What we learned yesterday
While we wait for today’s proceedings to begin, here’s a recap of what the jury heard yesterday.
1. Dr Camille Truong, a mycologist, said she did not find death cap mushrooms in two visual examinations of leftovers of the beef wellington lunch that were provided to her.
2. Truong says it was highly unlikely mushroom poisoning would occur from fungi bought from supermarkets or smaller supply shops because they cannot be cultivated.
3. Prof Andrew Bersten, an intensive care specialist, who reviewed Erin’s medical records from 31 July – the day of the lunch –to 1 August 2023 said he thought there was evidence she had a “diarrhoeal illness”.
4. The jury was shown CCTV footage of a woman disposing of a dehydrator at a tip, the Koonwarra Transfer Station And Landfill, on 2 August – four days after the lunch.
5. The defence raised the case of a Victorian woman who died by accidentally poisoning herself with death cap mushrooms in an unrelated incident a year after the fateful beef wellington lunch.
Good morning.
Welcome to day 12 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin shortly after 10.30am.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent”, but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
