Erin Patterson said she spent a “small fortune” on buying eye fillet steak for her “special meal” of beef wellingtons, and was really disappointed that her estranged husband cancelled the night before the lunch, a Victorian court has heard.
Simon Patterson has started his evidence in Patterson’s murder trial in the supreme court, detailing the deterioration in their relationship about the paying of child support.
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 South Gippsland in 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering or attempting to murder the relatives of her estranged husband.
She is accused of murdering Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband.
Simon started his evidence in Patterson’s case by answering the question: “In what way do you know her?”
“I’m married to her,” he responded.
What followed was an unspooling of the history of their relationship, from meeting while part of an “eclectic” group of friends who worked together at the Monash city council in the early to mid 2000s, to driving across the Nullarbor to Perth as a newly married couple.
Shortly before they married in 2007, Simon said, Erin’s grandmother died, leaving her a share of the estate worth about $2m. This was slowly “dribbled” to her by the estate executors over about eight years until 2015, he said.
The couple had two children born in 2009 and 2014. But there were numerous separations during the course of their relationship, culminating in a final separation in 2015.
Simon said the couple remained amicable, however, until a dispute over child support in late 2022, sparked by his accountant accidentally lodging a tax return that listed him as “separated” from Patterson.
This had the ramification of Patterson having to apply for child support, he said, and him being advised by child support authorities to cease paying for other expenses he had previously contributed to, including school and medical fees.
There was a cooling of their relationship after this, which Simon said became clear when their previously “chatty” text exchanges, including banter and political discussions, became less frequent.
They continued to share responsibility for their children, and seeing each other regularly, including at Korumburra Baptist church, where Ian Wilkinson was the pastor.
During a service at the church on 16 July 2023, Simon said, Erin invited him to lunch on 29 July 2023. She invited his parents, and the Wilkinsons, during the same service, Simon said.
Simon agreed to go, but the night before the lunch he texted her to cancel.
“Sorry, I feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, mum, dad, Heather and Ian tomorrow, but am happy to talk about your health and implications of that at another time if you’d like to discuss on the phone,” he wrote to Erin at 6.54pm, according to a text shown to the court.
“Just let me know.”
Patterson then replied at 6:59pm: “That’s really disappointing. I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch or tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I’m facing and spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet to make beef wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal as I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time.
“It’s important to me that you’re all there tomorrow and that I have the conversations that I need to have.
“I hope you’ll change your mind. Your parents and Heather and Ian are coming at 12:30. I hope to see you there.”
Simon said he did not respond. He had already told his parents he would not be attending.
Simon became emotional several times during his evidence, including when detailing how unwell Don looked when he visited him in hospital the morning after the lunch.
“Yeah, Dad was substantially worse than Mum, he was really struggling,” he said.
“Lying on his side, hunched quite noticeably. Discoloured face, struggling to … speaking was an effort … and his voice was strained in a way that was, he wasn’t right inside, he was feeling the pain.”
Erin also appeared emotional when Simon detailed the closeness of her relationship with his parents, particularly Don.
“She especially got along well with Dad, they shared a lot of knowledge and learning and interest in the world, and I think she loved his gentle nature,” Simon said.
“Mum and Dad were really active in maintaining a good relationship with Erin [despite the separation], and I think it was mutual.”
Simon also detailed conversations he had with Erin about her also falling ill after the lunch, including when she said multiple times to him that she feared she would “poo her pants” because of diarrhoea she suffered.
He spoke about a conversation the couple had with their children at Monash hospital, where Erin and the children had been taken for treatment after the lunch, when they discussed that Erin conducted a blind taste test with muffins cooked using dehydrated mushroom.
She said it was interesting their youngest child, who did not like mushrooms, preferred a muffin with dried mushroom in it, the court heard.
The prosecution allege Patterson was not unwell because of the lunch. The court was also told on Tuesday that the prosecution would not be suggesting there was not a particular motive for the alleged murders and attempted murder.
Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, says she accidentally poisoned her lunch guests, and had not meant to harm any of them.
Under cross-examination, Simon said Erin provided loans worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to each of his three siblings and their partners in order for them to purchase houses.
The loans had no repayment schedule, and interest was only indexed to inflation, Simon said.
He also said the couple enjoyed travel together with their children after their 2015 separation, including on trips to South Africa, Botswana, Darwin, Adelaide, New Zealand and South Australia.
After a trip to Africa in 2018, there was another attempt to reconcile, Simon said, but it was unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, he was involved in the design and speaking with a builder about the house Patterson intended to construct in Leongatha, where the lunch was hosted about three years later.
Simon considered that while the design of the house focused on it being ideal for the children to grow up, it also reflected the prospect of him and Patterson having a future together.
He agreed Patterson was a devoted mother, who relied on his extended family, including his siblings and their partners, as a support network.
Simon agreed that Patterson had put on weight during their relationship, but did not think she had said she was embarrassed about that.
“Do you accept she wasn’t happy with the way she looked?” Mandy asked.
“I think Erin is not particularly happy with how she is, including probably most aspects,” Simon replied.
“I don’t think she has high self-esteem.”
Simon confirmed that the child support payment he had to make to Erin was $40 a month, which created some “friction” as it was clear it was not enough.
Simon also spoke about attending Korumburra Baptist church with Patterson during a trip to South Gippsland with friends before the pair were in a relationship.
He said that although he knew Patterson was an atheist she appeared moved by the service.
“She was moved by what was happening during the communion part of the service, not the sermon,” Simon said.
“By a religious or spiritual aspect of what was happening on that date?” Mandy asked him.
“Yes,” Simon responded.
The trial in Morwell continues, with Simon’s evidence expected to conclude on Friday.
