Protester accosts judge as Erin Patterson trial hears how officials tried to find source of deadly mushrooms

The Guardian

26-05-2025

Erin Patterson spent days after the beef wellington lunch speaking with a department of health official in detail about sourcing the mushrooms for the meal from an Asian grocer and Woolworths, a Victorian court has heard.
Day 19 of Patterson's trial at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell was also interrupted by a protester, who shouted accusations at Justice Christopher Beale before being escorted out of the room by police.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha in South Gippsland on 29 July 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering or attempting to murder the relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson.
She is accused of murdering Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband.
The court was interrupted early on Monday, as a man wearing a yellow T-shirt featuring the message 'All we are saying is give truth a chance' shouted accusations that murder cases had been 'rigged' . Beale did not comment as the man was quickly walked from the court by a police officer.
Later, the court heard from Sallyann Atkinson, a department of health official who was tasked with investigating the circumstances of the lunch after the Pattersons and Wilkinsons were taken to hospital on 30 July 2023.
A report was made to the department in order for them to investigate whether a broader public health response was required.
Atkinson said she exchanged multiple phone calls and text messages with Patterson between 1 August and 4 August in an attempt to establish the source of the mushrooms used in the meal.
The court has previously heard Patterson told multiple people, including family members and health professionals, that she used fresh mushrooms from a local Woolworths supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne.
Atkinson said that in one of her first conversations with Patterson she said the beef wellington was something she had never made before, but she'd cooked it as 'she wanted to do something fancy'.
Atkinson told the court she then struggled to get hold of Patterson again, with the accused responding via text that she was 'a bit snowed under trying to manage' the fact her children were in hospital after eating leftovers of the lunch.
She spoke to Patterson on 2 August, Atkinson said, when child support worker Katrina Cripps visited her at home.
Atkinson texted her earlier that day with seven specific questions about the lunch, including what had been served to drink, what type of shallots were used in the dish, and what type of packaging the dried mushrooms were sold in.
Later that afternoon, Atkinson sent photos of different sizes of ziplock bags to Patterson, marked with a white sticker and with a pen used to indicate their size, in a bid to help her identify the size of bag the dried mushrooms had been sold in.
She also asked Patterson whether the mushrooms had been whole or sliced.
Erin Patterson hosts lunch for estranged husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Patterson serves beef wellington.
All four lunch guests are admitted to hospital with gastro-like symptoms.
Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson die in hospital.
Don Patterson dies in hospital. Victoria police search Erin Patterson's home and interview her.
Ian Wilkinson is discharged from hospital after weeks in intensive care.
Police again search Erin Patterson's home, and she is arrested and interviewed. She is charged with three counts of murder relating to the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
Jury is sworn in.
Murder trial begins. Jury hears that charges of attempting to murder her estranged husband Simon are dropped.
In its opening to the case, the prosecution said Patterson lied about getting death cap mushrooms from an Asian grocer, evidence which it said it intended to use to demonstrate incriminating conduct.
Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, said the prosecution relied on evidence of this kind to demonstrate that Patterson behaved in a way after the lunch 'that might make her look guilty'.
'The prosecution says she behaved in that way because she knew she was guilty of murder and the defence case is that she panicked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food that she'd served to them,' Mandy said.
'Three people died because of the food that Erin Patterson served that day. So you'll need to think about this issue: how Erin Patterson felt about that in the days that follow. That is an issue in this trial. You will need to consider how she behaved and what she did in that important context.
'How did she feel in those days after the lunch, about serving up a meal that had such tragic consequences? And how might that have impacted on the way she behaved?'
He went on to reference the intense scrutiny on Patterson immediately after the lunch. Mandy did not directly address whether Patterson had lied about the mushrooms, as she had been accused by the prosecution, but did say she lied to police about having never foraged for mushrooms, though clarified she had never sought out death cap mushrooms.
'It is not an issue that very early on there was intense public health scrutiny, police scrutiny, media scrutiny,' Mandy said in his opening address.
'So when you're considering that evidence, the evidence of her behaviour after the lunch, you'll need to think about these questions. Might someone panic in a situation like that? Is it possible that people might do and say things that are not well thought out and might, in the end, make them look bad?
'Is it possible that a person might lie when they find out that people are seriously ill because of the food that they've served up?'
Atkinson will resume giving evidence on Tuesday.
The trial continues.