Here’s five things the jury heard on day eight of Erin Patterson’s murder trial
1. Erin “didn’t look unwell” compared with two of her seriously ill lunch guests on 31 July – two days after the lunch – when she was assessed at Leongatha hospital, according to a nurse who testified on Thursday.
2. While the nurse, Cindy Munro, was trying to insert a cannula to provide treatment to Erin due to suspected mushroom poisoning, she said she “didn’t want any of this,” the court heard.
3. Erin told a toxicologist registrar the mushrooms used in the beef wellington dish were bought from Safeway in Leongatha and a Chinese food store in Oakleigh. The registrar at the time, Dr Conor McDermott, said Erin told him she no longer had the mushroom packaging. Under cross-examination, McDermott agreed Erin had told him the dried mushrooms had been purchased from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley.
4. Erin appeared “fairly calm and nonchalant” during the ambulance journey from Leongatha hospital to Monash medical centre two days after the lunch, according to a paramedic who gave evidence.
5. Erin’s daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she and her brother ate leftovers from the lunch the following day. She described eating “some of the steak they had” alongside mashed potatoes and beans.
We’ll bring you live updates of the trial tomorrow from 10.30am. Just a reminder, the trial concludes at 1pm each Friday.
Thanks for following along.
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The court has adjourned for the day
Justice Christopher Beale says jurors will be shown the remainder of Erin’s daughter’s video evidence tomorrow.
Erin’s daughter says leftover steak did not have ‘anything else on it’
The officer asks Erin’s daughter to recall the meal they ate the day after the lunch.
She says her and her brother ate “some of the steak they had”.
“We had some mashed potatoes and beans,” she says.
The officer asks Erin’s daughter if the steak had anything else on it.
She replies: “no”.
The officer then asks about what plates Erin’s mother had at her Leongatha house.
Her daughter says they had a black and red plate – one her brother often used – and some white plates.
Erin’s daughter says her mother ate the same meal as the children on the Sunday evening but told them she was not very hungry because she was still unwell.
So [my brother] ate the rest of hers.
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Daughter says Erin used the toilet 10 times
After the movie, Simon picked up the three children, the daughter says.
She says her father dropped off her brother at Erin’s house in Leongatha and her brother’s friend at their house in Korumburra.
Me and Dad hung out for the rest of the day.
Erin’s daughter says her father dropped her at her mother’s house at about 9pm on the day of the lunch.
She says she and Erin played on their tablets and then went to bed.
Her brother was playing on the computer, she says.
The officer asks how her mother was that evening. Erin’s daughter says:
I don’t remember when she felt sick but I remember she started to feel sick the next day.
She just needed to go to the toilet a lot and she felt sick in the gut.
Erin’s daughter says her mother told her she was “not feeling well”.
She said she had diarrhoea and her tummy was sore.
The officer asks Erin’s daughter how many times her mother used the toilet.
Her daughter says Erin used the toilet 10 times in the morning and afternoon.
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Children told they would go to the movies while Erin Patterson hosted lunch, court hears
The officer asks the daughter if her parents are separated.
They’re husband and wife.
She agrees her parents live separately.
The daughter recalls Erin telling her that during the lunch she, her brother and a friend would go to the movies on the morning of 29 July.
Asked about what Erin made for lunch, the daughter says: “[my brother] and me had some of the leftovers.”
On the morning of the lethal lunch, she recalls Erin making a coffee in the kitchen.
She says she remembers seeing meat in the oven.
Erin later drove the three children to McDonald’s in Leongatha and to see a movie at 12.30pm, the daughter says.
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Daughter tells officer Erin Patterson wanted to discuss ‘adult stuff’ at lunch
The police officer asks the daughter why she thinks the police want to talk to her.
I don’t know why I’m here.
When she is prompted about what the conversation is about, the daughter replies “the lunch”.
The lunch at my mum’s house.
The officer asks her to tell him as much as she can about the lunch at Erin’s house:
I wasn’t there.
The officer asks how she knows about the lunch.
The daughter replies:
Because my mum told me that she wanted to have a lunch with my grandparents and Heather and Ian.
I can’t remember what she said but I just remember she said she was having a lunch with them.
She said she was going to have lunch at the dining table.
Asked if Erin said why she was hosting the lunch, her daughter replies, “she just wanted to talk to them and, I guess, have lunch with them.”
The officer questions the daughter about what Erin wanted to discuss at the lunch.
Adult stuff.
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Erin Patterson's daughter is giving pre-recorded evidence
The jury is being shown pre-recorded video evidence from Erin Patterson’s daughter.
