Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Accused killer chef faces her sixth day on the witness stand

Dr Rogers (pictured left) suggested Patterson presenting at hospital with an elevated heart rate was due to ‘stress and anxiety’ because she knew the death caps had been identified.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said.

Patterson then again denied deliberately putting death caps in the lunch.

Patterson said on her return to hospital, Dr Webster told her to get the kids from school and bring them in.

Patterson was initially reluctant.

Dr Webster said they can be ‘scared and alive or dead’.

The jury heard Dr Webster ‘made it clear they were at risk’.

Patterson recalled she thought Dr Webster’s comment was ‘bizarre’.

Patterson also claimed Dr Webster yelled at her.

‘I’ve since learnt this was his inside voice,’ Patterson said.

Patterson was shown her hospital poo chart which shows she went three times in six minutes after she returned to Leongatha Hospital.

Patterson claimed one visit was a bowel motion that looked like urine.

The jury heard Patterson wanted to communicate to hospital staff that she ‘wasn’t an idiot’ and did a wee instead of a poo.

Patterson also maintained that all her toilet trips were legitimate poos.

Simon Patterson previously gave evidence that his estranged wife told him she went home from the hospital to lay on the floor for 45 minutes.

Patterson (pictured) said she lay down for a while but not 45 minutes and she denied telling Simon that.

Dr Rogers, who suggested Patterson didn’t look unwell in CCTV footage at the hospital, accused Patterson of not laying down.

Dr Rogers said telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorell’s analysis of phone records suggest within 20 minutes of leaving hospital, Patterson was in Leongatha about 8.55am and then her phone moved to Outtrim.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson lied about where she went and what she did after leaving hospital.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson spent her hour and 40 minutes out of hospital thinking about ‘covering your tracks’.

She also said she never left her house in time between her hospital visits.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson was eager to leave the hospital because she knew she hadn’t consumed death cap mushrooms.

Patterson said she didn’t think her life was in danger despite admitting hospital staff told her to get back to the hospital quick.

‘Yes…, I do remember it being communicated to me the medication was, like it was time critical, it needed to be done within a timely manner I suppose,’ Patterson said.

‘I didn’t think any of us had [consumed death caps], but it wasn’t why I was leaving, no.’

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson panicked because she thought she’d been found out.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers also said Patterson’s daughter didn’t have ballet on that Monday.

Patterson previously told the jury a reason she wanted to leave the hospital was to make preparations for her daughter’s ballet rehearsal.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson didn’t need to pack a ballet bag for her daughter.

Patterson denied this and claimed her daughter had a rehearsal on Monday after school for a mid-year concert.

The jury heard nurse Ashton asked Dr Veronica Foot to assist her with Patterson while they were in an airlock bay at Leongatha Hospital.

‘I think she [Dr Foot] did [tell me I could potentially become very unwell],’ Ms Patterson said.

Dr Foot said she thought Patterson said she would return in 30 minutes.

Patterson said she agreed this was Dr Foot’s evidence.

‘I think they did say that [I needed treatment],’ she said.

Dr Rogers suggested staff came into the airlock and were ‘stressing’ Patterson not to leave.

‘They really wanted to sign that [discharge] form,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t remember anyone saying my life was at risk.’

Patterson agreed with the suggestion nurse Ashton was ‘mistaken’.

Patterson has denied she panicked at the hospital because she didn’t realise doctors ‘would be on to death caps’ so quickly.

The jury also heard Patterson denied telling hospital staff she would be back in 20 minutes.

‘I think she’s (nurse Kylie Ashton, pictured left) confused,’ Patterson said.

‘We had no conversation about my children.’

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson was stressed at hospital the first time because doctors suspected death cap poisonings.

Patterson said she was anxious at the idea she had eaten death cap mushrooms.

‘You were worried that you were going to get caught,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson replied.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was in panic mode because she didn’t realise the doctors would suspect death caps so soon.

Patterson denied the accusation.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson made no effort to get her kids after leaving hospital.

‘I did eventually, that’s why they went to hospital,’ Patterson said.

The trial is now on a break and will resume at 2.15pm.

Patterson has denied nurse Ashton told her her life was at risk.

The jury heard Patterson left the hospital after telling staff she wasn’t ‘prepared to stay overnight’.

Patterson also claimed she told nurse Ashton she needed to sort out her children and her animals.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson didn’t mention that to the nurse.

‘I’m sure I did,’ Patterson said.

Dr Roger said nurse Ashton ‘strongly suggested’ Patterson stay and get treatment.

‘She definitely communicated she wanted me to stay,’ Patterson said.

However, Patterson said she didn’t recall being told anyone else was unwell.

Dr Rogers suggested the nurse told Patterson her lunch guests were unwell.

