April 29, 2025 • 7 mins
The jury in the trial of accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson has been told that three charges of attempted murder have been dropped.
For coverage of the trial, podcast episodes and more, go to:themushroomcook.com.au
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's an overcast day outside Latrove Valley Law Courts as
the jury has been impaneled in the case of accused
triple murderer Aaron Patterson. The trial has now officially begun
and the judge had a development for the jury. I'm
Brooke Greebert Craig and this is the Mushroom Cook. So
(00:24):
we've just come out of court for the first official
day of Aaron Patterson's murder trial. It's a bit drizzly outside.
There are about twenty five reporters in the courtroom. Laura
was erin in there.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes she was. She was seated in the dock today.
She was dressed in a pink and white striped shirt
with long sleeves. She had her glasses tucked into that
shirt and her long hair draped over her shoulders. And
can you describe a bit about the courtroom. Yes, So
the courtroom here in Morwell today was packed with journalists.
Like you said, there's a lot of wood paneling in
(00:57):
this courtroom, about thirty seats or so, not including obviously
the seats the jurors are sitting in and all the lawyers.
And actually by the door, there's a whole lot of
hand sanitizer and face masks.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So what happens in the hearing today?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So the jury was impaneled. We have fifteen men and women.
That break down is ten men and five women. They
will decide this case. But we'll go back to our
makeshift podcast studio later and we'll talk about that whole
process and what.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Did the jury hear.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So one thing that Justice Christopher Biale mentioned to the
jury today was that the three attempted murder charges against
erin relating to an estranged husband, Simon Patterson, have been dropped.
He told the jurors those charges had been discontinued by
the prosecution and said, in other words, those charges have
been dropped and you must put them out of your mind.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
And Justice spill spoke to the jury about other things.
What were they?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, So today was all about the judge's directions. So
these are like the instructions that the jury have to
follow throughout the whole trial. One of the most important
things he touched on was not doing your own research,
making sure they're only deciding the facts of this case
on the evidence they're hearing and seeing in court.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Okay, Laura, let's head out of the rain and get
back to the studio.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Sounds good to me.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So we're back in our makeshift studio after the jury
impanelment went down today we went in it. But Laura,
can you tell us a bit more about the process.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, for sure. So any jury impanelment will start with
all the people in the jury pool coming to court.
So in this case, the potential jury members have come
from all over the Gippsland region Today at the Latro
Valley Law Courts. They would gather in a jury pool
room and then things get underway. The judge will ask
members of the pool to come into the courtroom and
(02:42):
on each seat in the courtroom will be a list
of names. So this list is really important because it's
a list of all of the people who'll be involved
in this trial. So we're talking lawyers, witnesses and even
to an extension, court staff, people who are going to
be around and involved in this trial. It is really
important that no jury member knows anyone in this trial.
(03:03):
That's how the court can trust that these jury members
will remain impartial. So the people in the jury pool
are asked to look through that list and make sure
that they don't know anyone. Once this process has taken place,
the judge will usually give a short overview of the case,
just so everyone in the room knows what the trial
is about. In this case, my understanding is that they
(03:26):
don't want anyone in the jury who knows too much
about this case. So, for example, anyone who's listened to
our podcast would not be encouraged to be on this jury.
So once everyone in the room has been put on
notice about these things, the judge will ask if anyone
wishes to be excused.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
What excuses could the potential jurors give.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, So, for example, especially given that the Gippsland area
a lot of people know each other, someone might say
I actually knew Heather Wilkinson or I knew Don Patterson,
and that is definitely a reason why they should not
sit in on the jury. But other people might say,
you know too much about this case. I've been following
it for a while. I don't think I can be impartial.
(04:05):
So in cases, the judge can sometimes ask people to
write down their reasons on a piece of paper and
that gets handed up to the judge, or in other cases,
that potential jury member might be asked to go into
the witness box and make that explanation, the judge will
then make a decision about whether or not that potential
jury member should still remain in the pool. If they
(04:26):
decide they should leave the courtroom, then that will occur.
So once we've cut it down to the people who
could be on the jury, the remaining people are allocated numbers.