In the video, the daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is being interviewed by a police officer.
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What we know: day eight
If you’re catching up on the trial today, here’s a report from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, on the evidence heard so far:
Erin’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, is cross-examining Spencer
Spencer agrees that after the call to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre, Erin was interested about the issue of liver toxicity.
“In that context you observed she was calm and chatty,” Mandy says.
Spencer says “yes”.
The cross-examination concludes.
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Erin Patterson was given fentanyl after reporting a ‘seven out of 10’ headache, court hears
Before transferring her, Eleyne Spencer says the paramedics observed her returning from the toilet.
Ms Patterson visually appeared well.
Spencer asked Erin to described her symptoms and Erin said she had diarrhoea between 25 and 30 times over the past two days.
She says Erin could get on to the stretcher unassisted. Spencer says she advised Erin that if she needed to use the toilet during the 90-minute journey to Monash medical centre, she should let them know.
They departed Leongatha at 1.01pm and arrived at 2.40pm at Monash medical centre, the court hears. Spencer, who was driving the ambulance, says Erin did not require the toilet during this time. Her colleague was next to Erin.
Spencer says during the journey they administered Erin a medication, ondansetron, to treat the nausea she complained of.
Erin also reported a “seven out 10” headache and was given fentanyl because of the potential liver side-effects from paracetamol. Spencer’s colleague called the Victorian Poisons Information Centre who advised fentanyl could be administered.
Intranasal fentanyl was then administered, the court hears.
That was effective.
She says Erin was “fairly calm and nonchalant” during the ambulance journey.
Spencer says she gave the beef wellington samples to a toxicologist at the Monash medical centre.
Erin’s children and Simon Patterson were at the hospital when the ambulance arrived, she says.
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Prosecution calls next witness, Eleyne Spencer
On 31 July 2023, Eleyne Spencer was working as a paramedic in Leongatha, the court hears.
At 12.23pm that day Spencer and a colleague responded to a call to attend Leongatha hospital for Erin Patterson and transfer her to Monash medical centre.
Spencer said Patterson had complained of “extensive diarrhoea” over the past two days, nausea and abdominal pain but no vomiting.
She was provided Erin’s vitals and blood results which were in “normal ranges”.
Spencer says they also transported samples of the beef wellington dish to the Monash medical centre.
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Erin Patterson said mushrooms were purchased several months before meal, doctor tells court
Dr Conor McDermott later called the GP to find out where Erin had bought the mushrooms from. He then spoke directly with Erin on the phone and asked where mushrooms were obtained.
She said they had been sourced as button mushrooms, pre-sliced, from Leongatha Safeway.
McDermott says Erin said dried mushrooms had been bought from a Chinese food store in Oakleigh.
McDermott says he asked about the brand of the mushrooms from the supermarket. Erin told him the mushrooms were “unbranded”, he says.
Erin told McDermott she no longer had the mushroom packaging and it would not be able to be located, he says.
Erin told him the mushrooms from a Chinese store had been bought “several months before”.
McDermott says he did an online search of Chinese stores in Oakleigh and offered to read these out to Erin. He recalls her response:
She said she would not be able to recall even if I named each one.
Erin said they were bought several months ago, in April of that year, McDermott says.
He says Erin told him the packaging from the Chinese grocer had also been disposed of.
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Erin Patterson had slightly low potassium but looked well, doctor tells court
Dr Conor McDermott says a GP at the Leongatha urgent care clinic called him on 31 July, seeking advice about Erin Patterson due to suspected mushroom poisoning.
McDermott was told Erin was stable, had a heart rate of 140 beats per minute and “looked well,” the court hears.
He says he was provided with Erin’s blood results which showed a pH of 7.47 – “slightly high” and blood gas readings which were normal. Erin’s potassium levels were “slightly low”, McDermott tells the court.
I was told she had complained of diarrhoea which is what the other patients had presented with but I was told also that this hadn’t been observed while the patient was in the department.
He says the GP said Erin had reported experiencing diarrhoea for the past 36 hours.
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Prosecution calls next witness, Dr Conor McDermott
In July 2023, Dr Conor McDermott was working as a toxicology registrar at the Austin hospital.
McDermott says in this role he would treat patients and provide advice to people who called the Victorian Poisons Information Centre.
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Erin Patterson asked how four lunch guests were, court hears
Stafford turns to the conversation Tanya Patterson had with Erin Patterson, while at Monash on 1 August 2023.
She agrees the first thing Erin did was ask how the four lunch guests were.
Tanya says prior to the visit, her husband, Matthew, told her not to share too many details about the other relatives’ conditions.