‘It was communicated to me that I could not be told the condition of other people, that was confidential,’ Patterson said.

‘She didn’t give me the details.’

Patterson then denied nurse Ashton warned her that her life was at risk.

‘She didn’t say that to me,’ she said.

Patterson couldn’t recall if she was told she needed treatment for the mushroom poisoning or that her liver needed to be preserved while at Leongatha Hospital.

Patterson recalled she needed to be transferred to the Monash Medical Centre (pictured).

The jury was reminded nurse Ashton gave evidence that Patterson told her she was the chef.

‘I don’t remember saying that to her,’ she said.

Nurse Ashton also gave evidence Patterson said her kids had eaten the leftovers from lunch.

However, Patterson denied that claim.

Patterson has refuted the evidence of a nurse who claimed she advised Patterson she required urgent treatment.

Dr Rogers said nurse Kylie Ashton claimed Patterson wouldn’t come into the hospital for a formal assessment.

‘I wasn’t willing to come into a bay to be hooked up to an IV,’ Patterson said.

Patterson said she felt anxious because she didn’t know what was going on with the other lunch guests.

Patterson also denied Ms Ashton’s evidence she advised Patterson to attend because she was known as the fifth member of the lunch.

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she asked Dr Webster any questions about the death caps.

‘I definitely tried to ask questions, yes,’ Patterson said.

‘I asked questions and he didn’t answer them… well he may not have heard me.

‘I remember saying to him, at the very least, “why do you think we’ve eaten death cap mushrooms?”.’

Dr Webster gave evidence Patterson never asked anything about death caps.

He previously told the jury the triage nurse came over and he walked off.

Patterson then discharged herself against medical advice.

Dr Rogers said Dr Webster attempted to call Patterson three times.

‘I tried to (respond),’ she said.

Patterson claimed she called the hospital twice but couldn’t get through.

She also denied blanking his calls and voice messages

‘I did try to respond twice,’ she said.

Patterson said she presented at Leongatha Hospital with symptoms of gastro on July 31.

Patterson said Dr Chris Webster (pictured) greeted her at the emergency centre and recognised her as the chef of the meal.

The jury heard Dr Webster gave evidence he said he told Patterson her lunch guests were seriously ill with suspected death cap mushrooms and he asked where she bought the mushrooms.

Patterson denied the doctor asked about the mushrooms.

‘Unless he did the second time, but I don’t recall him asking me the first time [I presented at hospital],’ Patterson said.

Patterson said the doctor told her they needed to give her treatment for suspected death cap mushroom poisoning.

‘I told him my name… and he knew I was Erin Patterson… I remember him saying to me “did you make the beef Wellingtons or did you buy pre-made [Wellingtons]?”,’ Patterson said.

‘That stuck in my mind because I didn’t realise you could buy pre-made… he asked me where I bought the ingredients and I said “Woolworths”.’

Patterson also denied Dr Webster’s evidence she never asked any questions about death cap mushrooms.

Dr Rogers suggested when Patterson was told the flying lesson was postponed to 4pm it was ‘another opportunity to cancel the lesson’.

Patterson agreed but they pushed on with the lesson and left Leongatha about 2.30pm on Sunday.

Patterson agreed her son said she never needed to stop to use the toilet on the way to the lesson which Patterson said was a 70-minute drive.

Patterson denied saying it was ‘unfair’ she had to drive an hour before the lesson was cancelled at 3.48pm.

Patterson said she complained about the cancelled lesson.

‘That is definitely true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson of her son’s evidence where he said his mum turned the car around and they stopped at a donut van in Koo Wee Rup on the way home.

The jury heard Patterson’s children purchased the food while she stayed in the car and her son bought her a coffee.

Patterson was asked what she did with the coffee her son bought.

She said she drank a little bit and might’ve thrown it out when she got home.

Patterson’s son also said his mum never stopped to use a toilet on the way back from the flying lesson.

Patterson agreed she was ‘keen’ for her son to attend his scheduled flying lesson in Tyabb on Sunday afternoon.

‘I was pretty keen to take him (to the flying lesson),’ Patterson said.

Patterson said they allowed about 90 minutes to drive to the lesson.

However, before the scheduled lesson, Patterson also agreed she spoke to Simon (pictured) twice on the phone on Sunday.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson that Simon told her that her lunch guests were sick in hospital.

Patterson agreed she told Simon on Sunday she had diarrhoea.

Patterson disagreed she told Simon she had began getting sick on Saturday afternoon.

The jury previously heard Simon said Patterson told him she was feeling sick and had diarrhoea on Saturday evening and couldn’t drive her son’s friend home.

‘It was loose bowel movements,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she agreed she had diarrhoea which started ‘mid-afternoon Saturday and throughout the night’.

‘I don’t recall that…,’ Patterson said.

