Erin Patterson branded a ‘ridiculous’ liar who meticulously planned poisoned lunch for her guests and attempted to cover it up, court hears

Erin Patterson has been accused by prosecutors of ‘shifting her story’ with a web of lies after she accidentally failed to kill all of her lunch guests. 

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.

But in what Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC suggested was a massive mistake, Patterson failed to kill Pastor Ian Wilkinson. 

It was this mistake that she argued saw Patterson scramble to cook up a story that might explain away the deadly lunch as a tragic accident. 

In her closing address to the jury on Monday, Dr Rogers reiterated the allegation Patterson lured her guests to lunch on the pretext of telling them about a bogus cancer diagnosis.

‘You heard the evidence of Professor Andrew Burton, the intensive care specialist. Who examined her medical records and found no evidence that she had received a cancer diagnosis,’ Dr Rogers told the jury.

‘And of course, here in court, the accused agreed she’d never been diagnosed with cancer. You might be wondering, well, why on earth would she tell such a lie?

Dr Nanette Rogers spent the day outlining to the jury how she believes Erin Patterson murdered her lunch guests 

Erin Patterson is in the final stages of her epic trial 

‘Well, the prosecution says that the accused never thought she would have to account for this lie. 

‘She did not think her lunch guests would live to reveal it. Her lie would die with them.’

Sat beside Dr Rogers were Patterson’s barristers Colin Mandy, SC and Sophie Stafford.  

Dr Rogers said Patterson’s ‘critical deception’ was that she deliberately sought out and located death cap mushrooms and then secreted lethal doses of those deadly mushrooms into the individual beef Wellingtons she had made for the lunch guests.

‘At the same time, she made sure she would not suffer the same fate as her lunch guests by making herself an individual beef Wellington that did not contain any death cap mushroom,’ Dr Rogers said. 

‘The sinister deception was to use a nourishing meal as the vehicle to deliver the deadly poison. 

‘It was the accused who chose what meal to serve her guests for lunch, and she was the one solely responsible for obtaining and preparing each of the ingredients that went into that meal.’

Dr Rogers said Patterson’s claim of dehydrating the already-dried mushrooms purportedly purchased from an Asian grocer was a ‘ridiculous and obvious lie she came up with under cross-examination’. 

Pastor Ian Wilkinson was not supposed to survive the deadly lunch, Dr Rogers claimed 

 

Patterson’s barristers Colin Mandy, SC and Sophie Stafford make their way to court on Monday 

The prosecution alleged Patterson deliberately foraged and prepared the lethal mushrooms, orchestrating a ‘sinister deception’ to kill her guests.

Dr Rogers claimed Patterson’s story about purchasing dried mushrooms from an Asian store had been thoroughly debunked.

Health investigations confirmed that all mushrooms in the inspected stores had been commercially produced, with no evidence of death caps or non-commercial suppliers.

The jury had previously heard from expert Dr Tom May, who testified that death caps, which do not grow in Asia and cannot be cultivated, could not have been sold in stores. 

The absence of other poisoning cases further undermined Patterson’s claim, Dr Rogers argued, with no other reports of death cap poisonings ever reported in the areas where Patterson thinks she may have purchased them.  

The prosecution further accused Patterson of sending health officials on a ‘wild goose chase’ by providing vague and inconsistent details about the alleged shop, mentioning suburbs like Oakleigh and Glen Waverley, but failing to pinpoint a location.

‘She was not forthcoming with the Department of Health because the story she was telling about the Asian grocer was not true,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Every time she was pressed about the details, that lie became more and more apparent.’

Colourful characters are among those watching the trial in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts

Dr Rogers reminded the jury about Patterson’s purchase of a dehydrator, which she allegedly used to process foraged death caps, noting that remnants found in the device contradicted her claim of buying already-dried mushrooms.

The prosecutor told the jury Patterson’s behaviour after the lunch was known as ‘incriminating conduct’. 

She told the jury Patterson pretended to be sick after the lunch, with medical tests revealing she had no signs of death cap poisoning, unlike her guests who suffered severe symptoms, including organ failure. 

Dr Rogers 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.’

Dr Rogers will continue her closing address on Tuesday. 

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