She says Matthew said it was best to not “give much detail to Erin about where people’s situations were at” so Simon, Erin’s estranged husband, could share information.
Tanya agrees Erin told her she had sought information from Simon about the conditions of their relatives but had not received many details.
Stafford presses Tanya on if Erin told her she knew the condition of Don and Gail Patterson. Tanya says she may be wrong but is going off her memory and what she wrote in her police statement.
The cross-examination concludes.
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Don and Gail were ‘fantastic’ in-laws to children’s partners, court hears
Under cross-examination, Tanya Patterson agrees her sister-in-law, Erin Patterson, remained part of their family group chat on the platform Signal after her separation.
She says Don and Gail Patterson were “fantastic” in-laws to their children’s partners, including Erin.
Sophie Stafford is now turning to Tanya’s evidence that Simon and Erin’s relationship deteriorated about 12 months before the lunch.
Tanya agrees she cannot give an exact timeframe on when she observed this.
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Court resumes
The jurors are back in the courtroom after the lunch break.
Erin’s defence lawyer, Sophie Stafford, is cross-examining Tanya Patterson – Erin’s sister-in-law.
Under questioning, Tanya agrees Erin lent her and Matthew about $400,000 to help purchase their home.
She says the couple continued to make repayments after the couple separated. She says she does not know if the payments went to Erin or Simon.
Updated
The court has adjourned for a lunch break.
The trial will recommence at 2.15pm.
Erin asked sister-in-law if children could stay with her, court hears
While at the hospital, Tanya Patterson says she went to visit Erin’s two children and Simon who were also there.
Tanya texted her after seeing the children and told her they were “well”, the court hears.
Erin thanked her for visiting the children.
After Don and Gail Patterson died, Tanya agrees that she received an email from Erin on 7 August 2023.
She agrees Erin asked about the possibility of her children staying with Tanya because child protection had become involved.
Lenthall concludes her examination of Tanya.
Simon and Erin’s good relationship ‘started to deteriorate’ in year before lunch, court hears
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall is examining Tanya Patterson.
Tanya says Erin always came to family events but in the 12 months before the lethal lunch, her relationship with Simon “started to deteriorate a bit”.
Erin and Simon didn’t really interact that much at family events …. Erin had taken the kids out of school, to a different school, without telling Simon, and wanted Simon to pay child support which was not the plan earlier.
Tanya recalls texting Erin at about 5pm on 31 July 2023 – two days after the lunch. She says Erin had reported feeling nauseous, dizzy and tired.
At about 9.30am the following day, Tanya went to visit Erin in hospital. She says Erin asked where everybody was and she told her “things were going downhill quickly”.
She says Erin knew two of the lunch guests were in a coma.
They discussed a cruise Tanya had recently been on as Erin was considering doing a similar trip with her children.
Tanya told the court Erin had said she didn’t get much sleep the previous night and that she had very low potassium levels and she had been given medication overnight.
She recalls Erin saying she was waiting for a blood test results and to be sent home.
A toxicologist had said Erin was fine to go home, Tanya says.
Erin questioned the toxicologist about her potassium and was told they were fine and that “for someone who had diarrhoea they aren’t as low as they would expect them to be,” Tanya says.
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Daughter-in-law of Don and Gail Patterson called as witness
The prosecution has now called their next witness, Tanya Patterson.
Tanya is married to Matthew Patterson, the son of Don and Gail Patterson. Both Don and Gail are deceased.
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Prosecution calls Sen Const Adrian Martinez-Villalobis as next witness
The prosecution’s next witness is Senior Constable Adrian Martinez-Villalobis. He received a call to perform a welfare check at Erin Patterson’s Leongatha address on the morning of 31 July 2023 after she was discharged from hospital, the court hears.
Martinez-Villalobis says hospital staff connected him with Erin and he spoke to her on the phone just after 10am. She provided him with the gate code so the police officers could obtain the leftovers of the beef wellington for testing.
Martinez-Villalobis says Erin told him the leftovers could be in the outdoor “red-lidded bin” in a brown Woolworths bag or the indoor bin.
He says he found the remnants of the meal in the outdoor bin and did not need to enter the house.
He says Erin told him her “brain was a bit foggy” at the time.
He says the leftovers were underneath two other brown bags in the outdoor bin. The Woolworths bag contained “one and a bit” beef wellingtons and some cans, the court hears.
I retrieved the bag, removing the other excess items from the bag.
He says Erin was cooperative when they spoke on the phone.
Martinez-Villalobis then drove the bag to Leongatha hospital where it was collected by a medical staff, the court hears.