‘I did not tell him I was afraid to poo my pants, no.’

Patterson has denied she lied about needing to go to the toilet frequently on the Sunday morning after the lunch.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was lying when she said her son said he was first to mention having a ‘sore tummy’ and not being able to go to church.

‘He said that first,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers then called Patterson a liar.

The prosecutor said Patterson’s son said he didn’t notice his mum going to the toilet.

‘No, I don’t agree,’ Patterson said.

Patterson told the jury she was going to the toilet ‘suddenly and frequently’.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson her son said he wouldn’t go to flying lessons if she was sick, but that Patterson was ‘persistent to go’.

‘Yeah I probably was, yes,’ Patterson responded.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson her son said there was no mention of her being sick on Saturday July 29, 2023.

Patterson was also asked if she told her son or his friend she was sick.

‘I don’t remember if I did or I didn’t but it’s more likely I didn’t,’ Patterson said.

‘I definitely wouldn’t tell [son’s friend I was sick].’

Patterson said she didn’t remember telling her daughter she was sick on the Saturday also.

Patterson said she heard her son give evidence she had diarrhoea on Sunday morning.

Patterson agreed she told her son she had diarrhoea on Sunday.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson (pictured) lied about how much she ate and that she vomited after the lunch to give a reason as to why she wasn’t as sick as the other guests.

Patterson claimed ‘she didn’t have a tape measure’ about how much she ate.

Dr Rogers said ‘it was all lies’.

Dr Rogers suggested to Patterson there were no leftovers from the lunch.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson in her evidence she said she only ate a ‘quarter to a third’ of her beef Wellington and ‘sometime that afternoon’ she ’caused herself to vomit’.

‘I had no idea what was in the vomit,’ Patterson said.

‘At all?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Well, it’s vomit, how can you tell what is in it, unless it’s a piece of bean or corn?’ Patterson said.

Patterson agreed she didn’t tell anyone between July 29 and August 1 she vomited.

Patterson said she couldn’t remember what time she vomited but agreed it was in the ‘afternoon sometime’.

Dr Rogers suggested she ate all her beef Wellington but lied to Dr Rhonda Stuart and said she had only eaten half to try and explain why she wasn’t as sick as her guests.

Patterson denied the suggestion and claimed she couldn’t remember any conversation with Dr Stuart.

Patterson also denied she told child services officer Katrina Cripps she only ate part of her Wellington to mislead medical staff.

‘My memory is I only ate about half,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers then took Patterson to Ms Cripps’ evidence.

The court heard Ms Cripps recalled Patterson indicated ‘didn’t eat it all’.

Patterson has denied she served herself a beef Wellington which did not contain death cap mushrooms.

Dr Rogers told Patterson Ian Wilkinson’s (pictured left) offer to plate food was ‘firmly rejected’ but withdrew the question after defence barrister Colin Mandy SC objected.

Patterson then agreed she plated the food and people sat where they liked.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson deliberately served death cap mushrooms to her guests.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson responded.

Patterson denied she served herself a beef Wellington on a smaller plate.

The accused killer also denied her beef Wellington did not contain death caps.

Patterson said she may have eaten from her daughter’s kindergarten plate but couldn’t be sure and that plate didn’t match the description Mr Wilkinson gave in his evidence.

Dr Rogers (pictured left) was about to change topics when Patterson interrupted and told her she wanted to go back to a previous line of questioning.

An irate Dr Rogers didn’t accept Patterson’s proposal.

‘Before you do [move on], Dr Rogers, within this record is that second visit to Bricker Reserve that I was talking about…,’ Patterson said.

‘I’m the person who asks the questions,’ Dr Rogers fired back.

‘If there’s something that needs to be clarified in re-examination then your barrister will do so.’

Patterson told the jury she was interested in the ‘toxicity’ of death caps.

‘My only interest ever was to see if they lived in South Gippsland or not,’ Patterson said.

Patterson again said she couldn’t remember using the iNaturalist site.

‘Somebody did and that somebody could have been me,’ she said.

Patterson was asked if she looked up the Korumburra pub website not long after the iNaturalist search was detected.

‘It looks like somebody did yes,’ Patterson.

‘Three minutes after somebody did.’

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she suggested her son may have looked up the pub page.

‘I’m not suggesting anything,’ Patterson said.

Patterson (Patterson’s legal team pictured) agreed a visit was made on her computer to a death cap mushroom poisoning sighting post on plant identification website iNaturalist in May 28, 2022.

However, Patterson denied she remembers ever going on iNaturalist.

Dr Rogers noted the post about the death cap mushroom was that they were sighted in Moorabbin which is not in Gippsland.

‘I suggest you had an interest in death caps generally which was not limited to growing in Gippsland,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson responded.

‘You say you remember asking if death caps grew in South Gippsland?’ Dr Rogers asked.