Those numbers are put into a ballot box and the
ballot begins.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So once their number is actually pulled out, does that
mean that they automatically get to be on the jury.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So a potential jury member will start walking towards the
jury box and there'll be discussions happening in that moment
between Erin and her lawyer. The only information they have
to go off is what this potential jury member looks
like and their occupation. From that, Erin and I llegal
Ta get to make a decision about whether or not
that person sits in on the jury. But they only
(05:05):
can do that up to three times without giving a
reason why.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
So can the jurors talk to anyone about the case.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Then it's really not encouraged. So obviously, once everyone is
impaneled on the jury, then they are the jury members
selected to decide this case. So it actually is important
that they talk amongst themselves, but during the empanelment process
there isn't a lot of opportunity to talk and it's
definitely not encouraged because we're just trying to focus on
selecting those people to sit on the jury.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And that means that the media can't speak to them either.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
No, that's definitely not allowed. That's both during the impanelment process,
during the trial and even after. So in Australia, journalists
aren't allowed to talk to jurors even once their job
is done, and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Can the jurors then talk to their family and friends.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Not during the trial. Usually the judge will be okay
with them explaining to their family friends that they are
sitting in on a trial and that the trial is
expected to go for a number of weeks. But beyond that,
in terms of the evidence in the facts of the case,
they're explicitly told not to talk about that with people
in their lives because they shouldn't be hearing those external opinions.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So it's pretty strict. So then what's the penalty then, Yeah,
the penalties can be pretty severe, and the jury members
are told this once they're impaneled.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They're told that if they breach any of these rules,
including the rules to not do their own research, you know,
no Google searchers, no reading the newspaper. They have to
decide this case on the evidence they hear and see
every day. And if they don't do that, if they
get external information and they get caught, they could go
to jail. Oh gosh, yeah, it's very serious. Jury members
(06:42):
need to stay in line.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So then what can we look forward to you tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Then? So, tomorrow are the all important openings. This has
been a day we have been waiting for. We will
be hearing from both the prosecution and the defense about
how they put their case, and the jury will hear
it for the first time too. The addresses lay out
how the trial will run. The prosecution will walk through
the witnesses that the jury members will hear from, and
(07:07):
the defense will also get an opportunity here to state
their case.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And once again we will be covering that proceedings right.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yes, so you and I will be at court tomorrow.
We will be running a live blog on our website
to make sure our readers are up to date with
all the information that the jury is hearing. But then
once the proceedings are done, you and I will jump
back here in our makeshift podcast studio and record an
episode for our listeners.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
To stay across all our coverage, head to the mushroomcook
dot com dot au
It's an overcast day outside Latrove Valley Law Courts as
the jury has been impaneled in the case of accused
triple murderer Aaron Patterson. The trial has now officially begun
and the judge had a development for the jury. I'm
Brooke Greebert Craig and this is the Mushroom Cook. So
(00:24):
we've just come out of court for the first official
day of Aaron Patterson's murder trial. It's a bit drizzly outside.
There are about twenty five reporters in the courtroom. Laura
was erin in there.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes she was. She was seated in the dock today.
She was dressed in a pink and white striped shirt
with long sleeves. She had her glasses tucked into that
shirt and her long hair draped over her shoulders. And
can you describe a bit about the courtroom. Yes, So
the courtroom here in Morwell today was packed with journalists.
Like you said, there's a lot of wood paneling in
(00:57):
this courtroom, about thirty seats or so, not including obviously
the seats the jurors are sitting in and all the lawyers.
And actually by the door, there's a whole lot of
hand sanitizer and face masks.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So what happens in the hearing today?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So the jury was impaneled. We have fifteen men and women.
That break down is ten men and five women. They
will decide this case. But we'll go back to our
makeshift podcast studio later and we'll talk about that whole
process and what.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Did the jury hear.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So one thing that Justice Christopher Biale mentioned to the
jury today was that the three attempted murder charges against
erin relating to an estranged husband, Simon Patterson, have been dropped.
He told the jurors those charges had been discontinued by
the prosecution and said, in other words, those charges have
been dropped and you must put them out of your mind.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
And Justice spill spoke to the jury about other things.
What were they?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, So today was all about the judge's directions. So
these are like the instructions that the jury have to
follow throughout the whole trial. One of the most important
things he touched on was not doing your own research,
making sure they're only deciding the facts of this case
on the evidence they're hearing and seeing in court.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Okay, Laura, let's head out of the rain and get
back to the studio.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Sounds good to me.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So we're back in our makeshift studio after the jury
impanelment went down today we went in it. But Laura,
can you tell us a bit more about the process.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, for sure. So any jury impanelment will start with
all the people in the jury pool coming to court.
