LIVE: Erin Patterson steps into the witness box: Mushroom murder accused tells of relationship with Simon, low self-esteem and weight-loss battle as she gives evidence for the first time
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By PAUL SHAPIRO AND WAYNE FLOWER FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Published: | Updated:
Follow Daily Mail Australia's live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson's murder trial at Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Victoria.
Breaking:Patterson enters the witness box
The Crown has closed its case against accused killer Erin Patterson.
The defence, led by Colin Mandy SC, has called Erin Patterson (pictured) as their first witness.
Patterson, who allegedly murdered three people and attempted to murder a fourth person by intentionally lacing a beef Wellington with death caps mushrooms, will give evidence.
Patterson becomes emotional recalling son's 'traumatic birth'
Patterson has teared up in the witness box recalling the birth of her first child.
‘His birth was very traumatic,’ she said.
‘It went for a very long time and they tried to get him out with forceps and he wouldn’t come out and he started to go into distress.'
Patterson cried when she told the jury medical staff needed to perform an emergency C section.
Hospital staff wanted Patterson to stay because she hadn’t healed well enough even after her son had been discharged.
Patterson said she was 'really upset' because she wanted to go with her son.
‘I didn’t want to stay here by myself,’ she said,
Patterson said Simon told her she could just leave so she discharged herself against medical advice.
The jury heard Don and Gail came 'very quickly to visit', within a few weeks of the birth.
Patterson said she and Simon stayed with Don and Gail in an Airbnb.
‘It was lovely,’ Patterson said.
‘I remember being very relieved that Gail was there I felt very out of my depth. … and
'She was really very supportive and gentle and patient with me.'
Gail helped her settle her son after a feed and when he cried and she offered good advice on how to relax and 'enjoy her baby'.
Patterson tells of 'spiritual experience'
Patterson said became interested in religion after she spent a lot of time with Simon in 2004 and 2005.
'I was what you’d probably call a fundamentalist atheist,' she said.
Patterson said her attitude to religion changed in early 2005.
The jury heard Patterson and Simon had a lot of conversations about religion.
Patterson was trying to convert Simon into an atheist
'But things went in reverse and I became a Christian,' she said.
She recalled her visit to Korumburra Baptist Church.
'I remember being really excited about it,' she said.
Patterson recalled there was a banner on the wall behind where Ian Wilkinson was preaching.
‘It said faith, hope and love,’ she said.
Patterson said Mr Wilkinson gave a sermon about this banner.
She had communion and was welcomed to participate in it.
‘I had what can basically be described as a spiritual experience,' she said.
'It had been an intellectual experience until then.'
Patterson she and Simon spent a lot of time camping in 2005.
'We became a lot closer through that time,' she said.
Patterson said they became engaged in early 2007 and the first people they told were Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson.
The married at Korumburra Anglican Church, rather than the Baptist church.
‘We wanted Ian and Heather to come and relax as guests and not have work to do,' she said.
Patterson said her parents were in Russia at the time of the wedding so Gail walked her down the aisle.
The reception was in a marquee next to Don and Gail's home and guests were treated to a huge buffet.
Erin and Simon went to Olinda after the wedding.
Patterson said she felt squeezed out from Simon's family
Patterson told the jury she felt there had been a 'bit more space or distance put between' her and husband's parents, Gail and Don Patterson, at the start of 2023.
'We saw each other less,' she said.
'I had a feeling Simon (pictured below) didn't want me to be involved with the family as much anymore.
'I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, particularly Don and Gail, had become a bit more distant,’ she said.
She said her relationship with Simon since the start of 2023 was 'functional’.
Patterson said she only dealt with Simon regarding logistics, church and the kids.
'We didn’t relate on friend things, banter,' Patterson said.
'I'd been fighting a never-ending battle of low self-esteem most of my adult life, (I had) put on more weight, could handle exercise less (as I entered middle-age).'
Patterson, who previously told the jury she was financially 'comfortable', said she planned to have weight loss surgery.
'A gastric bypass,' she said.
Patterson also said she wanted her Leongatha property to be her last home.
'That I’d grow old there was what I hoped,’ she said.
