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Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
How to spot a deadly mushroom - as Erin Patterson is found guilty of murdering her family with a death cap-laced beef wellington
The deadly dangers of mushroom poisoning have been laid bare after a shocking case where an Australian woman used them to kill a trio of her family members. Erin Patterson was today found guilty of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and her husband's aunt Heather Wilkinson as well as the attempted murder of Heather's husband Pastor Ian Wilkinson. The three died after they ate beef Wellingtons made with lethal 'death cap' mushrooms, while Mr Wilkinson survived after weeks of agony. Patterson, a mother-of-two, served the deadly meal to her guests at her home in Leongatha, in South Gippsland, Victoria on July 29, 2023. After a 10-week trial, a jury has now concluded she poisoned her guests on purpose, delivering a 'guilty' verdict. Patterson had claimed she had bought the dried mushrooms used in her beef Wellington from an Asian grocer in Melbourne 's south-east. Health officials have long warned of the risks of foraging for mushrooms, with the poisons in some of the most dangerous wild mushrooms not destroyed by cooking. NHS data seen by MailOnline shows there were 63 admissions for eating toxic mushrooms in NHS hospitals last year, 46 of them emergencies. There are 15,000 reported types of fungi found in the UK, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Generally, mushrooms with white gills, white rings or skirts around the base are warning signs and should be avoided, says Wild Food UK. Equally, red colouring on mushrooms including the stem, pores or cap could indicate toxicity. Now, this website now details how to spot a potentially deadly mushroom. EDIBLE MUSHROOMS Scotch bonnet or fairy ring mushroom (Marasmius oreades) The fairy ring mushroom, scientifically known as Marasmius oreades, is a common sight on lawns, meadows, and pastures in summer and autumn. The fungi is known for its unique growth pattern, often forming arcs or circles called fairy rings. Although small, it can usually be found in large numbers, according to Wild Food UK, which describes it as a 'great-tasting gourmet mushroom'. Bay bolete (Imleria badia) Bay bolete's scientific name, Badia, means chestnut brown and refers to the colour of its cap, the Woodland Trust says. It describes it as an 'excellent edible mushroom'. While the flesh is white or slightly yellow, the stem is smooth. On the cap underside are small yellowish pores that bruise bluish-grey when injured or pressed. It is common in spruce and pine forests and occasionally appears also under oak, beech and chestnut trees. Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea) The Calvatia gigantea, commonly known as the giant puffball, is a colossal fungi found in meadows, the RSPB say. Young puffballs have soft clean white skin and firm flesh when cut. According to Wild Food UK, it is the safest mushroom in the UK for novice foragers and they are best eaten when young. Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) This rich-yellow fungi, shaped like a funnel, develops a wavy, turned-under edge with age. Known scientifically as Cantharellus cibarius, it is often found in woods, particularly beech and oak, the Woodland Trust says. It calls it a 'prized ingredient' and 'forager's favourite'. Reportedly used by chefs all over the world, it is among the most popular types of wild edible mushrooms and the most commonly consumed of all mushrooms. Saffron Milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus) Bleeding a bright carrot-orange liquid when cut, the Saffron Milkcap is more common in northern England and Scotland, where it is found in pine woodlands. The edible mushroom should be cooked and tends to keep good texture after cooking. The poisonous Woolly Milkcap — Lactarius torminosus — does look similar to the Saffron Milkcap, but it has hairs on the edge of its cap, Wild Food UK caution. POISONOUS MUSHROOMS Death Caps (Amanita phalloides) Amanita Phalloides, or the death cap, is one of the world's most poisonous fungi. Just eating a few mouthfuls of the 'harmless looking' death cap mushroom can kill, according to the RSPB. They often grow near established oak trees, and are found when there is warm, wet weather. Native to Europe, it is common in most parts of the UK and Ireland. The fungi stand out due to the pale green colouring of their caps, a bulbous end at the foot of the stalk and an annulus - a ring-like collar - at the top. Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa) This ghostly white mushroom is more lethal than the death cap, Wild Food UK warns. Often found in woody upland areas, the Destroying Angel can often be found in Scotland. But according to the Woodland Trust, just one of these offending mushrooms in a bowl of soup is said to be potent enough to kill anyone who has a spoonful. There is no known antidote. Just a small amount can lead to serious vomiting and diarrhoea which can last for a few days before appearing to ease. But sufferers may experience a deceiving period of improvement, before the effects of liver and kidney poisoning occur. Fool's funnel (Clitocybe rivulosa) The Fool's funnel is also often known as the sweating mushroom — describing its potentially deadly effects — the Woodland Trust says. It often grows on lawns and meadows alongside the edible Scotch bonnet, causing confusion. While eating it is rarely fatal, in large doses it can cause abdominal pain, sickness, diarrhoea and blurred vision. Panthercap (Amanita pantherina) This pox-crusted fungus, found under oak and beech trees, is fiercely poisonous. The Panther Cap's cap is dark brown and covered in thick white scales or 'warts', Wild Food UK says. Under its cap are white, thin papery gills. People can expect to experience intense sickness and extremely vivid hallucinations, according to the Woodland Trust. In rare cases, the fungi can also prove fatal. Fool's conecap (Pholiotina rugosa) Pholiotina rugosa, commonly known as the Fool's conecap has a smooth, shiny, brown cap around 2cm wide. The fungi could be found in the garden, the Woodland Trust say, as it grows in leaf litter, rotting woodchip piles, sawdust, rich soil and compost. Like the death cap, fool's conecap contains deadly alpha-amanitin which is highly toxic to the liver when ingested.


Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Erin Patterson found guilty of murdering three in-laws with death cap mushrooms in beef Wellington
Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering her three in-laws with death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington that she served them for lunch at her home. The verdict ends one of the nation's most intriguing homicide cases. The mother-of-two sat defiantly throughout her 10-week trial, glaring at the media, members of the public and the family of the people she murdered with callous disregard. Patterson had pleaded not guilty to the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. They died after consuming death caps in the beef Wellingtons during lunch at Patterson's Leongatha home in southeast Victoria on July 29, 2023. Only Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived her murderous plot - a blunder Patterson would live to regret, and will now serve time for. Seated at the back of courtroom four of the Supreme Court of Victoria, sitting at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court, Patterson, dressed in a paisley shirt, appeared stunned as her fate was sealed on Monday afternoon. Asked to deliver a verdict, the jury foreperson - one of only five women to sit on the original 15-person panel - simply stated, 'guilty'. The verdict produced an audible gasp from those within the packed courtroom, which included members of the Patterson clan. Patterson will now be taken back down to the Morwell Police Station cells where she had been kept throughout the trial. They are the cells she had grown to loathe throughout her trial, complaining about being denied a pillow, doona and her computer. She can expect to spend the next decades of her life caged within the walls of Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's west alongside a rogue's gallery of female killers. On her weekly trips back there, Patterson had come to loathe the Chicken Cacciatore meals provided to her en route because the dish 'had mushrooms in it'. Once caged, she can expect to be kept in an isolation cell for her own protection for the foreseeable future due to her high profile and the frailty of her elderly victims. It can now be revealed Patterson's two children had continued to see their mother behind bars while she awaited trial, unwilling to accept she could murder their grandparents and aunt. Patterson could be heard asking about them during breaks in the trial, asking a woman to ensure her now 16-year-old son was given 'extra hugs'. The arrogant killer had been so cocky she would walk free that she had workers erect black plastic around her Leongatha home to shield her from the media on her expected return. Her estranged husband Simon Patterson is expected to address the large media pack that has descended upon the Morwell courthouse. The civil engineer had been warned mid-trial by Justice Christopher Beale to hold off engaging with reporters until the verdict had been delivered. The prosecution had dumped three attempted murder