Patterson, who is today wearing a paisley top, was asked if she had a pre-surgery appointment for a gastric bypass at a clinic in Melbourne on September 13, 2023.

‘I thought it was different suburb… [the date] sounds about right,’ Patterson said.

Patterson said she later cancelled her appointment.

Dr Rogers asked if Patterson was aware the centre didn’t provide gastric bypass or gastric sleeve surgeries.

‘It was related to weight-loss surgery… I was also looking at liposuction,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson was lying about the appointment.

‘No it wasn’t a lie, that’s what my memory was,’ Patterson said.

On Friday, Patterson claimed she talked to Simon about how Don and Gail were.

‘I suggest you did not ask him… you did not ask how Don was,’ Dr Rogers (pictured) suggested.

‘We discussed how Don and Gail were, that’s how I found out they were in hospital,’ Patterson said.

Patterson claimed this occurred during a phone conversation.

Dr Rogers suggested ‘there was no discussion about Don and Gail being in hospital’.

‘There was a conversation, yes,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson never asked how Don was doing.

‘Disagree,’ Patterson replied.

‘And never asked about Gail,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Disagree,’ Patterson replied.

‘Do you maintain you asked Simon at this point how Don was?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘I can’t remember the exact words of that conversation,’ Patterson replied.

‘We had a discussion about their health … we were discussing how Don was.’

‘Did you ask or not ask how Don was?’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Yeah I would have,’ she said

‘And did you ask how Gail was?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Correct,’ Patterson replied.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson never asked Simon how Don and Gail were.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested to Patterson (pictured) that she didn’t love Don and Gail.

‘Correct or incorrect,’ Dr Rogers asked during court proceedings on Friday.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said tearfully.

‘I love them a lot, they’ve always been really good to me, I think Simon hates that I still had a relationship with his parents.’

Dr Rogers pressed further.

‘That’s what you told police that you “loved his parents”, that’s not true, I suggest you were angry that they took Simon’s side,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘That’s not true,’ Patterson replied.

‘In fact you had two faces,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

Dr Rogers accused Patterson of having a ‘public face’ of how she presented herself as loving of Don, Gail and to other family but her ‘private face’ of how she really felt was contained within her Facebook messages.

‘I suggest your private face is the one you show in a private message group,’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson replied.

‘And that’s how you felt about Simon,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said.

‘And (Simon) wasn’t a decent human being,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘Actually, I still believe that,’ Patterson said.

Patterson was last week reminded about the conversation she had with Simon (pictured) at the Monash Medical Centre where he said, ‘is that how you poisoned my parents using that dehydrator’.

The conversation took place after Patterson learned people had been getting treatment for death cap posioning.

Dr Rogers took Patterson to her previous answers.

Patterson was reminded that she said she dried foraged mushrooms in the dehydrator weeks earlier and put them into a jar.

‘And I just got really scared,’ she said at the time.

‘Frantic,’ Patterson said upon arriving home.

Patterson agreed that was her evidence.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson lied to Simon about her medical issues because she wanted him at the lunch to ‘poison him’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson made a poisonous beef Wellington for Simon ‘in case he turned up’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested when Simon didn’t show at the lunch she dumped his beef Wellington.

Patterson told the jury she put the pastry and mushrooms in the bin

On Friday, Patterson was shown a message she wrote to her Facebook friends on December 7, 2022, where she discussed that if Simon wanted to walk away from his responsibilities, then it’s ‘a blessing in disguise’.

Patterson is also reminded of the ‘this family I swear to f***ing God’ message.

Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers suggested to Patterson this ‘expressed your true feelings’.

Patterson was also reminded of the ‘f*** them’ message.

‘That’s what you thought about Don, “f*** them”,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I regret writing that,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was angry at Don and Gail (pictured) for not taking her side over Simon’s.

‘I wasn’t angry but I was frustrated and hurt,’ she said.

Patterson said she wasn’t angry when she wrote the ‘f*** them’ message.

Patterson also denied she was angry when she wrote those messages to her Facebook friends.

The court also heard another message where Patterson described Simon as a ‘deadbeat’.

Another large audience has arrived at the Morwell courthouse where accused killer Erin Patterson will face her sixth day in the witness box.

Patterson has been a big drawcard with people queuing up outside (pictured) the courthouse very early each morning to get a front row seat in the murder trial.

Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly serving them a beef Wellington lunch made with death cap mushrooms.

Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit.

The court heard Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was also invited to the gathering at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, but didn’t attend.

Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller, differently-coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate off four grey plates.

Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this.

Last week, Justice Christopher Beale told the jury it was possible the trial may go on for another couple of weeks.

Justice Beale said once evidence is completed, he will have legal discussions with the parties while the jury is out, before closing addresses can commence.