June 26, 2025 • 6 mins
The jury in the trial of triple-murder accused Erin Patterson is edging towards beginning deliberations in Australia's Victoria.
The 50-year-old also faces a charge of attempted murder over a toxic beef Wellington lunch she served to her estranged husband's family in 2023.
She maintains her innocence - claiming it was a terrible accident.
Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Justice Christopher Beale has left clear instructions for the jury - and told them to resist bias, prejudice and sympathy.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Muryold's Ossie corresponds with us Alo.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Mars Uffen and heaven.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
I mean he sayes Monday, but Wednesday could be Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're talking about Justice Christopher Beale, who was the Supreme
Court judge in Victoria, who was summing up and directing
the jury after thirty seven days thirty seven days of
the Aaron Pattison triple murder trial. This is the death
cap mushroom mamma as that she's been called in some
quarters over here. The jury, according to Justice Bill, is
(00:30):
set to go out next week. He's been basically summarizing
both sides, the prosecution and the defense. The overriding instruction
to the jury, as you might expect, if there's any
set suggestion that she's not guilty, they must quit Missus
Pattison because you know, three counts of murder. He said,
(00:52):
the prosecution has to reach beyond reasonable doubt. That's the threshold.
If that's the jury's okay, she's guilty. Now. He's as
you know, we've been through this before. He's looking at
allegations by the prosecution, the defense, the arguments that's put forward.
For example, you know the dehydrator. I've never seen one.
(01:14):
I've never bought one. I've never known anyone who's ever
used one. But she bought a brand new one, used it,
and then threw it away. Why did you do that? What? Well,
that's you know, the jury's in there. Here's the fascinating thing.
There are fourteen jurors. I didn't realize this until this
afternoon doing some prep because I knew I was talking
to you on Monday. When the Justice Bill says the
(01:36):
jury will go away and retire to consider the verdict,
two jurors of the fourteen will be balloted out, and
then the other dozen will be sequestered and they can't
get out of it until they reach a verdict. It
must be left, as I said, to that standard beyond
reasonable doubt to convict. Mss Patterson accepts that, yes, the
(01:57):
meal did contain those killer mushrooms, the death cap mushrooms,
but she said she never ever intended to harm anyone.
She loved, her family members who died. And well, I mean,
as you say, thirty seven days in counting. But it's
such a fascinating, absolutely fascinating case.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So what what's up with the two that have been
balloted out? Are they like reserves?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, exactly. I mean if somebody might get sick. I mean,
you know, anything could happen. There could be a death
in the family, pardon the punt. There could be any
number of reasons why you'd have to have one or
two jurors pull out. And don't forget, thirty seven days
is a very very long trial.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, well, this is.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Very Anything could happen in that. In that, Yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Want to have a couple of No, but you want
to have a couple of bench players. Because I'll tell
you what, after how long this has been going on.
Imagine if you had to abandon it for some because
something went wrong with the you know what, jury. Jury
members sometimes get up all kinds of funny things as well, right,
so easie, if the whole thing got thrown out because
a couple.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Of them were up to something, don't don't put the
don't put the marker on it, mate, do not do this.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What's up with the judge though, Like, what is the
judge doing?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, you know what, I've never studied lawa and Liver
did law at university. But I think what I mean,
this is such an important case. It's such a long case.
There's so much writing on this he does not want
to discharge the jury back to their you know, send
the jury out and then have any points of law
that may be picked up by the defense, saying, well,
(03:21):
the judge erd here, I see.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, you know, he's.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Has to cross every t dot, every eye. And you know,
you don't get to be on the Supreme Court by
being a dummy. They are very, very experienced jurists, and
you know, the King's Counsel who are now prosecuting and
defending that expert on their fields. You've got to have
everything absolutely schmick and so I think that's why it's
been so darned long.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, it's fascinating. I'm really hoping that, I'm really hoping
that it's nothing. Fingers cross, fingers cross, knock on, knock
on wood. We'll get an answer to this one. Hey,
what's happened with the ABC?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, the ABC a big time a young woman called
Antoinette Luto. She's of Lebanese extraction, Mam and dad. I
think mama and dad. Certainly her antecedents come from Lebanon.