charges against his wife related to him. He too had been invited to the deadly lunch, but pulled out the night before. While no motive was ever provided to the jury, it was presented with a clear picture of animosity between the estranged couple leading up to the lunch. Simon claimed that while they remained friendly during separation, things changed when he made the decision to change his relationship status on his tax return. He had been dropping the kids at Patterson's Leongatha home when she allegedly came out and asked to have a chat. The jury heard Patterson jumped in the passenger side of Simon's car. Patterson was so confident she would be going home she had workers prepare black plastic around her home to shield her from waiting media 'She discovered that my tax return for the previous year for the first time noted we were separated,' Simon told the court. Patterson told him the move would impact the family tax benefit the couple had previously enjoyed and she was obliged to now claim child support. 'She was upset about it,' Simon said. Patterson also wanted child support and the school fees paid. The court heard Patterson changed the children's school without consulting Simon. His own son would later tell the jury his dad went out of his way to hurt his mother. Patterson had banked on the jury believing it was possible she had picked the death cap mushrooms used to kill her in-laws by mistake. Throughout the trial her barrister Colin Mandy, SC, had worked to sow the seeds of doubt in the jury's minds. Patterson's legal team Sophie Stafford and Colin Mandy, SC enter the Latrobe Valley Law Courts during the trial DRAMA BEHIND THE SCENES Long lines of true crime fanatics snaked into the courtroom day after day. Small children gawked and laughed at Patterson in the prison dock as if she were a character at a theme park. The judge's tipstaff - a burly security guard charged with maintaining order in the court - was kept busy dealing with overly enthusiastic members of the public. While the jury was out, numerous people were caught taking photos inside the courtroom. One brazen gentleman went so far as to snap a selfie with Patterson in the background. The phones were seized and the photos deleted. Meanwhile, The Kyle & Jackie O Show found itself in hot water that Justice Beale suggested was in contempt. He suggested prosecutors look to charge the 'shock jocks' over comments they made on air toward the end of the trial. He did so with tactical questions aimed at trying to obtain admissions to his suggestions from key witnesses. It was a tactic that failed time and time again, leaving the jury with no doubt Patterson had deliberately picked the death cap mushrooms she used to murder her lunch guests. Lone survivor, Mr Wilkinson, was the second witness to front the jury after Simon Patterson. Seated in the witness box, Mr Wilkinson provided powerful and compelling evidence about not only how Patterson lured his family to lunch, but also how she went about killing them. He was challenged repeatedly on his evidence by Mr Mandy but never wavered from his original version of events. Mr Mandy suggested Mr Wilkinson's claim that the four plates used to serve beef Wellington to Patterson's lunch guests were all grey, and all the same, was not correct. He further suggested there was 'no smaller plate', but Mr Wilkinson disagreed. 'It (the beef Wellington) was very much like a pastie, it was a pastry case and inside was steak and mushrooms, there was gravy available on the table,' Mr Wilkinson said. 'I could see them (the plates) between Heather and Gail, there were four large grey plates, one smaller plate - a different colour, an orangy-tan colour. 'Gail picked up two of the grey plates and took them to the table, Heather picked up two of the grey plates and took them to the table, Erin picked up the odd plate and put it at her place at the table.' Mr Mandy's attempts to trip Patterson's husband up during his evidence also fell flat. Patterson had blamed Simon for the atrocious lies she told her loved ones, police, health authorities and the media after her lunch guests became seriously ill. In the last days of the trial, the jury watched Patterson tell some of those lies to Homicide Squad Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall during her record of interview. It had been Senior Constable Eppinstall who spearheaded the investigation into Patterson, leaving no stone unturned in his quest to provide justice to the families of those who lost their loved ones. During that interview, Patterson repeatedly denied owning the dehydrator she used to milk the maximum potential out of the death cap mushrooms she would later serve for lunch. 