Erin Patterson has denied panicking and leaving hospital to cover her tracks after an alleged mushroom poisoning, which Ian Wilkinson (inset) survived.
Erin Patterson has denied panicking and leaving hospital to cover her tracks after an alleged mushroom poisoning, which Ian Wilkinson (inset) survived.
Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson has denied she panicked and left hospital to cover her tracks after learning doctors suspected her guests had been poisoned with mushrooms, her triple-murder trial has heard.
The Supreme Court trial resumed in Morwell, Australia, on Tuesday as Patterson returned to the witness box forher sixth day of giving evidence.
Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, suggested Patterson panicked and absconded from Leongatha Hospital after doctors informed her they suspected the lunch guests had been poisoned with death cap mushrooms.
She disagreed.
Earlier in the trial, the jury heard Patterson left hospital at 8.10am after five minutes and returned about an hour and a half later at 9.48am.
In her evidence last week, Patterson said she self-discharged as she was not prepared to be admitted overnight, thinking she was only going to receive saline as treatment for gastro.
Under questioning from Rogers, Patterson denied she was told by doctors before she left that her life was at risk but confirmed she was told they suspected mushroom poisoning for her guests.
Prosecutors allege Erin Patterson deliberately poisoned lunch guests with death cap mushrooms; she claims it was accidental.
Rogers suggested she left in a panic after believing doctors would initially treat the guests for food poisoning “to try and cover your tracks”.
The prosecutor followed this up by suggesting Patterson spent the hour and a half thinking of ways to cover her tracks.
“You’re saying I spent an hour thinking… I’m sure I did some thinking but it was not about covering my tracks,” she responded.
The court was told Patterson gave evidence she went home, fed her animals, packed a bag for her daughter’s ballet rehearsal and had a lie down.
Patterson denied a further suggestion by Rogers that the account of a lie down was a lie.
“After being told by medical staff you had potentially ingested a life-threatening poison, isn’t it the last thing you’d do?” Rogers asked.
Patterson said, “it might be the last thing you’d do” before following the answer up by reaffirming that doctors had not told her it was life-threatening.
Don Patterson and Gail Patterson, Erin Patterson's former parents-in-law, died after a suspected mushroom poisoning. Photo / Supplied
“I suggest that when you returned to Leongatha to re-present you did so to maintain the fiction of you being similarly unwell?” Rogers asked.
“Incorrect,” Patterson responded.
The 50-year-old is facing trial accused of murdering three of her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s family members and the attempted murder of a fourth.
She has pleaded not guilty and told jurors last week she did not intend to cause harm to anyone.
Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and aunt, Heather Wilkinson, fell ill and died after consuming death cap mushrooms at a lunch hosted by Patterson while Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, recovered.
Prosecutors allege Patterson deliberately spiked the beef wellington lunch intending to kill, while her defence has argued the case is a tragic accident.
Mushroom cook ‘really stressed’ at hospital
Erin Patterson told her trial she was probably "really stressed" at the time she and her lunch guests were in hospital. Photo / Brooke Grebert-Craig
Continuing to face questioning from Rogers, the accused woman was taken to her attendance at the Leongatha Hospital at 8.05am on July 31, 2023.
“I want to suggest to you, you were stressed when you attended?” the prosecutor questioned.
“I was probably really stressed,” Patterson replied.
Rogers suggested this was because the doctors had suggested death cap mushrooms were suspected as the cause of the illnesses, with Patterson saying “that definitely was a cause of anxiety”.
“And you were worried that you were going to get caught, correct or incorrect?” Rogers asked.
“Incorrect,” Patterson replied.
Mushroom cook disputes account given by nurse
Rogers took Patterson to the evidence of Leongatha Hospital nurse Kylie Ashton who gave evidence earlier in the trial she had spoken to the accused woman during the five minutes before she discharged against medical advice.
The court was told Ashton had said Patterson told her she wasn’t prepared to be admitted and needed to leave.
Patterson disputed this, saying: “I don’t think I used those words”.
“I would have said I didn’t come prepared to stay the night.”
Ashton, Rogers said, had told Patterson the other lunch guests were “quite unwell” and it was important she started treatment as soon as possible.
Patterson denied Ashton mentioned the other guests nor said her life was “at risk”.
“I don’t remember her talking to me about the others at all,” she said.
“I just remember being told I needed treatment for the mushroom poisoning.”
The jury was told Ashton had given evidence Patterson had mentioned her children had eaten leftovers from the lunch for dinner on July 30 and she urged the accused woman to bring them in for assessment.
“Those conversations all happened much later after my second return.”
Patterson claims lunch survivor was mistaken on plates
Under cross-examination from Rogers, Patterson was taken to lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson’s evidence earlier in the trial about the meal.
Patterson agreed with Wilkinson’s evidence that he and Don Patterson were seated at the dining table as their wives, Heather and Gail, carried over four plates.
Last week, Patterson told the jury she served up the five plates on the kitchen bench, turned away to prepare gravy, and grabbed the final plate left.
In his evidence, Wilkinson said the four guests ate on four uniform large grey plates while Patterson had a smaller plate that was orange or tan in colour.
Patterson disagreed with this, suggesting Ian had given incorrect evidence.
She told the court she did not own grey plates or any set of four plates of the same colour.
Rogers took Patterson to her estranged husband’s evidence at the start of the trial where he recounted two conversations with Heather Wilkinson.
Simon told the court the morning after the lunch, Heather looked puzzled and remarked that she’d noticed Patterson ate from a differently coloured plate to the rest of the guests.
Simon said Heather queried if Patterson was “short on crockery”.
In response, Patterson said she did not serve herself a meal, nor was it on a differently coloured plate.
“Actually, sorry I should clarify that I may have in that I don’t have a matching set of plates so that it’s possible mine was different to Heather’s,” she said.
Patterson disagreed with a suggestion by Rogers that she knowingly served up four meals to her guests containing death cap mushrooms.
“I suggest that to avoid error, you took the extra precaution of using a different and smaller plate to plate your non-poisoned serve?” Rogers asked.
“Incorrect,” Patterson replied.
“That is why you never suffered the illnesses Don, Gail, Ian and Heather suffered?” Rogers continued.
Mushroom cook denies lying to jury about surgery booking
After the trial resumed at 10.30am today, Rogers immediately began to question the accused woman on evidence she gave last week about having an appointment for a gastric bypass surgery in September 2023.
On Friday, Patterson said messages sent to Simon a day before the fatal lunch on July 29, 2023, referred to medical issues she was dealing with.
“I was going to have surgery soon … the gastric bypass surgery,” she said.
She said she had an appointment at the Enrich Clinic for a pre-surgery appointment.
On Tuesday, Rogers asked if the appointment was for the South Yarra clinic at 11am on September 13, 2023, which Patterson agreed.
“The Enrich clinic offers services in dermatology, agree or disagree?” Rogers asked.
