Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Judge gives the jury a list of Patterson’s ‘alleged incriminating conduct’ – as trial enters its final days

Justice Beale said he will leave the first alleged incriminating conduct that Patterson allegedly lied to people about being unwell after the lunch to last.

‘It’s convenient to leave that alleged conduct to last,’ Justice Beale said.

Justice Beale said the prosecution claimed other conduct helped its case then reminded the jury about Patterson’s presentation at hospital the first time.

These include the allegations she left hospital and refused treatment.

He said a doctor at Leongatha Hospital realised she had been the chef of the lunch that had made the others there sick.

The jury heard Patterson had been reluctant to be treated despite displaying some gastro-type symptoms

‘Patterson was warned doctors were concerned for her welfare and urged her to stay,’ Justice Beale said.

‘She was told her life was at risk, but she still declined to be treated, saying she needed to go home and organise her pets and kids…’

Justice Beale has now moved to the topic of Patterson’s ‘alleged incriminating conduct’.

‘The prosecution (pictured) argued Patterson knew she was guilty and did what she did to conceal her guilt,’ Justice Beale said.

However, Justice Beale told the jury the defence has reasons for Patterson’s behaviour.

‘The defence claimed there were innocent explanations for that behaviour,’ he added.

Justice Beale listed some of that alleged conduct:

1. She lied about being unwell after the lunch

2. Patterson lied about the Asian grocer mushrooms

3. She refused treatment at hospital and left against medical advice

4. She had reluctance to accept treatment the second time at hospital

5. Patterson was reluctant to get kids treated on July 31

6. Why would she have fed the kids leftovers?

7. She reset Phone B multiple times on August 2

8. She dumped the dehydrator

9. On August 5. she provided Phone B instead of Phone A

10. Patterson lied to cops about her phone number

11. She lied about foraging

12. She lied about owning a dehydrator

Justice Beale has told the jury is up to them how much weight they give the opinions of expert witnesses in the trial including Mr Fox-Henry and Dr Matthew Sorell (pictured).

‘Ladies and gentlemen, you are not required to accept the opinions of Dr Sorell or Mr Fox-Henry, or indeed… the expert opinions of the other experts who gave evidence in this case,’ Justice Beale said.

‘You are the judges of the facts in this case and even though a witness may be an expert in their field, an expert witness’ opinion are merely pieces of evidence, like any other you may accept or reject.

‘When assessing an expert’s opinion, you should consider their qualifications and experience, their objectivity and whether their evidence is disputed, as opposed to whether there is a dispute as to… interpretation…

‘You will appreciate the defence did not challenge the evidence of Dr Sorrell and Mr Fox-Henry, rather, the defence challenged the inferences you could draw…’

Justice Beale took the jury through more photos they had already seen during the trial.

Some of those photos, taken from the unrecovered Phone A, appeared to be death caps, Dr May said during the trial.

Justice Beale said it was evidence the jury could all take into account.

‘So taken between the 28th of April and the fourth of May, images… on the scales with what appears to be wild mushrooms,’ Justice Beale said.

Justice Beale said the prosecution argued these mushrooms were ‘clearly foraged’ and he reminded the jury Patterson, in her evidence, ‘acknowledged that they weren’t looking good’.

Justice Beale said ‘it had been argued’ another image of button mushrooms on a dehydrator tray had been a ‘test’.

The jury heard Dr May said the mushrooms in the images the prosecution claimed were foraged are ‘consistent with Amanita Phalloides (death caps) with a high degree of confidence’.

Justice Beale told the jury Mr Fox-Henry opined somebody entered a search for iNaturalist on Bing on the Cooler Master PC on May 28, 2022.

The jury heard several iNaturalist pages were visited between 7.20pm and 7.23pm including the Bricker Reserve sighting posted on May 18, 2022.

Mr Fox-Henry said it was the second time the Bricker Reserve page had been visited on the Cooler Master PC but the Cybercrime Squad officer couldn’t say when the first visit had occurred.

Justice Beale also said there was no computer evidence Patterson accessed or viewed the iNaturalist death cap sightings in Loch and Outtrim posted by Christine McKenzie and fungi expert witness Dr Tom May (pictured) in April and May 2023.

He said the jury needed to work out if they believed Patterson did access iNaturalist and Ms McKenzie’s death cap post.

Justice Beale also told the jury they needed to work out if they believed Patterson saw Dr May’s ‘Funkey Tom’ death cap post.

The jury is being taken through the phone data contained within the Samsung A23 Patterson (legal team pictured) handed to police after they searched her home on August 5.

The device, known throughout the trial as ‘Phone B’, was factory reset multiple times including while the device was in a secure storage locker at Homicide Squad HQ in the city.

Justice Beale reminded the jury how phones were factory reset multiple times over different days following the lunch.

He said Phone B factory reset remotely while it was in the police locker.

‘After the phone had been taken into police custody, investigators can and should isolate the device from the network,’ Justice Beale said.

This can be done by putting the phone on airplane mode, the jury was told.

‘Isolating the phone is critical to ensure data remains in its original state,’ Justice Beale added.

Justice Beale is reminding the jury about the images found in the Google Photos app on the Samsung Galaxy tablet seized from Patterson’s home.

The jury heard these images including photos of the dehydrator, mushrooms on a dehydrator tray, a screenshot of information regarding ovarian cancer, an image of information regarding brain lymphoma, an image of mushrooms on a set of digital scales and an image of a ‘pink object’ on a tray.

Justice Beale is now taking the jury through the evidence of Patterson who said she couldn’t remember if she looked up the iNaturalist website.

