The Australian woman accused of poisoning her estranged husband’s parents did not appear as sick as her guests after the fatal lunch in July 2023, a nurse who assessed her has testified.
Erin Patterson is on trial for allegedly serving a meal laced with deadly mushrooms that killed her former husband’s father, mother and aunt – Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson – and left his uncle, Ian Wilkinson, critically ill.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and attempted murder brought against her.
Cindy Munro, who testified on Thursday, said Ms Patterson seemed calm and didn’t look unwell at the Leongatha Hospital when she was examined two days after hosting the lunch at her home in Victoria, Australia.
The nurse also alleged that Ms Patterson resisted treatment.
By midday on 31 July 2023, the jury heard, Ms Patterson was in a noticeably different condition than her guests, who had been hospitalised with severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
“She didn’t look unwell like Ian and Heather,” Ms Munro said.
“I recall Ian being so unwell that he could barely lift his head off the pillow. Erin was sitting up in bed in the trolley and she didn’t look unwell to me.”
She said Ms Patterson was reluctant to receive treatment, including IV fluids and liver medication, and told hospital staff that she didn’t want it.
The staff suspected the guests were sick from mushroom poisoning and were concerned that Ms Patterson’s two children might have been exposed by eating the leftovers.
“At that stage she said, ‘No, no I scraped off all the mushroom’ and the children were not unwell,” Ms Munro told the court.
“She didn’t want to cause any hassle. She didn’t want to take them out of school and that was when she became quite teary, quite worried.”
Ms Munro said she warned Ms Patterson that toxins could have spread to the meat her children ate and that she eventually agreed to have them checked.
Earlier on Thursday, Dr Veronica Foote told the court Ms Patterson discharged herself from the hospital on 31 July 2023 after just five minutes.
Ms Patterson’s decision to leave against medical advice led another concerned doctor to call police when she did not return after the agreed 20 minutes.
Dr Foote said that, after speaking with Ms Patterson and conducting a physical examination, she suspected the patient was moderately dehydrated and showed signs of a gastro illness.
Ms Patterson’s sister-in-law, Tanya Patterson, told the court on Thursday that she was there when a toxicologist shared her blood test results and remarked that her potassium levels weren’t as low as typically seen in someone who had experienced diarrhoea.
“I stayed and heard the toxicologist say Erin was fine and well enough to go home,” she said.
After an initial assessment at Leongatha, Ms Patterson was transferred to Monash Medical Centre for advanced care. Paramedic Eleyne Spencer testified that Ms Patterson told them she had diarrhoea up to 30 times before going to the hospital but didn’t need to use the toilet during the hour-and-40-minute trip to Monash.
Ms Patterson complained of a headache, rating it 7 out of 10 in pain. Ms Spencer described Ms Patterson as “calm and nonchalant” during the journey.
The trial continues.
