Day five of the trial has concluded
We’ll be back at 10.30am tomorrow for live coverage.
Here’s what jurors heard today:
Erin’s estranged husband, Simon, denied asking her “is that what you used to poison them?” in the days immediately after the lethal mushroom lunch. It was alleged he was referring to the food dehydrator, the court heard, although it was not clarified who “them” referred to.
The court was shown a Facebook message Erin wrote in 2023 before the lunch, according to her online friend Daniela Barkley. It read “I’ve been hiding powdered mushrooms in everything. Mixed into chocolate brownies yesterday, the kids had no idea.”
A Facebook friend of Erin recalled her describing her estranged husband, Simon, as “coercive” and her in-laws as “demanding”. The three Facebook friends who gave evidence did not meet her in person but communicated in online true crime groups, online chats and phone calls.
The same witness, Christine Hunt, says Erin was “well regarded” in the Facebook group and known as a good researcher, describing her as a “super sleuth.”
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Facebook friend says Erin Patterson loved mushrooms
Under cross-examination by Mandy, Hay says Erin “seemed to really like mushrooms.”
She says she gave Erin advice about making a beef wellington dish, suggesting she wrap the pastry as close as possible to avoid it becoming soggy.
Hay’s evidence has now concluded.
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Facebook friend tells court Erin told her mushrooms came from Asian grocer
Hay says Erin emailed her on the Monday after the mushroom lunch and asked her to call her.
They later spoke on the phone for about 10 minutes, the court hears.
Hay says Erin told her the mushrooms came from an Asian grocery store.
She also recalls Erin saying she was sick after the lunch, had attended hospital and that her children had been tested after eating some of the meal.
Erin Patterson never discussed foraging for mushrooms, Facebook friend tells court
The next witness, Jenny Hay, is also an online friend of Erin Patterson, the court hears.
Hay says she first met Erin in a Facebook group that “stemmed from the ABC documentary about Keli Lane”.
Hay says she and Erin were also part of a separate, smaller Facebook group and a private group chat with five people.
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asks if the group chat ever discussed mushrooms and Hay replies “yes”:
We did talk a lot about recipes and things we liked.
She says in February 2023 Erin bought a dehydrator and was using it to dry mushrooms, including for food she gave to her children.
Asked if Erin ever discussed foraging for mushrooms, she says “no”.
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Erin Paterson told Facebook group she loved mushrooms, friend says
Colin Mandy SC is now cross-examining Barkley.
He says there were discussions “long before the lunch” in July about beef wellingtons. Barkley says she can’t recall.
She agrees the dish was loved by other members of the Facebook chat. Barkley says Erin told members of the group that she loved mushrooms.
Asked about her evidence that Erin raised an issue with Simon’s cleanliness, Barkley agrees that Erin had told the group she had to clean her estranged husband’s house at one point.
Barkley’s evidence has concluded.
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Friend says Erin asked for advice about cooking beef wellington
Two weeks before the lethal lunch, Barkley says Erin asked for advice in the chat about cooking a beef wellington.
She said she later asked for further advice regarding selecting meat for the dish.
Barkley says Erin did not say why she was cooking a beef wellington.
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Facebook friend says Erin discussed drying mushrooms, mixing them in brownies
Erin discussed the dehydrator in the Facebook chat, Barkley says.
Jurors have been shown a screenshot of a Facebook message Barley says she received from Erin in 2023, before the lunch.
I’ve been hiding mushrooms in everything. Mixed into chocolate brownies yesterday, the kids had no idea.
Another message that Barkley says is from Erin reads:
So, fun fact the dehydrator reduces mushroom mass by 90%. Do you think Woolies would mind if I brought the dehydrator into their vegetable section and dry things before I buy them.”
The screenshots shown are sent from “Facebook user.” Barkley says the messages were sent from Erin.
A photo of a dehydrator with dried mushrooms is also shown to jurors.
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Facebook friend: Erin Patterson said her husband was ‘so difficult to get along with’
Barkley says the group members would share news articles and true crime podcasts related to the Keli Lane case.
Barkley says another group with 18 members was then created. She says for the first few years Erin was “quite active” in this smaller group.
In the last year or so, the court heard, she barely posted in there.
Asked if Erin spoke about Simon, she says she did so in a Facebook chat group with five members.