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Erin’s lawyer, Colin Mandy, begins a brief cross-examination of nurse Cindy Munro.
She agrees Erin said her children did not have any symptoms after consuming leftovers of the lunch.
The cross-examination has concluded.
Erin Patterson said ‘I don't want the children involved’, nurse tells court
While trying to insert the cannula, Munro says Erin “stressed she didn’t want any of this.”
“She didn’t want any interventions,” Munro says.
Munro says Erin said multiple times she did not want the medical treatment.
She says she told Erin that because she had consumed the lunch meal she required NAC. Munro then inserted the cannula for Erin and attached the IV fluids, she says.
Erin then said her children had eaten the same meal. Munro says she told her it was important the children be tested because, even if Erin scraped the mushrooms off the meal for them, the toxin could have leaked into the meat.
That was when she became quite teary and quite worried.
She also said ‘I don’t want the children involved in this’ … that was the repeated message that I got.
Erin later agreed for the children to be tested and said their father, Simon Patterson, would drive them to Monash, Munro says.
She says before Erin was transferred to Monash medical centre, she used the toilet at Leongatha.
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Erin ‘didn't look unwell’ to her, nurse tells court
Cindy Munro says when she returned to the urgent care clinic from a meeting “before 10am”, Erin was in the hospital.
A colleague asked Munro to cannulate Erin, the court hears.
She says there was not enough N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) – a liver treatment – in the hospital because it had been administered to Ian and Heather Wilkinson, two of the four guests at the fateful mushroom lunch.
Staff had to request additional supply from Korumburra hospital, Munro says.
Munro says she told Erin there would be a delay and she would commence her medical observations.
Warren asks Munro how Erin appeared at this point:
She didn’t look unwell like Heather and Ian. I recall Ian being so unwell he couldn’t lift his head from a pillow … but Erin was sitting up on the bed from the trolley and she didn’t look unwell to me.
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Medical staff considered calling police if Erin didn’t return
Cindy Munro recalls seeing colleague Kylie Ashton seeking a “discharge at own risk form”.
She said Erin wanted to leave to go and sort out her children.
After Erin left the hospital, Munro said Dr Chris Webster said he was worried and hoped she would return in 20 minutes.
Prosecutor Jane Warren asks Munro what Webster said he would do if Erin did not return.
He was going to call the police because he was worried about her welfare.
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Prosecution calls Cindy Munro as next witness
Cindy Munro is the prosecution’s next witness. In July 2023, Munro was working at Leongatha hospital as deputy director of nursing, the court hears.
Munro says on the morning of 31 July, she was part of Ian and Heather Wilkinson’s transfer to Dandenong hospital due to suspected mushroom poisoning.
A reminder that Ian and Heather are the uncle and aunt of Simon Patterson – Erin’s estranged husband.
Munro says this required transferring them as inpatients at Leongatha hospital to the urgent care clinic on site.
Munro was caring for Ian before his transfer, she says.
Dr Chris Webster, who previously gave evidence, then arrived at hospital.
Munro says she heard Webster tell Ian that medical staff suspected death cap mushroom poisoning. She says Webster told Ian staff at Dandenong hospital had requested he and Heather be transferred there.
Munro later saw Erin at the urgent care clinic when she arrived at Leongatha hospital at about 8am.
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Erin’s blood pressure and pulse was high, court hears
Under cross-examination, Ashton agrees that she did not give Erin specific details about the other lunch guests due to confidentiality requirements.
Ashton recalls calling Foote for assistance to help convince Erin to stay at the hospital.
She agrees she told Foote that Erin’s blood pressure and pulse was high.
Ashton says she cannot recall Erin specifically saying she would come back but that she agreed to return to hospital.
The cross-examination has concluded.
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Erin Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy cross-examining Kylie Ashton
Mandy asks about the previous evidence from medical witnesses that Erin was present at the hospital for five minutes before she discharged herself.
Ashton confirms everything she has described occurred within this five-minute time period.
She says Erin repeatedly said she could not stay at hospital.
Mandy suggests that Erin said she was prepared to have treatment, just not at that point.
Ashton says Erin did not initially say this but agreed to return to hospital at a later time.
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Erin signed ‘discharge at own risk form’, court hears
The jurors are shown Erin Patterson’s “discharge at own risk form” that she signed when leaving Leongatha hospital at 8.10am that day, against medical advice.
Kylie Ashton recalls reaching Erin before she left the hospital and requesting she sign the form.
She says she told Erin she needed to return to hospital and have treatment to ensure she didn’t become unwell like the other lunch guests.
