Mushroom cook Erin Patterson broke down during murder trial

Daily Telegraph

4 hours ago

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For ten weeks, Erin Patterson remained composed as a jury decided whether a poisoned beef Wellington lunch she cooked was a deliberate and callous act of murder, or a tragic accident.
She was found guilty of the murders of three family members and the attempted murder of a fourth with the meal that had been spiked with death cap mushrooms on July 29, 2023, at her home in a small Victorian dairy town.
Now the verdict is in, a key moment of weakness in the second week of the trial that saw her break down sobbing moments after the jury left the room can be revealed.
The mother-of-two had spent two days listening to her son and daughter's interviews with police, with topics ranging from what the kids knew of the lunch, what they did after, and the disintegration of their parents' marriage.
Erin Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder after preparing the fatal beef Wellington lunch that ended in the deaths of three family members. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig.
Photos of the remnants of the beef Wellington meal, taken in for testing, were released after the trial found Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder. Picture: Supplied
Patterson, wearing a long brown cardigan and green top, sat in the dock watching a screen as video showed her daughter telling police she wasn't present at the lunch, 'so I don't know what happened'.
The nine-year-old told her interviewer her mum told her she would be going to see a movie with her older brother and another boy the morning of the lunch.
She said she saw 'meat' in the oven and Patterson was making a coffee as she explained she wanted to have lunch with her in-laws to discuss 'adult stuff'.
'I don't exactly know what they had but I know (brother) and me had leftovers the next day,' she said.
The young girl said she went to the cinema around midday on July 29, had McDonald's for lunch and was picked up by her dad Simon Patterson, whom she spent the evening with.
Later that night, the girl said Patterson told them they were having 'leftovers' with meat, mashed potato and green beans served.
'She wasn't really hungry so (brother) ate the rest of hers,' she said.
There was no suggestion during the trial that the children's meals were contaminated with death cap mushrooms.
The girl told police Patterson loved to cook and she would often help to bake sweet treats.
Her older brother's interview was played next, the boy telling police he had arrived home on the day of the fatal lunch about 30 minutes before their grandparents Don and Gail Patterson, and great aunt and uncle Ian and Heather Wilkinson left.
He agreed it appeared the group had a good time and said he spoke with his grandfather, Don, about his flying lessons before going to play video games with a friend.
Don and Gail Patterson died after ingesting poisonous mushrooms. Picture: supplied
Korumburra pastor Ian Wilkinson survived despite being left fighting for life but his wife Heather Wilkinson died after the lunch. Picture: Supplied
After they said their goodbyes, the boy said he helped his mother clean up from lunch.
'I remember taking some plates up to the sink and putting them in the dishwasher,' he said.
'I collected all the plates put them in a pile next to the sink … I collected all the glasses put them near the sink.'
He said he did not recall any remnants of food on the plates, which he believed were 'plain white' dinner plates about 15cm in diameter.
The boy spoke with police about how his mother told him she felt sick the morning after the lunch, forcing them to skip church, but was adamant she would drive him the hour to his flying lesson.
He told officers that the following Monday, he and his sister were pulled out of school by their father Simon and taken to the Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne, where he visited his mother and had three blood tests over Monday and Tuesday before being sent home.
The police line of questioning then turned to the relationship between Patterson and her husband, with the boy detailing a 'very negative' shift in his parents' relationship ahead of the fatal lunch.
Killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson was convicted after a 10-week trial. Picture: NewsWire / Anita Lester
As her son's police interview was played in court, the mother-of-two appeared glassy eyed and trying to hold back tears.
The 14-year-old boy said he knew his dad didn't like that Patterson had moved the boy to another school, and wanted to be on the paperwork for his son's new school.
'Dad wouldn't talk to mum about that,' he said.
He told the interviewer he and his sister had previously been staying with Simon Patterson after school Friday through to Monday and with Patterson from Monday evening though to Friday morning.
But in the past year they had only stayed at their mother's home, by choice.
'For the past year we've been living at mum's, sleeping at mum's, for the last year he's trying to get me and (sister) to stay at his … but I didn't really want to,' he said.
'I told him I really didn't want to because he never did anything with us over the weekend.'
Patterson appeared glassy-eyed during the interview, but managed to maintain her composure.
Moments after the jury were excused and the room was clear, she broke down in heaving sobs.
She was red faced and gasping for breath as her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, walked over to the stand to offer some reassuring words.
The only other time Patterson displayed any clear emotion in the courtroom was when she was in the witness box.
Her voice faltered and she was seen dabbing her eyes with a tissue whenever she responded to questions about her children.
When the jury returned on Tuesday with their verdict, and hundreds gathered outside the courtroom to hear their verdict, Patterson looked only slightly nervous as she tried to meet each juror's eye and failed.
She remained expressionless as the forewoman softly said 'guilty' in response to each charge.
Patterson, who has maintained her innocence throughout the two-year saga, is expected to appeal the jury's decision.
Originally published as Moment mushroom cook Erin Patterson broke down during murder trial