May by a Victorian police detective.
The first image shows about a dozen mushroom caps spread out on a tray.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers asks May if these are consistent with death cap mushrooms. May says “these photos are consistent with amanita phalloides”.
I have a high confidence it’s consistent with that.
But he says there are other mushrooms that could appear the same.
Another image shows five mushrooms on a scale.
May says these mushrooms are consistent with field mushrooms and button mushrooms, which he says can be bought from a supermarket or green grocer.
May says it’s possible the mushrooms have been collected in the wild.
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Past case of death cap fatality in Australia, court hears
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC turns to recent death cap mushroom poisoning cases. Dr Thomas May says there is no central registry of death cap mushroom poisonings in Australia.
He points to a case, reported in 1997, where a husband and wife in Melbourne the previous year had cooked wild mushrooms. The husband later died in hospital.
Rogers takes May to a statement he made based on four images that were posted on the iNaturalist website.
May says the images are “highly consistent with amanita phalloides – death cap”.
He says the four images were posted together on the website but he cannot remember the exact date.
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The jurors are back in the court room.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is continuing her examination of May.
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The jurors are on a lunch break and the trial will resume at 2.15pm.
Other mushrooms contain the toxins found in death caps, expert tells court
Dr Thomas May – a fungi expert – says there are other mushrooms that contain the toxins found in death cap mushrooms.
The death cap is different from other kinds of mushrooms in that it will appear in summer.
He says there appear to be cases in Australia where people have confused the death cap mushroom for another.
“Have there been cases or possibly fatalities where people, sometimes visitors to Australia, have mistaken the death cap mushroom from an edible mushroom?” prosecutor Nanette Rogers asks.
That does appear to be the case.
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Dr Thomas May says death cap mushrooms appear for a short period “after suitable rain” – usually in autumn. They can also appear in winter or summer.
He says most observations of death caps have been made in May but also observed in all months from January to July, though rarely in December.
‘Death cap’ mushrooms found throughout Victoria, expert tells court
Dr Thomas May says, in Victoria, death cap mushrooms are found from eastern Melbourne to the Dandenong ranges – as well as in regional centres.
In the Gippsland region, there are three records of death cap mushrooms, in Loch, Outtrim and near Morwell, the court hears.
May says the Loch record was in April 2023 and the Outtrim record was in May 2023.
The third record, which is near Morwell, was within the past 20 years, he says.
May says there are more reports in well-populated areas such as Melbourne.
He says there are mushrooms that occur in Victoria that have a similar appearance to death caps, such as the stubble rosegill and marbled death cap.
Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers is walking Dr Thomas May through the website iNaturalist, a publicly available website where people post about nature.
May says you do not need an account to view observations on the website. But you do need an account to post an observation.
Each post contains an image, he says.
May says it is the “largest citizen platform” for fungi. May says each post also contains the location of where the fungi was spotted.
He says more than 440,000 images for fungi in Australia had been uploaded by February 2024.
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Death cap mushrooms can last up to a few weeks in fridge, expert tells court
Dr Thomas May says mushrooms picked from the field last a few weeks before they begin to decompose but the exact rate would depend on the insect infestation.
He says if the weather is wet, the decay of mushrooms may be quicker.
He says a fresh mushroom from the field could last up to a few weeks in the fridge.
May says fresh, commercial mushrooms will last longer because they are not infested with insects.
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Dr Thomas May: there are hundreds of species of amanita mushrooms
He says the mushroom amanita phalloides has the common name of “death cap”.
May says the mushroom’s “sporing bodies” appear for a few weeks at certain times of the year, the court hears.
The death cap’s native area of distribution to Europe and has spread to numerous countries – including Australia, May says.
He tells the jury that mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with trees.
In Australia, death caps are almost always with oak trees, he says.
May says the mushrooms’ gills are white and remain so at maturity, while the stems are white or pale yellow.