Sometimes, about how sad she felt. About how he was just so religious and how it was so difficult to get along with him … some of it was to do with just how he treated [their son].
She felt like he was always favouring [their daughter] for some reason and [their son] would feel very, very hurt.
Asked what else she shared, Barkley says: “Just that he wasn’t a very nice person”, as well as her issues with “his cleanliness”, adding that Erin didn’t want their children to stay overnight at Simon’s house.
Updated
The next witness is Daniela Barkley.
Barkley met Erin Patterson through a Facebook true crime group in early 2019, the court hears.
Barkley confirms the group had about 30 to 50 members.
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Facebook friend says Erin Patterson described estranged husband as ‘controlling’
Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy SC is now cross-examining Hunt.
Hunt agrees that Erin appeared to be a devoted mother and would often post information about her two children in the Facebook group.
Mandy then presses Hunt on how Erin characterised Simon in the group.
Hunt says “coercive” and “controlling” were the words Erin frequently used to describe her estranged husband.
Questioned on her previous use of the word “abusive”, Hunt says she used the word because coercive control is a form of abuse.
Mandy then turns to Hunt’s evidence that Erin was an atheist.
Simon puts to Hunt that Erin attended church. Hunt replies that Erin shared that she “did not necessarily” believe in God:
“I knew the kids went to a faith-based school and she was unhappy with that.”
Hunt’s evidence has concluded.
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Erin described estranged husband as 'coercive', court hears
Hunt says she has not met Erin in person but got to know her in the online community and they had spoken on the phone several times.
She recalls Erin describing Simon as “coercive” and said she described Simon’s parents as “demanding”:
“There were challenges. She didn’t like it … she deemed unsettled whenever the kids were away.”
Hunt tells jurors Erin shared challenges about having a different faith to Simon.
“She being an atheist and Simon being from a very strong Baptist background, she found that very challenging … is what she shared with us.”
Hunt says she was on a “group call” with Erin after the mushroom lunch but did not speak directly to her.
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Erin Patterson described as a 'super sleuth' by second witness
Hunt says Erin Patterson’s Facebook name was originally “Erin Patterson” but changed to “Erin Erin” and then “Erin Erin Erin.”
Hunt says people in the second group, with up to 30 members, got to know each other, shared information about their personal lives and supported each other.
She says Erin posted about her kids, Lego and buying her home in Leongatha.
“Just the challenges she was facing, the difficulties she had as a single mum.”
She says Erin was “highly regarded” in the Facebook group and known as a good researcher, describing her as a “super sleuth”.
The group was shut down at the end of 2019, the court hears.
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Christine Hunt says she first met Erin Patterson in ‘true crime’ group
Christine Hunt says she first met Erin Patterson about six years ago as part of a Facebook “true crime” group focused on former water polo player Keli Lane, who was convicted of killing her newborn baby daughter.
She says it was focused on Lane’s trial, and the first group included about 2,000 people.
“Being large as it was, there was a lot of disagreement and disharmony.”
The Facebook group was then reduced to about 20 to 30 people, the court hears.
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Erin Patterson trial resumes after the lunch break
The second witness of the trial is Christine Hunt, the court hears. She is appearing via video link.
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall will be examining Hunt.
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Our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, was in the court room in Morwell last week for the first week of Erin Patterson’s murder trial.
Catch up on his report on the first week of the trial:
Simon’s evidence has concluded and the jurors have been given an early lunch break.
The trial will continue at 2.15pm.
Simon Patterson answers questions about ‘inflammatory’ messages from Erin
Nanette Rogers SC is now re-examining Simon.
Simon says his mother agreed to not read the messages sent from Erin to reduce the anxiety she had about being diagnosed with encephalitis.
He says the “inflammatory” message was a few months after the previous messages shown to the court from December 2022.
He recalls at the time his son was very tired while staying with him. He subsequently asked Erin to help his son get to bed earlier. He says Erin sent a reply to the group chat on Signal with his parents.
“I tell you what, if mum had of read that, I don’t know what that would have done to her,” he says.
Asked by Rogers what was “inflammatory” about the messages, Simon says:
“It was having a crack at me and accusing me of some things in response to what I’d messaged her about. That’s not the bit I objected to. It was the fact she’d sent it, especially to my … knowing mum’s condition and what that can do to mum … I’m still upset about that.”
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Mandy concludes cross-examination of Simon Patterson
Mandy tells Simon that the messages he has shown Simon today are the “only messages” about the payment of school fees.