The jury was told Patterson said she couldn’t remember making the search but conceded it was likely it was her and not her children who made the search.

Patterson, during her evidence, said she couldn’t remember if she had an interest in death cap mushrooms on May 28, 2022 but said she wanted to know if death caps grew in South Gippsland.

‘I wanted to know if death cap mushrooms grew in South Gippsland, and I found out that they didn’t,’ Justice Beale said Patterson previously told the jury.

The jury was reminded the iNaturalist May 28 search was for a death cap sighting at Bricker Reserve in Moorabbin.

Justice Beale said Mr Fox-Henry analysed a computer seized from Patterson’s (pictured) home and prepared a report which contained more than 2 million artefacts found on the device.

The jury heard Homicide Squad detectives asked Mr Fox-Henry to look into a number of those artefacts and he found iNaturalist was accessed for about three minutes on May 28, 2022 which the Cybercrime expert agreed occurred about 7.23pm.

The jury was told Mr Fox-Henry had limited training on computer software that helped him with extractions performed on the seized devices which included two Samsung phones and a Galaxy tablet.

Justice Beale said Mr Fox-Henry had training from his peers on how to use an investigative tool known as Forensic Explorer and had used another tool known as Magnet Axiom which he had no formal training and but had previously used.

Mr Fox-Henry has since gained further qualifications and experience since he was initially tasked with analysing Patterson’s devices.

Justice Christopher Beale has recommenced his charge later than expected and is now taking the jury back to the evidence of Victoria Police Cybercrime Squad investigator Shamen Fox-Henry (pictured).

Justice Beale drew laughter after he asked the jury if it is ‘cold in here’ and then said his staff member ‘Mr Hastings could do something about it’.

Mr Fox-Henry was tasked with analysing electronic devices seized from Patterson’s Leongatha home on August 5, 2023.

Patterson, who is today wearing a pink shirt and a tan jumper, listened as Justice Beale told the jury Mr Fox-Henry extracted certain messages between the accused and her Facebook friends in December 2022.

Justice Beale told the jury about Mr Fox-Henry’s experience and qualifications and discussed the technology cyber police use to analyse data.

The jury is yet to be called in as legal discussions take place.

Justice Beale yesterday took the jury through the ‘alleged prior inconsistent statements by the accused’.

He told the jury the prosecution wanted him to highlight the eight ‘topics’ of alleged inconsistent statements.

The topics Justice Beale listed are:

1. Whether the accused had a tendency to pick and eat wild mushrooms between 2020 and 2023.

2. Whether the children were invited to or free to attend the lunch on July 29.

3. The source of the mushrooms that went into the beef Wellingtons.

4. How much the accused ate of her beef Wellington.

5. How much Gail Patterson ate of her beef Wellington.

6. When the accused claimed she started to experience diarrhoea.

7. Whether the accused knew or suspected the lunch was the cause of Don and Gail’s illness only in the evening of Sunday July 30, 2023.

8. Whether the accused knew that Donald and Gail Patterson were in comas by the morning of Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

Justice Beale said five prosecution witnesses were of note: the first being Simon Patterson (pictured).

Justice Beale discussed Patterson’s relationship with her husband over the years

The jury heard Simon said his friendship with Patterson had been ‘strong’ until late-2022.

Simon said the lunch invite came off the back of information related to a ‘medical issue’.

The jury was reminded about this line of questioning, which took place in the opening days of the trial.

Simon told the jury Patterson had wanted to talk about ‘this serious matter’ at the lunch.

Justice Beale said Simon had been challenged on his recollection of the matter being described as ‘important’ or ‘serious’.

The jury heard Simon had not used those words in his police statement.

Justice Beale said the other key witnesses were Ian Wilkinson, Leongatha Hospital doctor Dr Chris Webster, Patterson’s sister-in-law Tanya Patterson and health department officer Sally Ann Wilkinson.

Justice Beale reminded the jury Patterson (pictured) did not need to give evidence.

He said she ‘undertook to tell the truth’ but her evidence should be assessed the same way as anyone else who gave evidence in the trial.

Justice Beale said if the jury believed Patterson, they should find her not guilty.

‘It’s not enough that you prefer the prosecution case to Ms Patterson’s evidence,’ he said.

‘The prosecution must establish her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.’

Yesterday, Justice Beale said the case must be decided on the evidence alone and the jury should not be prejudiced about Patterson’s various lies.

He urged them not to let sympathy for anyone involved hamper their judgement.

‘This is court of law, not a court of morals,’ Justice Beale said.

‘I’ll give you directions later about the legitimate use you can make of any proven lies or proven attempts by her to dispose of or conceal evidence, but you must resist mere bias or prejudice, nor must you let sympathy for the extended Patterson or Wilkinson families [affect] your judgment.

‘Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not asking you to be inhuman, none of us are robots.

‘Any decent person would feel great sympathy for the Patterson (Don and Gail pictured) and Wilkinson families, given what has befallen them, but you must scrupulously guard against that sympathy interfering with the performance of your duty.

‘So emotions such as prejudice and sympathy must have no part to play in your decision…

‘Remember you are judges of facts… you must act like judges, good judges.’

Justice Christopher Beale commenced his address to the jury – or ‘charge’ – yesterday morning after giving jurors a four-day weekend to prepare for the closing stage of the marathon Erin Patterson murder trial.

Justice Beale indicated yesterday that his address will likley last until sometime Thursday after yesterday telling jurors ‘not to bring their toothbrush’ today.

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, (both pictured) 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 that Patterson ate her serving from a smaller, differently-coloured plate to 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.