Patterson tells jury about her children's relationship with their dad
Erin Patterson, 50, wearing a paisley top, brown jacket, black pants, and black sandals, has stood and looked at the jury as she gave evidence for the first time.
Patterson told the court that her children had just recently settled into a new school in the second week of July 2023.
'They seemed to settle in quite well, and make some friends really quickly,' Patterson said.
Patterson said her children lived with her full-time.
'They could see (their father) Simon whenever they wanted to,' she said.
She said her daughter spent most Saturdays with Simon.
Patterson said the children and Simon did activities including going to the beach or the pool but her son mainly only saw his father at church or youth group.
She said she was enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery at Federation Uni but deferred because her daughter had 'some physical needs'.
Mystery object jury heard may be 'Phone A' raised again
Prosecutor Jane Warren (pictured) has asked Sen-Constable Eppinstall about his role during the police search at Patterson's Leongatha home on August 5.
The homicide detective repeated his evidence that his main role was to supervise Erin Patterson during the search.
Ms Warren reminded Sen-Constable Eppingstall about a search photo image of an object which defence barrister Colin Mandy SC suggested was the missing 'Phone A'.
Ms Warren showed the detective a still from the search warrant video of the same object but Sen-Constable Eppingstall couldn't identify if was a phone or not.
'That's a matter for the jury,' he said.
Ms Warren also asked about laptops and other devices found and seized during the second police search of Patterson's phone on November 2, 2023.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall said these devices weren't seized during the August search because 'I would assume they weren't found'.
The detective also said he also had 'no information in relation' to Patterson owning those devices in August.
Messages which cemented deadly lunch date aired in court
The jury has heard more messages between Don, Gail (pictured) and Erin between April and July 2023 in which they discuss the kids and the July 29 lunch.
'Hi, Erin, please tell [your daughter] we hope she enjoys doing the show and we are especially thinking of her love Nana and Papa.'
'Thank you. I just dropped her off and passed on your message before I left. We'll return at 7:00 PM to watch the performance. She's very excited.
'Very good. Thank you. She does look happy.'
'Hi, Erin. If (your daughter) wants to come tomorrow, that's fine. Love Don and Gail.'
Erin then sent a sent a message about the lunch:
'Thank you. Just to complicate things, [my son] says he thinks he'd prefer it just him.
'I think maybe he doesn't want to compete with [my daughter] for your time/attention, so we'll leave it the way it is, just [my son], and I'll drop him off at about 11/1130 and you can bring him home when you're done with him.
'He's got a key to let himself in if I'm not home. Heather confirmed that Saturday 29th, July is good for them to come for lunch. So hopefully that's good for you too. Love Erin.'
'That sounds good to us. Yes, 29th. July is fine for us too.'
Patterson claimed she was 'embarrassed' about being overweight
Colin Mandy SC quizzed detective Senior-Constable Stephen Eppingstall about an exhibit showing evidence where Patterson discussed that she was 'embarrassed about weight gain'.
It contained a statement where Patterson said she 'feels guilt' and 'doesn't talk to husband much about her physical discomfort'.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall agreed he had seen this record.
List of SIM cards and phone devices is revealed in court
The jury has been shown a document titled 'Phone and SIM Flow Chart' which shows the SIM '783' move in and out of various phones between 2019 and August 2023.
The phones include an LG, an Oppo, a Samsung a52, a Nokia and into a Samsung a23 also known as 'Phone B' which was seized by police.
The chart states the SIM was placed into another Samsung a23 on Feb 12, 2023.
That Samsung is known as 'Phone A' and has never been located by police.
Mr Mandy also asked if the phone records of every device the SIM went into was obtained by police and he said 'no'.
The defence barrister also asked about a reset of Phone A which occurred on August 3.
The jury also heard Patterson's son obtained Phone B after a school camp in May 2023 and the SIM is later swapped into a Samsung tablet.
Mr Mandy also raised the existence of a Nokia he termed 'Phone C' and asked if police investigated the device.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall responded he didn't believe that phone was checked.
Mr Mandy has concluded his cross-examination of the informant, and the court has taken a short break.
Family’s phone messages probed
Mr Mandy has asked Sen-Constable Eppingstall about messages police found on devices which belonged to Simon, Don and Gail Patterson.