Simon has characterised Erin as “inflammatory” and “aggressive” during a dispute over the children’s school fees, jurors are told.
Simon says the message he is thinking of has not been shown today.
Mandy concludes his cross-examination.
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Simon Patterson denies asking Erin 'is that what you used to poison them?'
Mandy asks Simon about his previous evidence that, while at Monash medical centre, Erin told him she did a blind taste test with their daughter with muffins cooked using dehydrated mushrooms.
He says after this conversation, Erin and Simon were alone in the room together, as their kids would sometimes leave the hospital room to go to the vending machine.
Mandy says Simon asked Erin “is that what you used to poison them?” in relation to the dehydrator. The conversation took place two days after the lethal lunch, the court hears.
Simon rejects this.
“I did not say that to Erin,” he says.
Mandy does not say who “them” refers to.
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Group text messages shown in court
Mandy asks Simon about his characterisation of Erin as “aggressive” in her messages during a financial dispute about their children in December 2022. The messages were made in a group chat with Erin, Simon and his parents, Don and Gail, the court heard.
Mandy reminds Simon the defence rejects this characterisation of Erin’s message and then shows the courtroom text messages between 4 December and 17 December 2022.
In a group chat on the messaging platform Signal, Gail Patterson writes on 4 December:
Hi Erin, it would be lovely if we could catch up with you, [our son] and [our daughter] before you go to NZ please. Would you be free next Saturday or Sunday lunch or tea? Love Don and Gail.
Erin replies on 4 December:
I’m sorry, but I can’t stop thinking about the comment that Don made on the phone, that the financial issues are probably easily solved and that Simon can “reverse the single thing in his tax return.” That is mind boggling in its implication, if that’s really what he said he would do.
“Revering the single thing” is basically telling the government that Simon and I are not separated any more, and that we are still married and living together as a couple and shared finances, so that they consider our income as a whole.
The immediate implication of that would be that I can no longer get family tax benefit ... Now I have no income from a job because I quit to care for the kids … and if he “reverses the single thing” then I’ll not be able to claim family tax benefit and I’ll not be entitled to any child support …
Simon is hiding behind the communication from the government that now that I have made a child support claim, he doesn’t have to pay any bills outside it.
That is an instruction for people who want to be a bare minimum parent …
On the same day, Don replies:
Sorry I may have misled you Erin. I regret possibly making a false presentation of Simon’s opinions. That is why I immediately withdrew it …
Erin on the 6 December writes in the group chat:
Thanks Don. I understand your position and that you and Gail don’t want to be involved in certain aspects of these difficulties as it is uncomfortable and awkward …..
She says Simon is “under the misapprehension” that a child support assessment covers “every expense for the children under the sun.”
Under cross-examination, Simon says he remembers the messages. But he says “this is not what I had in mind” when he describes Erin as “aggressive” in messages.
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Simon says ‘unlikely’ Erin asked about his parents days after lunch
Mandy takes Simon to 31 July 2023 – two days after the lethal lunch.
He says that while at Monash medical centre to be tested after the lunch, Erin asked him “how are they going?” in relation to his parents, Don and Gail.
“What I’m suggesting to you, Mr Patterson, is that she asked that question,” Mandy says.
Simon says he does not recall her asking that. When pressed, he says it’s “possible but unlikely” she enquired about his parents.
“It’s a feeling I remember as that’s odd,” he says.
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Jury enters court for day five
The jury has entered the courtroom for day five of the trial.
Erin Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, is continuing his cross-examination of Simon Patterson, Erin’s estranged husband.
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What the jury heard on Friday – a recap
Patterson is accused of murdering her her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them individual beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Friday – day four of the trial:
The court was shown text messages where Simon and Erin communicated about her “forgotten” invitation to her mother-in-law’s 70th birthday. Simon said at this point in time there was “tension” in Erin’s relationship with his parents and between the pair.
Simon told the court Erin had “struggled” with mental illness and postnatal depression after the birth of their first child.
Simon said his estranged wife “hates” hospitals as he was asked about her discharging herself from Leongatha hospital against medical advice following the lunch.
Good morning
Welcome to day five of Erin Patterson’s murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin sometime after 10.30am.
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, will continue his cross-examination of his client’s estranged husband, Simon.
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, regional Victoria, in July 2023.
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.