She's obviously an Australian and she was hired for a
one week Christmas shift on ABC Radio and Sydney. Now,
(04:16):
she got sacked on the Wednesday after she posted a
news story from the Human Rights Organization that said, basically,
Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in
the war on Gaza. Right now, that information had already
been reported by ABC Radio News, I think television news
(04:37):
as well, So you wouldn't think it was all that
controversial that she would simply repost an allegation that had
already been on the ABC. The judge in the federal
court found the ABC management panicked. They went into a
total panic and they gave it a flick on the
Wednesday afternoon because pro Jewish lobby groups, pro Israel lobbyists
(04:58):
in Sydney, we're we're onto the management of the ABC
saying how can you let this woman, how can it
at this presenter put these anti Israeli views to air.
So ABC manager's gone to a tail spend. I've sent
out the junior managers who have given her the pump
shown at the door. She's gone. Well, she said, hang
on a second, No, I'm not going to cop that.
(05:20):
She went to the Where did she go here? I'm
just looking here in my notes. She went to the
relevant judicial authority and said, listen, I've been unfairly dismissed,
and the Federal Court has upheld that. Not because a
part of her argument was I'm a Middle Eastern distraction
(05:41):
and the ABC management sacked me because of that. No,
absolutely not, said the Federal court judge. But he did
find it was completely unfair of the ABC to sack
this woman without giving her a chance to respond to
the misconduct allegations. The executives bowed, said the judge. To
outside pressures from pro Israel lobbyists. She went to the
(06:02):
Human Rights That Human Rights Watch report had already been
to aware of the ABC. It wasn't that she was
making this stuff up. So, I mean, what a disaster.
You've got these junior managers sent out by the big brass. Oh,
you've got to get rid of her. It's only a
pre Christmas shift, it's a fill in shift. Well now
they offered to settle for eighty five k right. Oh yeah,
(06:23):
Now they've been order to pay seventy thousand dollars in
damages and the possibility of punitive damages on top of that,
and the ABC's defenses cost more than one point one
million dollars for the ABC to lose Shesh.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You can hire like twenty journos for that. That is ridiculous,
talk about talk about, talk about stupidity. Hey, thank you
for that, Mars appreciated. Murray Old's Australia correspondent. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
Muryold's Ossie corresponds with us Alo.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Mars Uffen and heaven.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
I mean he sayes Monday, but Wednesday could be Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're talking about Justice Christopher Beale, who was the Supreme
Court judge in Victoria, who was summing up and directing
the jury after thirty seven days thirty seven days of
the Aaron Pattison triple murder trial. This is the death
cap mushroom mamma as that she's been called in some
quarters over here. The jury, according to Justice Bill, is
(00:30):
set to go out next week. He's been basically summarizing
both sides, the prosecution and the defense. The overriding instruction
to the jury, as you might expect, if there's any
set suggestion that she's not guilty, they must quit Missus
Pattison because you know, three counts of murder. He said,
(00:52):
the prosecution has to reach beyond reasonable doubt. That's the threshold.
If that's the jury's okay, she's guilty. Now. He's as
you know, we've been through this before. He's looking at
allegations by the prosecution, the defense, the arguments that's put forward.
For example, you know the dehydrator. I've never seen one.
(01:14):
I've never bought one. I've never known anyone who's ever
used one. But she bought a brand new one, used it,
and then threw it away. Why did you do that? What? Well,
that's you know, the jury's in there. Here's the fascinating thing.
There are fourteen jurors. I didn't realize this until this
afternoon doing some prep because I knew I was talking
to you on Monday. When the Justice Bill says the
(01:36):
jury will go away and retire to consider the verdict,
two jurors of the fourteen will be balloted out, and
then the other dozen will be sequestered and they can't
get out of it until they reach a verdict. It
must be left, as I said, to that standard beyond
reasonable doubt to convict. Mss Patterson accepts that, yes, the
(01:57):
meal did contain those killer mushrooms, the death cap mushrooms,
but she said she never ever intended to harm anyone.