The lead defence barrister suggested communications between Erin and the others between April and July 2023 was 'similar in frequency' to communications earlier in 2023.
Mr Mandy said there was a 'similar pattern' in the communications and Sen-Constable Eppingstall responded there didn't seem to be any less communication.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall said detectives didn't obtain all messages through the 2023 period.
The homicide cop told the jury they checked Don's phone for SMS messages but he couldn't recall if police checked for Signal messages.
The court heard Gail's phone contained a small number of SMS messages which were extracted but no Signal messages downloaded.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall agreed no Signal messages on Simon's phone were downloaded by police.
Jury hears about different coloured plates found during police search
Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC has shown detective leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall (pictured) to search photos of plates found at Patterson's Leongatha home.
Patterson, who is today wearing paisley top and brown jacket, listened as Mr Mandy pointed out two black plates, a white one, a white one in the dishwasher, a red plate, and a 'colourful one' with 'kindergarten scribbles' were depicted in the photos.
Mr Mandy also showed the detective images of other plates.
'They do look like smaller plates,' Sen-Constable Eppingstall said.
Mr Mandy also showed the detective images of shelves he said contained a computer and a laptop.
Everything you need to know about the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial so far
Erin 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.
Victoria's health department said the death cap mushroom poisoning was 'isolated' to Patterson's deadly lunch.
Multiple witnesses, including Erin's estranged husband, Heather's husband and other family members, have given emotion-charged evidence to the jury.
Medical staff have told the jury of the painful symptoms the dying lunch guests and Mr Wilkinson suffered.
An expert witness told the court that death cap mushrooms were detected in debris taken from a dehydrator Patterson had dumped at a local tip.
Telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorell also told the jury Patterson's phone was detected near areas at Outtrim and Loch, in the Gippsland region, where death cap mushrooms had been spotted.
Victoria Police Cybercrime Squad senior digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry said he found evidence of a death cap mushroom on data from a computer seized from Patterson's Leongatha home on August 5, 2023.
On Friday, Austin Hospital intensive care director Professor Stephen Warrillow told the jury he was at the Melbourne health facility in July 2023 when the poisoned lunch guests were transferred to his care.
Professor Warrillow said all patients were given intense treatment and Don received a liver transplant.
Ian Wilkinson sat in court and listened as details of how his wife died from death cap poisoning were aired in court.
The jury also heard the text exchanges between health department officer Sally Anne Atkinson and Patterson in the days after the deadly lunch as authorities rushed to get answers.
On Tuesday, the jury was shown the police interview Patterson took part in shortly after her home was searched on August 5.
Detectives seized a manual for a Sunbeam hydrator but Patterson denied in her interview that she had ever owned such an appliance.
Patterson also told police she invited her in-laws for lunch because she loved them and they were like real family to her.
Homicide Squad detective leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall told the court officers searched for a Samsung Galaxy A23 – known as ‘Phone A’ – but it was never found.
Sen-Constable Eppingstall also said another Samsung Galaxy A23 – known as ‘Phone B’ – was factory reset multiple times including while police searched Patterson’s Leongatha home.
He said Phone B was later remotely wiped while it was kept in a secure locker at the Homicide Squad headquarters in Melbourne.
The jury also heard Patterson’s family had a history of cancer and her daughter had a benign ovarian cancer cyst removed.
On Thursday, lead defence barrister Colin Mandy SC (pictured) suggested to Sen-Constable Eppingstall that a photo taken during the Leongatha police search depicted the mysterious Phone A.
Mr Mandy also highlighted other devices he suggested police failed to seize including laptops and a USB stick.
Later, the jury heard Facebook messages between Patterson and her online friends in which they discussed Simon, pets and the death of actress Kirstie Alley.
The jury also heard Signal messages between Don and Erin in which Don and Gail (pictured) wished Patterson well and also prayed for her health.
On Friday, the jury heard more messages between Erin, Don, Gail and Simon.
They discussed Patterson’s health and Don also offered to help tutor Erin’s son.
Erin also praised Gail in another message.
‘Happy Mother’s Day to the best mother-in-law anyone could ever ask for,’ Erin wrote.
The trial continues.
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