01-07-2025
Morwell became a world stage for Erin Patterson's mushroom trial
If you had stepped into one of the bustling cafes on the main street of Morwell, Victoria in the past two months, you might have been hard pressed to find a spare table.
And if you had spent any time in courtroom four at the town's Latrobe Valley Supreme Court, you might have spied some familiar faces in the cafes: diners from opposing legal sides of one of the most talked about murder trials in Australian history.
At one table, the defence team for the accused, Erin Patterson, clad in their barristers' gowns.
Two tables over sits the homicide squad, with the remaining settings taken up with court watchers, jury members, journalists and documentary makers.
All while members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families wait patiently for their takeaway coffee.
The incidental union of defence and prosecution, pundits and families outside the courtroom has become a familiar vignette to those involved in the triple murder trial, originally slated for six weeks and now in its tenth.
Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale has handed down his final charge, summarising the law and evidence the jury needs to consider when deciding whether Ms Patterson is guilty or not guilty.
She is charged with murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and with attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson.
She has always maintained her innocence and her defence team says the addition of death-cap mushrooms to the beef-wellington lunch in July 2023 was a tragic accident.
While the crowd of regular spectators has thinned towards the end of the trial, for the past few months glimmers of country hospitality have shone through the usual aspects of an area of disadvantage.
The trial has been the talk of the town, with cafe owners enjoying the uptick in business from those who have called Morwell home for the past couple of months.
So what happens to a community when a big trial comes to town?
Michael Mavrofridis is slicing mortadella and making panini sandwiches for the lunch crowd at Mavro's Deli on Church Street in Morwell.
It took a couple of weeks for the metropolitan journalists to discover the precinct, but after a visit they were hooked.
The cafe next door to the deli has a sandwich board stuck to the wall with a chalked sign announcing the lunch special for the day: mushroom soup.
Michael, 25, and his brother, Con, took over Mavro's Deli in 2019.
Michael said even with the tumultuous COVID years included, the recent trial had been one of the biggest things the deli had experienced.
"After a couple of weeks … someone came and had one [panini] and spread the word.
"Now we've had regular journalists come."
He said despite the lengthy trial, customers were still curious about what was happening each day in court.
"It's definitely a hot topic for everyone."
It's the nature of the alleged crimes that has captured the attention and imagination of the world, according to associate dean of communications at RMIT, Lisa Waller.
Professor Waller has researched the relationship between the media, regional reporters and crime.
She spearheaded a study on rural media and justice, including the 1997 death of toddler Jaidyn Leskie that drew the country's attention to the nearby town of Moe.
That town's reputation is associated with Jaidyn's death to this day.
Her study found that when it came to country towns, people focused on where an alleged crime happened more than they would in a metropolitan area.
She said both the public and the media were often captivated by alleged crimes in rural settings.
"It's human nature and the power of narrative," she said.
Claudia Davies has run her cafe on George Street, Morwell for the past 18 years.
She said local customers seemed to be giving the CBD a wide berth, perhaps thinking that parking would be limited, or wanting to avoid the legal crowd and the media.
Ms Davies said she had been cautious about commenting to customers about the trial, out of respect for the families involved.
"I take my hat off to everyone reporting, they're so careful not to put opinions into it," she said.
"We do have a few people talking about it, but I think people are being sensitive about it.
Islynde Bourke has owned and operated The Daily Cafe and Foodstore for the past three years.
She said due to the cafe's proximity to the legal precinct, plenty of media and legal staff had stopped by for their daily coffee.
"We've got the media, journalists, the same people every day," Ms Bourke said.
"The [Patterson family] I think have been coming in, and [we've had] lots of faces here visiting, which is interesting.
"It's [the trial has] been the talk of the town.
"There are lots of people who are just randoms here for the trial, here every day camping out [the] front of the court, and they're here every morning."