She loved, her family members who died. And well, I mean,
as you say, thirty seven days in counting. But it's
such a fascinating, absolutely fascinating case.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So what what's up with the two that have been
balloted out? Are they like reserves?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, exactly. I mean if somebody might get sick. I mean,
you know, anything could happen. There could be a death
in the family, pardon the punt. There could be any
number of reasons why you'd have to have one or
two jurors pull out. And don't forget, thirty seven days
is a very very long trial.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, well, this is.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Very Anything could happen in that. In that, Yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Want to have a couple of No, but you want
to have a couple of bench players. Because I'll tell
you what, after how long this has been going on.
Imagine if you had to abandon it for some because
something went wrong with the you know what, jury. Jury
members sometimes get up all kinds of funny things as well, right,
so easie, if the whole thing got thrown out because
a couple.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Of them were up to something, don't don't put the
don't put the marker on it, mate, do not do this.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What's up with the judge though, Like, what is the
judge doing?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, you know what, I've never studied lawa and Liver
did law at university. But I think what I mean,
this is such an important case. It's such a long case.
There's so much writing on this he does not want
to discharge the jury back to their you know, send
the jury out and then have any points of law
that may be picked up by the defense, saying, well,
(03:21):
the judge erd here, I see.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, you know, he's.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Has to cross every t dot, every eye. And you know,
you don't get to be on the Supreme Court by
being a dummy. They are very, very experienced jurists, and
you know, the King's Counsel who are now prosecuting and
defending that expert on their fields. You've got to have
everything absolutely schmick and so I think that's why it's
been so darned long.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, it's fascinating. I'm really hoping that, I'm really hoping
that it's nothing. Fingers cross, fingers cross, knock on, knock
on wood. We'll get an answer to this one. Hey,
what's happened with the ABC?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, the ABC a big time a young woman called
Antoinette Luto. She's of Lebanese extraction, Mam and dad. I
think mama and dad. Certainly her antecedents come from Lebanon.
She's obviously an Australian and she was hired for a
one week Christmas shift on ABC Radio and Sydney. Now,
(04:16):
she got sacked on the Wednesday after she posted a
news story from the Human Rights Organization that said, basically,
Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in
the war on Gaza. Right now, that information had already
been reported by ABC Radio News, I think television news
(04:37):
as well, So you wouldn't think it was all that
controversial that she would simply repost an allegation that had
already been on the ABC. The judge in the federal
court found the ABC management panicked. They went into a
total panic and they gave it a flick on the
Wednesday afternoon because pro Jewish lobby groups, pro Israel lobbyists
(04:58):
in Sydney, we're we're onto the management of the ABC
saying how can you let this woman, how can it
at this presenter put these anti Israeli views to air.
So ABC manager's gone to a tail spend. I've sent
out the junior managers who have given her the pump
shown at the door. She's gone. Well, she said, hang
on a second, No, I'm not going to cop that.
(05:20):
She went to the Where did she go here? I'm
just looking here in my notes. She went to the
relevant judicial authority and said, listen, I've been unfairly dismissed,
and the Federal Court has upheld that. Not because a
part of her argument was I'm a Middle Eastern distraction
(05:41):
and the ABC management sacked me because of that. No,
absolutely not, said the Federal court judge. But he did
find it was completely unfair of the ABC to sack
this woman without giving her a chance to respond to
the misconduct allegations. The executives bowed, said the judge. To
outside pressures from pro Israel lobbyists. She went to the
(06:02):
Human Rights That Human Rights Watch report had already been
to aware of the ABC. It wasn't that she was
making this stuff up. So, I mean, what a disaster.
You've got these junior managers sent out by the big brass. Oh,
you've got to get rid of her. It's only a
pre Christmas shift, it's a fill in shift. Well now
they offered to settle for eighty five k right. Oh yeah,
(06:23):
Now they've been order to pay seventy thousand dollars in
damages and the possibility of punitive damages on top of that,
and the ABC's defenses cost more than one point one
million dollars for the ABC to lose Shesh.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You can hire like twenty journos for that. That is ridiculous,
talk about talk about, talk about stupidity. Hey, thank you
for that, Mars appreciated. Murray Old's Australia correspondent. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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