So in this case, the potential jury members have come
from all over the Gippsland region Today at the Latro
Valley Law Courts. They would gather in a jury pool
room and then things get underway. The judge will ask
members of the pool to come into the courtroom and
(02:42):
on each seat in the courtroom will be a list
of names. So this list is really important because it's
a list of all of the people who'll be involved
in this trial. So we're talking lawyers, witnesses and even
to an extension, court staff, people who are going to
be around and involved in this trial. It is really
important that no jury member knows anyone in this trial.
(03:03):
That's how the court can trust that these jury members
will remain impartial. So the people in the jury pool
are asked to look through that list and make sure
that they don't know anyone. Once this process has taken place,
the judge will usually give a short overview of the case,
just so everyone in the room knows what the trial
is about. In this case, my understanding is that they
(03:26):
don't want anyone in the jury who knows too much
about this case. So, for example, anyone who's listened to
our podcast would not be encouraged to be on this jury.
So once everyone in the room has been put on
notice about these things, the judge will ask if anyone
wishes to be excused.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
What excuses could the potential jurors give.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, So, for example, especially given that the Gippsland area
a lot of people know each other, someone might say
I actually knew Heather Wilkinson or I knew Don Patterson,
and that is definitely a reason why they should not
sit in on the jury. But other people might say,
you know too much about this case. I've been following
it for a while. I don't think I can be impartial.
(04:05):
So in cases, the judge can sometimes ask people to
write down their reasons on a piece of paper and
that gets handed up to the judge, or in other cases,
that potential jury member might be asked to go into
the witness box and make that explanation, the judge will
then make a decision about whether or not that potential
jury member should still remain in the pool. If they
(04:26):
decide they should leave the courtroom, then that will occur.
So once we've cut it down to the people who
could be on the jury, the remaining people are allocated numbers.
Those numbers are put into a ballot box and the
ballot begins.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So once their number is actually pulled out, does that
mean that they automatically get to be on the jury.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So a potential jury member will start walking towards the
jury box and there'll be discussions happening in that moment
between Erin and her lawyer. The only information they have
to go off is what this potential jury member looks
like and their occupation. From that, Erin and I llegal
Ta get to make a decision about whether or not
that person sits in on the jury. But they only
(05:05):
can do that up to three times without giving a
reason why.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
So can the jurors talk to anyone about the case.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Then it's really not encouraged. So obviously, once everyone is
impaneled on the jury, then they are the jury members
selected to decide this case. So it actually is important
that they talk amongst themselves, but during the empanelment process
there isn't a lot of opportunity to talk and it's
definitely not encouraged because we're just trying to focus on
selecting those people to sit on the jury.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And that means that the media can't speak to them either.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
No, that's definitely not allowed. That's both during the impanelment process,
during the trial and even after. So in Australia, journalists
aren't allowed to talk to jurors even once their job
is done, and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Can the jurors then talk to their family and friends.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Not during the trial. Usually the judge will be okay
with them explaining to their family friends that they are
sitting in on a trial and that the trial is
expected to go for a number of weeks. But beyond that,
in terms of the evidence in the facts of the case,
they're explicitly told not to talk about that with people
in their lives because they shouldn't be hearing those external opinions.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So it's pretty strict. So then what's the penalty then, Yeah,
the penalties can be pretty severe, and the jury members
are told this once they're impaneled.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They're told that if they breach any of these rules,
including the rules to not do their own research, you know,
no Google searchers, no reading the newspaper. They have to
decide this case on the evidence they hear and see
every day. And if they don't do that, if they
get external information and they get caught, they could go
to jail. Oh gosh, yeah, it's very serious. Jury members
(06:42):
need to stay in line.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So then what can we look forward to you tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Then? So, tomorrow are the all important openings. This has
been a day we have been waiting for. We will
be hearing from both the prosecution and the defense about
how they put their case, and the jury will hear
it for the first time too. The addresses lay out
how the trial will run. The prosecution will walk through
the witnesses that the jury members will hear from, and
(07:07):
the defense will also get an opportunity here to state
their case.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And once again we will be covering that proceedings right.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yes, so you and I will be at court tomorrow.
We will be running a live blog on our website
to make sure our readers are up to date with
all the information that the jury is hearing. But then
once the proceedings are done, you and I will jump
back here in our makeshift podcast studio and record an
episode for our listeners.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
To stay across all our coverage, head to the mushroomcook
dot com dot au
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