Prosecution’s next witness is Dr Thomas May, a mushroom expert
May is a mycologist – a specialist in fungi, the court hears.
In 2023, he was working at the Royal Botanic Gardens as a mycologist.
He is also an honorary associate at the Victorian Poisons Information Centre.
He’s one of Victoria’s leading fungi experts.
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Video: recap of Erin Patterson's trial so far
If you’re looking for a recap of the trial so far, here’s a quick run-through from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci:
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Dr Varuna Ruggoo says she deemed Erin well enough to be discharged
Ruggoo says Erin’s respiratory rate, blood pressure and body temperature were all within normal ranges.
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asks Dr Varuna Ruggoo if she deemed Erin well enough to be discharged.
I did.
There is no cross-examination.
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Erin appeared 'clinically well' after mushroom lunch, doctor tells court
The prosecution’s next witness is Dr Varuna Ruggoo, an emergency physician at Monash Health. She says she assessed Erin on 1 August 2023.
Ruggoo says Erin had been administered IV fluids and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) for potential liver issues.
She says the review by Muldoon that morning concluded “there was no evidence of any sort of liver toxicity and that she was stable to be discharged”.
Ruggoo also reviewed Erin on 12.18pm.
She appeared clinically well. In a normal mood and affect.
She says Erin said she had not vomited or experienced diarrhoea before she was handed over to Ruggoo that morning.
Ruggoo tells the court that notes from Muldoon had indicated that Erin was not suffering from amanita phalloides — death cap mushroom — poisoning.
She wrote in her notes that there was no concern about that type of poisoning.
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Jurors shown a photo of the remains of fateful beef wellington meal
Dr Laura Muldoon says she received the image from Dr Veronica Foote at Leongatha hospital on 31 July.
The photos show a pastry encasing a brown paste. There are also leftovers of the brown paste in the photo.
Beef wellington remains were delivered to the Monash medical centre from Leongatha via ambulance with Erin, prosecutor Nanette Rogers says.
Muldoon says the remains arrived in a plastic bag. She then organised for the remnants of the meal to be transferred to a mycologist – a mushroom expert – at the Royal Botanic Gardens via an urgent taxi.
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Dr Laura Muldoon asked Erin about the ingredients in the meal, court hears
Erin said she had used beef eye-fillet meat, puff pastry, garlic, beans and potatoes.
Erin also described the mushrooms in the beef wellington:
Dried dehydrated mushrooms, possibly shiitake or porcini ... she stated she purchased them from a Chinese grocery store in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley.
Nanette Rogers SC, the prosecutor, asks Muldoon if Erin had the packaging of the dried mushrooms.
“She replied she did not,” Muldoon says.
She says Erin denied using foraged mushrooms in the meal.
Muldoon says Erin had chapped lips but looked “clinically well”.
Muldoon also assessed Erin the following day, on 1 August 2023, when she reported feeling better.
All her blood tests had come back and were normal and all her vitals were normal.
She says there was no medical evidence of death cap mushroom poisoning.
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Doctor who assessed Erin Patterson in emergency department gives evidence
The prosecution’s next witness is Dr Laura Muldoon, who assessed Erin in the Monash hospital emergency department. In 2023 Muldoon was a toxicology registrar.
Muldoon says she spoke to Erin on 31 July – two days after the lunch when she was transferred to Monash hospital. She says Erin’s reported symptoms were nausea and abdominal pain.
Erin reported she had experienced nausea and diarrhoea since the day of the lunch, Muldoon says.
Erin said she was under the impression it was due to food poisoning from the beef wellington she had cooked, Muldoon says.
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Prof Rhonda Stuart asked Erin where the mushrooms were sourced
The doctor tells the court:
One of the types, she said, came from the supermarket with plastic over the top. The other pack she said she got from an Asian food shop a number of weeks prior.
Stuart says Erin said she no longer had the packet the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer came in.
She said they were in a packet but she’d opened the packet and put them in a container.
Stuart says Erin told her the Asian grocer had been in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley.
