Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Accused killer chef to face her sixth day of cross-examination

By PAUL SHAPIRO AND WAYNE FLOWER FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 22:58 BST, 9 June 2025 | Updated: 23:26 BST, 9 June 2025

Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson‘s murder trial at Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court in Morwell, Victoria.

Patterson to front up for day 6 in the witness box

Another large audience is expected at the Morwell courthouse where accused killer Erin Patterson is expected to enter her sixth day in the witness box.

Patterson has been a big drawcard with people queuing up outside (pictured) the courthouse very early each morning to get a front row seat in the murder trial.

Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly serving them a beef Wellington lunch made with death cap mushrooms.

Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit.

The court heard Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was also invited to the gathering at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, but didn’t attend.

Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller, differently-coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate off four grey plates.

Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this.

Last week, Justice Christopher Beale told the jury it was possible the trial may go on for another couple of weeks.

Justice Beale said once evidence is completed, he will have legal discussions with the parties while the jury is out, before closing addresses can commence.

The murder trial of Erin Patterson continues in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in MorwellEXCLUSIVE6 June 2025Â©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Simon Patterson: ‘Is that how you poisoned my parents’

Patterson was last week reminded about the conversation she had with Simon at the Monash Medical Centre where he said, ‘is that how you poisoned my parents using that dehydrator’.

The conversation took place after Patterson learned people had been getting treatment for death cap posioning.

Dr Rogers took Patterson to her previous answers.

Patterson was reminded that she said she dried foraged mushrooms in the dehydrator weeks earlier and put them into a jar.

‘And I just got really scared,’ she said at the time.

‘Frantic,’ Patterson said upon arriving home.

Patterson agreed that was her evidence.

Prosecution allege Patterson had toxic beef Wellington prepared for estranged husband

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson lied to Simon about her medical issues because she wanted him at the lunch to ‘poison him’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson made a poisonous beef Wellington for Simon ‘in case he turned up’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested when Simon didn’t show at the lunch she dumped his beef Wellington.

Patterson told the jury she put the pastry and mushrooms in the bin

Patterson described Simon as a ‘deadbeat’

Last week, Patterson was also shown a message she sent to Facebook friend Christine Hunt where she said Simon was ‘coercive’ and they ‘disagreed a lot’.

Dr Rogers (pictured) also asked Patterson if she posted online that ‘Simon was not a good father’.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson that her Facebook friend and witness Danni Barkley said she posted ‘Simon wasn’t a nice person’.

‘I definitely discussed my relationship with Simon in the chat group,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t remember saying he wasn’t a nice person.

‘I might have said that in a private chat group, I don’t know.’

Patterson said it was true she discussed Simon’s cleanliness with Ms Barkley.

‘Yeah it is true because I spent two weeks cleaning his house at one point,’ she said.

Patterson also admitted she didn’t want the kids staying at Simon’s house.

Patterson also wrote a message in which she referred to Simon as a ‘deadbeat’.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson was ‘unhappy’.

‘I don’t know if I was happy or unhappy… I was frustrated I think,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t think hurt is reflected in this message, I was frustrated.

‘I was hurt about a lot of things, yeah I was,’ she said.

Patterson quizzed on messages about in-laws

On Friday, Patterson was shown a message she wrote to her Facebook friends on December 7, 2022, where she discussed that if Simon wanted to walk away from his responsibilities, then it’s ‘a blessing in disguise’.

Patterson is also reminded of the ‘this family I swear to f***ing God’ message.

Dr Rogers suggested to Patterson this ‘expressed your true feelings’.

Patterson was also reminded of the ‘f*** them’ message.

‘That’s what you thought about Don, “f*** them”,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I regret writing that,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was angry at Don and Gail (pictured) for not taking her side over Simon’s.

‘I wasn’t angry but I was frustrated and hurt,’ she said.

Patterson said she wasn’t angry when she wrote the ‘f*** them’ message.

Patterson also denied she was angry when she wrote those messages to her Facebook friends.