'I've got manuals of lots of stuff I've collected over the years,' Patterson told the detective on August 5, 2023, following a search of her home which located the dehydrator manual. 'I just keep them all.' Patterson also denied ever foraging for mushrooms. 'Never,' she insisted. Patterson had claimed she had bought the dried mushrooms used in her beef Wellington from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's south-east. In a heavily edited recording, Patterson was seen highlighting the level of assistance she had provided to health authorities to find that non-existent grocer. 'I'm sure you understand too that I've never been in a situation like this before, and I've been very, very helpful with the health department through the week, because I wanted to help that side of things as much as possible, because I do want to know what happened,' she said. 'I've given them as much information as they've asked for, and offered up all the food and all the information about where the food came from the house.' In a statement conveniently leaked to select media organisations after the lunch, Patterson admitted she lied to investigators when she told them she had dumped the dehydrator used to dry the death caps at the tip 'a long time ago'. Patterson claimed then she had been at the hospital with her children 'discussing the food dehydrator' when her husband asked: 'Is that what you used to poison them?' Worried that she might lose custody of the couple's children, Patterson said she then panicked and dumped the dehydrator at the tip. Six days after the meal, the dehydrator was found by police at a local tip. In an act of sheer arrogance, or stupidity, Patterson had decided not to dispose of the dehydrator in the bush, but at the tip using EFTPOS in her own name to pay for it. Simon's supposed quip about the dehydrator was put to him by Mr Mandy at trial. It had been an integral element of Patterson's defence when he opened the trial more than a month ago. But Simon denied making the comment that Patterson claimed sparked her web of lies. 'I did not say that to Erin,' Simon said. The jury then heard from a swag of medical experts, who Patterson hoped would help convince the jury that she too had become sick from eating the lunch. Mr Mandy told the jury Patterson had not pretended to be sick after the lunch. 'The defence case is that she was not feigning illness, she wasn't pretending to be sick. The defence case is that she was sick too, just not as sick,' Mr Mandy said. 'And the defence case is that she was unwell because she'd eaten some of the meal.' While intensive care specialist Professor Andrew Bersten said he was convinced Patterson had indeed suffered a 'diarrhoea illness', the jury felt her overall claims didn't stack up. The jury heard Prof Bersten had come to his conclusions based on medical records alone and had never actually treated Patterson after the lunch. Nurse Cindy Munro, who was working at Leongatha hospital when Patterson turned up the Monday after the lunch, said Patterson 'didn't look unwell' compared with two of her seriously ill lunch guests. 'She didn't look unwell like Heather and Ian,' Ms Munro said. 'Ian looked so unwell he could barely lift his head. She didn't look unwell to me.' Doctor Laura Muldoon, part of the toxicology department at Monash Medical Centre, also told the jury Patterson's claims didn't stack up. 'I noted she looked clinically well, she had some chapped lips but otherwise very well. She had normal vital signs,' Dr Muldoon said. She told the jury there was no evidence Patterson had encountered death cap mushroom poisoning or consumed any other toxins. Another doctor, Varuna Ruggoo, said Patterson's liver function tests returned normal results. Even Patterson's own children could not persuade the jury she had been sick following the lunch. Patterson's then nine-year-old daughter told police her mother had a sore tummy and diarrhoea the day after the lunch. She also claimed that she had seen her go to the toilet about 10 times. Her older brother, then aged 14, also told police his mother claimed to be sick. He told police Patterson had complained of feeling 'a bit sick and had diarrhoea'. 