She said she couldn’t remember but perhaps if she drove past the shop she could recognise it.
She did say they had a strong smell.
Stuart says she asked Erin if she had been mushroom foraging. Erin told her she had not and only used store-bought mushrooms, the court hears.
Stuart says Erin asked why she was questioning her:
I said I was trying to make sure there was no public health issue.
There is no cross-examination.
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Prof Rhonda Stuart recounts interview with Erin Patterson in emergency department
Prof Rhonda Stuart says she interviewed Erin when she was in the emergency department at Monash hospital.
She told me that she came because her children needed to be checked out because there’d been a lunch and there was concern that they may also be infected.
She said that she had given the children some of the meal the following day but had scraped off the mushroom paste.
She said she’d been unwell the following day, the Sunday, with gastroenteritis-type symptoms.
Stuart said Erin told her about the dish she cooked for the lunch:
She told me she had made a beef wellington and she had made the beef wellington with a mushroom paste.
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The next witness is Prof Rhonda Stuart, a doctor and the medical director of infection prevention and epidemiology at Monash Health.
Stuart is providing evidence in the court room in Morwell.
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Flying instructor for Erin Patterson’s son says Patterson ‘grumpy’ due to lesson cancellation over phone after mushroom lunch
The next written statement is from Ulysses Villalobos, who was the flying instructor for Erin’s son.
He says the son had booked three flying lessons with him but two needed to be cancelled due to poor weather. Villalobos says he conducted one lesson with Erin’s son on 2 July 2023.
He describes meeting Erin for the first time:
She seemed quite easygoing. Nothing of note. Just a typical mum taking their son to a weekend activity.
He says he called Erin the day after the lunch around 3.48pm to cancel her son’s lessons due to poor weather:
She got grumpy at me. She started complaining to me. it was unfair she had to drive a whole hour.
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Friend of Erin Patterson’s son says she seemed ‘like her normal self’ after the mushroom lunch
The prosecution has called their next witness, a friend of Erin Patterson’s son. The friend, who is a child, cannot be named for legal reasons.
His written statement is being read to jurors. He recalls having a sleepover at Erin’s son’s house the evening before the lunch. In the statement, the friend describes the morning of the lunch on 29 July:
Erin said there were people coming over. She didn’t say who.
After going to McDonald’s and the cinemas, the friend describes returning home to Erin’s house in Leongatha after the lunch:
I think there was a plate on the dining room table when we walked in. I think it was [Erin’s son’s] grandma who cleaned the table.
There were some plates in the kitchen sink. I think they were white plates.
He says Erin seemed “like her normal self” when she dropped him home the evening of the lunch.
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What we know so far
While we wait for today’s evidence to begin, here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Friday:
1. Erin Patterson’s son described his parents’ relationship as “very negative” and said his father “does a lot of things to try and hurt Mum” such as “messing around with schooling”.
2. Erin’s son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he and his sister ate the leftovers of the deadly lunch the following day, describing what he understood to be “eye fillet” beef as “some of the best meat I’ve ever had”. Patterson made leftovers for herself too, he said, but did not eat it as she felt unwell, so he ate her food.
3. Erin’s daughter, who also cannot be named, said her mother was a “very good cook”.
4. Erin’s son has recalled a “fond” memory of his mother taking a photograph of a mushroom in mid-2020 while on a walk together in the Korumburra botanic park.
“I remember Mum took a picture of them because she thought they looked nice,” he said.
5. Erin’s son said he had helped his mother clean up on the day of the lunch and recalled collecting white dinner plates, which he said were all the same, and placing them near the kitchen sink.
Justice Christopher Beale decided that Monday would be a day off for the jurors, while both Patterson’s legal team and the prosecution sorted through some procedural matters.
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Welcome
Welcome to day 10 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial. We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin shortly after 10.30am.
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 defence’s case is that the events were an accident and Patterson never intended to harm her lunch guests.
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