Death Cap Defense: Erin Patterson's Last Stand in Triple Murder Trial

Erin Patterson completed her final day of testimony in her triple murder trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria, facing questioning about inconsistencies in her story and allegations she deliberately poisoned her relatives with death cap mushrooms. 

The prosecution directly challenged Ms Patterson on key points including a disputed roadside stop, suspicious phone activity, and her alleged research of toxic fungi, while she maintained her innocence when asked if she deliberately killed her family members.

• Crown Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers suggested Ms Patterson's "bushland poo" story was fabricated when her son couldn't recall the incident happening
• Prosecutors alleged Ms Patterson deliberately removed a SIM card from her phone during an unscheduled police visit on August 5, 2023
• Ms Patterson denied researching death cap mushrooms or deliberately including them in the beef wellington
• Defence counsel presented evidence of Ms Patterson's communications with a cosmetic clinic, addressing confusion about weight loss treatment options
• Ms Patterson explained she made six beef wellingtons because she had enough ingredients and thought she could eat the extra one another day
• The trial now moves to closing arguments before the jury deliberates on a verdict

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial
podcast.
My name is Lisa and today ErinPatterson spent her final day
giving evidence in her triplemurder trial in the Supreme
Court of Victoria at Morwell.
The mother of two is accused ofserving a beef wellington laced
with death cap mushrooms to herfour relatives, deliberately

(00:23):
resulting in the deaths of threepeople, while her defense
argues it was a terrible andtragic accident.
And just like that, theevidence portion of Erin
Patterson's triple murder trialhas come to a close.
The courtroom is now shiftinggears.
Next up the closing argumentsfrom both the prosecution and

(00:43):
the defense, then it will beover to Justice Christopher
Beale, who will give the juryits final instructions before
they retreat to deliberate on averdict.
Quick reminder before we launchinto today's updates head to
the Mushroom Murder Trialpodcast to subscribe for my free
newsletter, and it will comeout soon with some extra content

(01:05):
and some more information foryou.
So make sure you're in line forthat and if you haven't yet,
please subscribe to this podcaston your preferred platform so
you never miss an episode.
And now what we learnt today MsPatterson was told her account
of stopping for a bushland pooon the side ofa highway was a

(01:27):
quote lie made up to explain along driving trip a day after
the fatal mushroom lunch.
It was her final day on thewitness stand where the mum of
two has pleaded not guilty toall counts.
At the start of the hearing, the31st day of the trial, can you

(01:48):
believe that Ms Patterson wascross-examined on her evidence
by Crown Prosecutor Dr NanetteRogers?
Now Dr Rogers asked MsPatterson about evidence she had
given concerning being forcedinto stopping to have diarrhoea
on the side of the road.
The 50-year-old had previouslytold the court the incident

(02:10):
happened while driving her sonto a flying lesson.
She said she was sufferingnausea and diarrhea on July 30,
2023, and had to suddenly stop30 minutes into the car trip.
Ms Patterson recalled she'ddriven her two children for the
flying lesson but it wascancelled just before they

(02:31):
arrived.
Dr Rogers took Ms Patterson toher son's evidence where she
said at no stage did his motherstop to use the toilet Quote.
I suggest he did not recall itbecause it did not happen.
Dr Rogers asked Disagree.
Ms Patterson said Quote this isanother lie you've told to

(02:51):
explain how you managed the trip.
The prosecutor asked Disagree.
Ms Patterson said.
The court then moved on to thefacts concerning so-called phone
A.
The prosecution was asking MsPatterson about two mobile
phones she used in 2023,referred to as phone A and phone
B.
Now this is a lot, so I willread it all from the transcript

(03:14):
for you later this weekend, butit's very complicated so we'll
just go into the facts at themoment.
Now, ms Patterson said thatfrom about February 2023, she
used phone A as her main deviceto send and receive texts, make
phone calls and take photographs.
Dr Rogers maintains she alsoused this device to research

(03:37):
death cap mushrooms and to lookup the iNaturalist website in
2023, including a post by Dr TomMay on May, the 21st 2023, and
a second post by pharmacistChristine McKenzie on April 18,
2023.
You may have heard them testifyearlier in the trial.

(03:58):
Disagree, ms Patterson said.
Dr Rogers said it was an agreedfact in the trial that a loss of
phone connection could becaused by the SIM card being
removed from a handset, thebattery being removed without
turning off the device and thehandset being damaged.
She continues I suggested thatyou remove the SIM from phone A

(04:22):
between 12.01pm and 1.45pm onAugust 5, 2023.
That was the day the police didan unscheduled visit to Erin's
house.
Ms Patterson, disagree.
Dr Rogers, I suggest that youhad physical possession.
I'm sorry of this phone whenyou did that.

(04:44):
Ms Patterson, disagree.
Dr Rogers, I suggest you removethe SIM card.
When you were afforded privacyand in brackets, that means the
police allowed her to go into aroom alone to contact a lawyer.
Ms Patterson, that happened at2pm.
Ms Patterson, that happened at2pm.
Dr Rogers, I suggest that yourclaim that the black item on the

(05:05):
windowsill is phone A is simplynonsense.
Ms Patterson, disagree.
The Crown Prosecutor then endedher cross-examination with three
final questions for MsPatterson.
Dr Rogers, I suggest that youdeliberately source death cat

(05:26):
mushrooms in 2023.
Agree or disagree, erin?
Disagree, dr Rogers, I suggestthat you deliberately included
them in the beef wellington youserve to.
Donald Patterson, gailPatterson, anne Wilkinson and
Heather Wilkinson.
Agree or disagree, erin?
Disagree, dr Rogers, and youdid so intending to kill them.

(05:50):
Agree or disagree, erin?
Disagree, dr Rogers.
No further questions.
And then we move on to Erin'sbarrister Columandi, sc, who
asked his client about herevidence concerning the Enrich
Dermatology and Cosmetic Clinicin South Yarra.
That was in my most recentepisode, so if you want to catch

(06:13):
up on that, that would be goodfor this.
So he reminded her she had saidshe had booked the pre-surgery
appointment for a gastric bypassat the end in September 2023.
Mr Mandy reminded Ms Pattersonthat Dr Rogers had suggested the
clinic didn't offer weight lossor gastric bypass surgery.

(06:34):
A statement provided to thecourt by the clinic declared the
clinic only offeredexaminations for skin, hair and
nails.
Ms Patterson told the jury shemay have been looking into
having liposuction.
Mr Mandy presented evidencetoday that Ms Patterson made
calls to the clinic on April 19and May 31, 2023.

(06:58):
Ms Patterson said she believedthe clinic offered weight loss
surgery options and sheunderstood the appointment was
to discuss her options, but shecancelled the appointment and
never attended.
An SMS from the clinic sent toMs Patterson on September 11,
2023 was read out to the court.
Mr Mandy also produced ascreenshot of a website page for

(07:21):
the clinic which said a doctorat the facility had stopped
offering liposuction as atreatment option for patients as
of June 30, 2024.
Ms Patterson said she wasmistaken.
The clinic offered gastricbypass surgery.
Mr Mandy also asked her why shemade six beef wellingtons.

(07:44):
She said she had enough meat,pastry and other ingredients to
make six.
I had enough for an extra and Ithought I could eat it another
day, ms Patterson said.
So.
Thank you for listening.
We're at the pointy end now, sothank you for your time and
your attention today.
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(08:05):
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(08:28):
And just moving along now,there's been some complaints
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Now all feedback is great andthat's really good and I have
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But the other thing is I have achronic illness and it makes me
exhausted a lot of the time, sosometimes I will make more

(08:50):
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So that's behind it.
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(09:13):
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