'She was playing it down,' he said. Despite feeling unwell, the teenager said Patterson insisted on driving him about 90km to attend a flying school lesson in Tyabb. When the lesson was cancelled due to poor weather, she was forced to turn straight back around and drive all the way home. As the trial entered its final stages, Patterson's legal team worked hard to convince the jury Patterson could have accidentally picked the death cap mushrooms. Dr Tom May, a mycologist or fungi specialist, gave jurors an extensive lesson on amanita phalloides or death cap mushrooms. Patterson's hopes lifted when Dr May gave evidence that although death caps were 'typically greenish or yellowish', they 'may be whitish or brownish with or without white patches'. The expert was taken by Patterson's defence through a series of photos of dodgy- looking mushrooms and asked to identify them. He hit the bullseye every time: they were all death caps, with none of the images looking remotely palatable to any reasonable human. Dr May had posted images on a citizen science website called iNaturalist of death caps he had found in Outtrim - a short drive from Patterson's home - in April that year. It was a location that just happened to be visited by Patterson leading up to the deadly lunch. Phone data later obtained by police alleged Patterson's phone was 'pinged' in areas identified on that website as having death cap mushrooms there. The jury further heard Patterson took steps to hide evidence, swapping out the SIM card on her usual phone while detectives were carrying out a search of her home. That phone has never been recovered. While left alone, she also managed to factory reset her new phone, handing the wiped device over to a detective and factory resetting it again remotely while it was in police possession. But Patterson was unable to erase the contents of her home computer, which contained what the jury concluded was damning evidence that what she did was premeditated. During the trial, Victoria Police forensic data analyst Shamen Fox-Henry revealed Patterson made a visit to the iNaturalist website on May 28, 2022. The title of one of the visited pages included the words, 'Deathcap from Melbourne VIC, Australia on May 18, 2022'. Mr Fox-Henry had also found a series of messages sent by Patterson that suggested she had very personal issues with Simon's parents. In the messages, Patterson described her in-laws as a 'lost cause' and exclaimed 'f**k them'. 'I mean clearly the fact that Simon refuses to talk about personal issues in part stems from the behaviour of his parents and how they operate,' she wrote around December 6, 2022. 'According to them, they've never asked him what's going on with us, why I keep kicking him out, why his son hates him, etc. It's too awkward or uncomfortable or something. So that's his learned behaviour. Just don't talk about this s**t.' Patterson claimed her father-in-law's solution to her relationship problems with his son was to 'pray'. 'Don rang me last night to say that he thought there was a solution to all this. If Simon and I get together and try to talk and pray together,' she wrote. 'And then he also said, Simon had indicated there was a solution to the financial issues if I withdraw this child support claim?!' Patterson claimed she told her in-laws she wanted them to be accountable for the decisions their son made concerning their grandchildren. 'I would hope they care about their grandchildren enough to care about what Simon is doing,' she wrote. 'Don said they tried to talk to him, but he refused to talk about it, so they're staying out of it, but want us to pray together. 'I'm sick of this s**t. I want nothing to do with them. I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing, but it seems their concern about not wanting to feel uncomfortable, and not wanting to get involved in their son's personal matters, are overriding that. So f**k them.' When reporters finally caught up with Patterson in the days after the lunch, she broke down in tears and proclaimed she had done nothing wrong. 'I didn't do anything,' she said, wiping away tears. 'I loved them and I'm devastated that they're gone.' Patterson said all four guests were wonderful people and had always treated her with kindness. 'Gail was like the mum I didn't have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail had never been anything but good and kind to me,' she continued. 'Ian and Heather were some of the best people I'd ever met. They never did anything wrong to me. 'I'm so devastated about what's happened and the loss to the community and to the families and to my own children. They've lost their grandmother,' she told reporters on August 8 that year. 'What happened is devastating and I'm grieving too and you guys don't have any respect for that.' As the trial came to its conclusion, Mr Mandy was faced with the decision to risk putting his client in the witness box in a last-ditch attempt to save her skin. His decision to put her up would come back to haunt him. Finally out of the prison dock, Patterson faced off with the jury to try and explain away her lies. She sobbed and cried in scenes similar to those seen outside her house years earlier. The jury didn't buy her story and Patterson was cooked worse than her rotten beef Wellington. She will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.


Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Epic trial of Erin Patterson will drag on into its ninth week as judge continues his final address before sending the jury out to decide her fate
The judge presiding over the epic trial of Erin Patterson has told jurors they can expect to hear at least another full day of his address before he finally sequesters them. On Tuesday, Justice Christopher Beale told jurors not to pack their toothbrushes just yet as he intended to continue directing them on important matters of law before they retire to decide their verdict. The jury has been told they will be sequestered at the conclusion of the trial, meaning they will be shielded from the outside world for as long as it takes for them to decide Patterson's fate. Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. They died after consuming death cap mushrooms served in beef Wellingtons during lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Only Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch, with a charge of attempted murder also hanging over Patterson's head. In what has been an intense 36 day trial, the jury was treated to a spot of humour on Tuesday when Justice Beale referred to a doctor as 'Dr Mushroom'. The mistake brought the rare sounds of laughter from within a courtroom that has heard weeks of harrowing evidence. Justice Beale had been trying to refer to Dr Laura Muldoon, who gave evidence during the trial that she asked Patterson whether she used wild mushrooms in the beef Wellingtons she served at the lunch. 'Ms Patterson said she thinks she told Dr Mushroom, ah Muldoon, she had not used wild mushrooms,' Justice Beale said. In what is referred to as the 'judge's charge', Justice Beale spent much of the day reminding the jury about what it had heard dating back to the very first witnesses in the trial. Simon Patterson had been the first witness to enter the witness box, with Justice Beale reminding the jury about the key points of his evidence. Justice Beale discussed Patterson's relationship with her husband over the years The jury heard Simon said his friendship with Patterson had been 'strong' until late-2022. He later said the lunch invite came off the back of information related to a 'medical issue'. Simon told the jury Patterson had wanted to talk about 'this serious matter' at the lunch. Justice Beale said Simon had been challenged on his recollection of the matter being described as 'important' or 'serious'. The jury heard Simon had not used those words in his police statement. Justice Beale also took the jury back through the evidence of Pastor Ian Wilkinson who survived the lunch after spending a period in intensive care. The jury heard Mr Wilkinson said he remembered being invited to the lunch after a discussion with Gail and Don Patterson. Justice Beale said Mr Wilkinson told the jury he thought the beef Wellingtons were on an oven tray and he had told police the same. The jury was reminded about what Mr Wilkinson said about Patterson's cancer claims. The pastor had told police Patterson said she had 'suspected cancer'. He then gave evidence he thought she said she had cancer. 'I think she was saying she had cancer,' he said at trial. Justice Beale continued to take the jury through evidence supplied from everyone from health officials to child protection officers who dealt with Patterson in the days following the lunch. He told the jury the prosecution wanted him to highlight the eight 'topics' of alleged inconsistent statements. The topics Justice Beale listed included: 1. Whether Patterson had a tendency to pick and eat wild mushrooms between 2020 and 2023. 2. Whether the children were invited to or free to attend the lunch on July 29. 3. The source of the mushrooms that went into the beef Wellingtons. 4. How much the accused ate of her beef Wellington. 5. How much Gail Patterson ate of her beef Wellington. 6. When Patterson claimed she started to experience diarrhoea. 7. Whether she knew or suspected the lunch was the cause of Don and Gail's illness only in the evening of Sunday July 30, 2023. and 8. Whether the accused knew that Donald and Gail Patterson were in comas by the morning of Tuesday, August 1, 2023. The jury was reminded about Patterson's claims that she had developed an interest in foraging during Victoria's Covid lockdowns. Justice Beale said Patterson claimed she would put the mushrooms in meals 'we all ate'. Patterson told the jury she'd chop up the mushrooms into such small pieces the kids couldn't pick them out. She claimed she foraged at the Korumburra botanical gardens and at her property. Patterson claimed to have picked wild mushrooms at the gardens including slippery jacks and honey mushrooms. Justice Beale lectured the the jury on how to treat someone that made an 'inconsistent statement'. The jury was also told it 'could use which ever version of the account they wished'. '[If a] witness' prior statement is inconsistent with his or her evidence in court, you will have two different accounts from the same witness,' Justice Beale said. 'It is for you to determine which accounts, if any, to believe.' The trial continues.


Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Explosive defence argument revealed about why Erin Patterson got sick before any of her lunch guests - as the prosecution case is picked apart
Erin Patterson 's early onset of illness after serving deadly beef Wellingtons to her lunch guests was brought on by her preparation of the meal, a jury has heard. On Wednesday, Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy, SC continued to outline his client's defence against claims she deliberately served poisoned pastry meals to the relatives of her estranged husband Simon Patterson. Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. They died after consuming death cap mushrooms served in beef Wellingtons during lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Only Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch, in what Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC on Monday suggested had been a big mistake. The jury has previously heard Ms Patterson claimed to have become ill shortly after the fateful lunch while her guests became sick much later, around midnight. 'There's a sensible reason for that, because in the morning, several hours before the guests arrived, she was stirring and tasting the duxelle,' Mr Mandy told the jury. 'She was preparing that part of the meal. She was tasting it and that's why she added the dried mushrooms to it. So at least a few hours before anyone else ate any, she had had some.' The jury has heard prosecutors claim that Patterson was never sick from what she ate at the lunch and had simply pretended to be, so as to cover-up her alleged crime. Dr Rogers told the jury medical tests revealed Patterson had no signs of death cap poisoning, unlike her guests who suffered severe symptoms, including organ failure. She argued that Patterson fabricated symptoms, such as vomiting after eating cake, to appear sick like her guests. 'We suggest that if the accused had truly vomited ... that is a detail she would have shared with medical staff,' Dr Rogers said. 'The fact that she never made any mention of it should cause you to seriously doubt this claim and we suggest, reject ... [this claim] as a lie.' Mr Mandy said Patterson's claim that she vomited after the lunch ought be treated as truthful. The court heard Patterson claimed she had vomited shortly after the lunch ended, around 2.45pm. 'Now if that was a lie, members of the jury, to encourage you to think that the poison had all left her body, she surely would've said to you that it happened as soon as the guests left,' Mr Mandy said. Mr Mandy also suggested Patterson's evidence that she couldn't remember what was in her vomit ought also be treated as the truth. 'She can't be more precise about the contents of her stomach. If she was lying, if she was lying to you, she would say, ''oh look, when I threw up, I could clearly recognise pastry and meat and mushrooms in there. Absolutely categorically it all came up'',' Mr Mandy said. 'If she was lying, that's what she'd say. But instead she says, 'I don't know, it's vomit'. If she was lying, she would've said, ''I threw up immediately and I could clearly see everything''. She didn't say that to you.' Mr Mandy further suggested Patterson did not become as sick as her lunch guests due to a number of significant factors. He said expert evidence suggested people who consumed the same amount of toxin could react in different ways. 'People can eat the same meal, some develop a higher grade, some develop a lower grade of the severity of the illness,' Mr Mandy said. He told the jury there could have been a variation in toxicity from one person's portion to another. And some people have different reactions upon consuming toxins, he said. 'So some people have a better toxic response than others. Yes. So depending on an individual's tolerance to that particular toxin or their physiological response that may be different,' Mr Mandy said. Expert evidence further suggested the age of the individual could also play a factor as could the weight of the person. 'Obviously weight is a factor,' Mr Mandy said. 'As you know, Erin weighed over a hundred kilos. Age is a factor. She's significantly younger than the other guests.' Mr Mandy accused the prosecution of providing 'misleading impressions' to jurors during Dr Rogers' closing address. 'So Dr Rogers yesterday in her closing argument, invited you to think about what you would do in this situation if this was really just a horrible accident,' he said. 'And what the Crown was asking you to do is to engage in an exercise which might be dangerous and seductive, but it's not appropriate because it involves hindsight reasons. 'And hindsight reasoning is dangerous because it distorts how we evaluate decisions and actions that occurred in the past.' Mr Mandy further accused lone lunch guest survivor Ian Wilkinson of providing the jury incorrect evidence when he described Patterson eating her meal off a different coloured plate. 'It has to be the case that Ian Wilkinson is wrong about what he said. It makes no sense logically that you would use that method to deliver up an unpoisoned parcel, but otherwise, on all of the evidence, he's wrong; honestly mistaken,' Mr Mandy said. He also said Mr Wilkinson was wrong about the colour of Patterson's other plates, which he had described as being grey. 'Erin and Simon were far more familiar with the crockery in the house than Ian was, and so we submit to you that you would have to find, on a proper and analytical examination of that evidence, that he wasn't right about those plates. Honestly mistaken,' Mr Mandy said. Mr Mandy also claimed it would have made more sense for Patterson to simply mark the 'safe Wellington' on the pastry rather than serve it on a different coloured plate. We submit to you there is only one logical way of getting around that problem if this was your plan, and that would be to mark the unpoisoned one, it's wrapped in pastry, in some way, so that you can recognise it and differentiate it from the others,' Mr Mandy said. 'Easy to do, pastry, in which case you would not need different coloured plates.' He urged the jury to consider why his client would have 'lured' her lunch guests to lunch with a tale about a false cancer diagnosis if they did not discuss the issue until after they had all eaten the Wellingtons. 'On the Crown case, her object had already been achieved,' he said. 'The only rational conclusion … is the lie about cancer has absolutely nothing to do with the intention to kill, if there was one.'


Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
What the Erin Patterson murder trial jury was told this week that you NEVER heard about - as new details emerge about how much SHE ate of the deadly beef Wellington
Erin Patterson claims she ate only half of a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at her deadly lunch. Patterson made the claim to hospital staff and a child protection officer in the days following the lunch that claimed the lives of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. The jury has already heard Gail Patterson ate just half of her pastie-sized beef Wellington, with her husband finishing off the rest. Unlike Patterson, the portion was enough to make Gail violently ill within hours and eventually killed her. On Friday, Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos, head of forensic science at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, suggested Patterson's portion should have caused an 'adverse outcome' for her. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to killing her three lunch guests and the attempted murder of Pastor Ian Wilkinson - the lone survivor of the deadly lunch. Mr Wilkinson was seated in the court on Friday after completing his evidence in the first days of the trial. Crown prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asked Dr Gerostamoulos what his expectations were for someone with no pre-existing health conditions eating the same meal that killed another person. 'Yes, there would be likely that there would be some adverse outcomes for that person who survived, the severity of which may vary depending on some of the factors that I've previously spoken about today,' he said. Dr Gerostamoulos said there was a recent case in Victoria where two people consumed the same meal where one died but the other survived. 'The other one was significantly ill for a period of time and ended up in ICU,' he said. 'So it is possible but it will depend on how much is eaten, the person's response to that amount of toxin as well.' The jury heard a person's weight could be a factor in how ingesting death cap mushrooms would affect their 'toxic response'. Dr Gerostamoulos agreed multiple factors including weight, age, health status and how much of a meal containing death caps consumed would vary from person to person. He agreed that even if a person ate the same meal as someone else which contained death caps, it was possible one person's toxicity levels would be different to the other's. The jury heard for the first time this week that Patterson claimed not to have eaten all of her beef Wellington. Director of Infection Prevention and Public Health At Monash Health Rhonda Stuart said Patterson gave her the information when she was admitted into hospital. 'I recall she said she ate about half of her meal,' she said. 'One of the relatives ate a meal and a half and the rest - and the other two ate most of theirs but there was some leftover and that's what she said the kids had the following day, minus the mushroom paste that she'd scraped off.' Child protection practitioner Katrina Cripps was also grilled on the subject by Patterson's barrister Sophie Stafford. Ms Cripps maintained Patterson had also told her she consumed just half of her beef Wellington, which was allegedly served on a different coloured plate than her guests. The jury has heard from a series of medical practitioners throughout the first two weeks of the trial. While Patterson did go to hospital two days after the lunch, Leongatha Hospital nurse Cindy Munro told the court she didn't look overly sick to her when she presented back there the second time. 'She didn't look unwell like Heather and Ian. Ian was so unwell he could barely lift his head off the pillow,' she told the jury. 'Erin was sitting up in the trolley and she didn't look unwell to me.' Ms Cripps said Patterson told her she had found the recipe for her lunch from a RecipeTin Eats cookbook because she 'wanted to do something new and special' for lunch. Ms Cripps said Patterson told her she bought chopped mushrooms from a local Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer. Patterson said she used the dried mushrooms because she heard they would 'add flavour' to the beef Wellingtons. The trial, which is being held at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, in Victoria's Gippsland, suffered a surprise this week when a juror was unexpectedly dismissed. Justice Christopher Beale told the jury he had been alerted to the fact that a male juror had been discussing the trial outside of court. 'A few moments ago, I discharged juror 84,' he said. 'I did so because, as I explained to him, I received information that he had been discussing the case with family and friends, contrary to my instructions.' He told the jury the information he received about the juror seemed 'credible' and therefore had no choice but to let him go. Justice Beale said his swift action should act as a warning to the remaining jurors. 'I want to remind you of my directions that you should only discuss the case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room (and) not discuss it with anyone else, it's vital to the administration of justice,' he said. On Friday, before releasing the jury for the weekend, Justice Beale again reminded the jury of its responsibilities under the law. 'I don't want to sound like a broken record but only discuss the case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room, and don't get into a discussion with anybody about the fact that juror 84 was discharged,' he told the jury. The trial continues.