Ashton told Erin her blood pressure and pulse were elevated at this point:
I said these could be symptoms of illness and we needed to do further investigation to ensure she was safe.
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Medical staff ‘implored’ Victorian woman to stay at hospital after fateful mushroom lunch, court hears
Prosecutor Jane Warren asks Ashton, who was the director of nursing at Gippsland Southern Health Service in July 2023, about her conversation with Erin before she discharged herself from hospital on 31 July.
That was two days after the fateful beef wellington lunch.
Ashton says she explained to Erin the importance of her staying at hospital to be assessed.
Warren asks about Erin’s response. Ashton says:
That she had not come to hospital preparing to be admitted and she needed to go away to sort out her children.
Ashton says she “implored” Erin to stay. She says she told Erin her “life was at risk” and two guests from the lunch were in the intensive care unit.
Erin refused to move into a hospital bay for examination, Ashton tells the court.
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Kylie Ashton did not know who advised Erin Patterson to attend hospital, court hears
Ashton tells the court about her interaction with Erin on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
Erin sat on the chairs near the nurses station, the court hears.
Ashton says she asked Erin what brought her to hospital:
She had told me she had been the fifth member of the lunch and she had consumed the meal that was prepared and that she had … diarrhoea and nausea since that occasion but not vomiting.
Ashton says Erin said she was advised to attend the hospital. But she says she does not know who advised Erin.
Ashton told Erin she may need to administer N-acetyl cysteine to her to protect her liver, the court hears.
Updated
The prosecution has called their next witness, Kylie Ashton.
Ashton was working as director of nursing at Gippsland Southern Health Service in July 2023, the court hears.
She was working at Leongatha hospital on 31 July.
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Dr Veronica Foote tells court she warned Erin Patterson poisoning prognosis could include requiring liver transplant
Foote reviewed Erin upon her return to hospital, the court hears.
Under cross-examination, Foote agrees Erin complained of diarrhoea and abdominal pain and nausea.
She is asked about her evidence about Erin’s blood pressure and says it was at the upper level of a normal range.
Mandy asks Foote about her assessment that Erin “appeared to have a gastro-type illness” and she confirms this.
He turns to Foote advising Erin that her children – who she said had eaten leftovers of the beef wellington without mushrooms – should be tested. Foote agrees Erin wanted to pick up her children from school but she stressed the risks of doing so.
She says she discussed Erin commencing IV fluids, antibiotics and N-acetyl cysteine – a liver treatment, before she was transferred to Monash medical centre.
Foote agrees she warned Erin the prognosis of the poisoning could include requiring a liver transplant.
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Dr Veronica Foote continues evidence
Dr Veronica Foote, who was working as a GP at Leongatha hospital in July 2023, is continuing her evidence.
Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy SC, is cross-examining Foote.
He asks Foote about Erin discharging herself from the hospital at 8.10am on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
She agrees that at 8.10am Erin said she would return to the hospital soon.
Mandy says at this point Foote discussed with Erin the possibility of her being transferred to a hospital in metropolitan Melbourne.
Foote says this was the advice given to the medical team but she cannot recall if she explicitly told Erin.
Erin later returned to the hospital at 9.48am, the court hears.
Updated
The jury is just coming into the room, so we should see the prosecution continue its evidence soon.
What we learned yesterday
While we wait for the trial to begin today, here’s a recap of what the jury heard yesterday:
1. Erin discharged herself against medical advice from Leongatha hospital five minutes after being told she may have been exposed to potentially fatal mushroom poisoning. The court was played a triple zero call made by Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha hospital on 31 July – two days after the lunch – to raise concerns about Erin’s health and safety after her discharge.
2. When Erin returned to hospital later that morning, Webster stressed the importance of her children – who she said had eaten leftovers of the beef wellington without mushrooms – being tested. He said Erin said they would be frightened. He replied “they can be scared and alive or dead”, the court heard.
3. Erin told her brother-in-law, Matthew Patterson, in a phone call at about 10.30am on 31 July – two days after the lethal lunch – that the mushrooms in the beef wellington had been sourced from Woolworths and an Asian grocer, the court heard. Webster said Erin told him the mushrooms in the dish had been sourced from Woolworths.
4. The court heard a written statement from Danielle Romane, an official at the state’s health department. She said a request to search the state’s cancer registry found no record of Erin having received a cancer diagnosis.
5. Gail Patterson’s daughter, Anna Terrington, said her mother reported the lunch at Erin’s house had gone “well”. She said they had spoken on the phone at about 5pm on the day.
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Welcome to day eight of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin at 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, regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and the aunt of her estranged husband, 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.
