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Search found no record of Erin Patterson having received a cancer diagnosis, court hears
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall is reading written witness statements to the jury.
The first statement is of Angela Child, the treasurer of the Korumburra Baptist church, where Ian Wilkinson is the pastor. She recalls her arriving at Ian and Heather’s house at 3pm on 29 July 2023 – just hours after the lethal mushroom lunch.
Heather told her they had a “lovely lunch” and described the beef wellington as “delicious and beautiful”.
“She continued to rave about the meal,” Child says.
She says neither Ian or Heather looked sick.
Danielle Romane, from the state’s department of health, has also made a written statement.
She says a request to search the state’s cancer registry found no record of Erin Patterson having received a cancer diagnosis.
It is mandatory for health services in Victoria to report all cancer diagnosis to the registry, the court hears.
Key events
Erin Patterson had ‘positive’ relationship with estranged husband’s parents, court hears
Stafford is cross-examining Matthew.
Matthew agres Erin had a “positive” relationship with his parents and that she respected them.
Stafford also asks about the phone call Matthew made to Erin. He agrees Erin paused as if she was trying to recall the details of where the mushrooms were from.
The cross-examination concludes.
Erin Patterson asked Matthew Patterson to look after her children
Under examination, Matthew confirms he and his wife received an email from Erin after the death of his parents.
Erin requested the pair look after her children as child protection had become involved with the family.
Erin Patterson told estranged husband’s brother mushrooms were from Chinese grocer and Woolies, court hears
Matthew recalls seeing his father, Don, in ICU at Dandenong hospital on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
Staff from Monash Health’s toxicology department asked Don about what he had eaten, Matthew says.
Don recalled a beef wellington dish that contained mushrooms but did not know where the vegetables were sourced from, the court hears.
Matthew offered to call Erin at about 10.30am that morning to enquire about the mushrooms. The call lasted just over one minute, the court hears.
Matthews recalls the conversation:
I asked her how she was … Simon had mentioned she’d been to a hospital in Korumburra … it was just a polite simple answer.
I then asked her where the mushrooms from the dish had been sourced from … she mentioned there were fresh mushrooms from Woolies and there were dried mushrooms from a Chinese grocer or supermarket … in the Oakleigh area.
I did say I was with Dad and I had toxicology people who were with us who wanted to know.
Matthew relayed the information from Erin to medical staff, the court hears.
Brother of Erin Patterson’s estranged husband gives evidence
The next witness, Matthew Patterson, is the son of Don and Gail.
Patterson is the younger brother of Simon, the estranged husband of Erin.
He is asked about his sister-in-law, Erin. Matthew says Erin continued to attend Patterson family functions after her and Simon’s separation in 2015.
He says in the last couple of years Erin attended fewer of these events. Matthew says in this time Erin and Simon’s conversations became more “mechanical”.
Ian and Heather Wilkinson asked how Erin Patterson was while in hospital, court hears
The prosecution calls its next witness, Ruth Dubois, the daughter of Ian and Heather Wilkinson.
She is asked about her relationship with Erin prior to the lunch. She says they were “acquaintances”:
“We know each other enough to say hi in passing and that was about it.”
On 30 July, Simon called Dubois and informed her that Ian and Heather were unwell and at Leongatha hospital, the court hears:
“They just asked how Erin was … they talked about their concern for Erin maybe coming to hospital for precaution.”
There is no cross-examination of Dubois.
Terrington asked about loan from Erin and Simon
Defence lawyer Sophie Stafford is now cross-examining Terrington.
Stafford asks Terrington about a loan of $400,000 Erin and Simon gave to Terrington and her husband to purchase their family home. The loan was indexed to inflation but had no interest, the court hears.
Terrington says she cannot remember the exact amount but it was “hundreds of thousands”.
She says the money was to help with the house which had already been purchased.
Questioned by Stafford, she agrees she observed Erin to be a devoted mother to her children.
The cross-examination concludes.
Don and Gail had dined at Erin’s before, court hears
Anna Terrington also recalls a lunch that her parents, Don and Gail, had at Erin’s house in 2023 – before the fateful mushroom meal.
She called her parents after the lunch who said it “went well”, the court hears.
They did not say who was present at the lunch “apart from them as the only adults,” Terrington says. She does not know if Erin’s children were present.
Don said they ate a “pie of some sort”. They did not become ill after the meal, the court hears.
Court hears testimony on experience of Gail Patterson in hospital
Terrington recalls a Signal message from Simon on 30 July – the day after the mushroom lunch.
“He said mum and dad were in hospital … they had been experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea since about midnight.”
He said that Erin was experiencing diarrhoea but was “soldiering on at home”.
Terrington recalls Simon saying their parents were “worn out and tired” so she did not call them. She travelled to Dandenong hospital the same day at about 10pm, the court hears.
Terrington stayed with her mother, Gail, overnight and helped her go to the bathroom “many times.” She becomes emotional as she recalls assisting her mother in hospital.
The pair discussed the lunch the previous day. Gail said Erin had wanted to tell the lunch guests about a medical issue she had, Terrington says
Gail did not disclose to Terrington what the medical issue was, the court hears.
‘Unusual’ that Heather and Ian Wilkinson invited to mushroom lunch, court hears
The prosecution’s next witness is Anna Terrington, the daughter of Don and Gail Patterson and the sister of Simon Patterson, Erin’s estranged husband.
About a week before the lethal lunch, Don and Gail visited Terrington’s house and discussed the upcoming meal at Erin’s house:
They said they had been invited to Erin’s place for lunch … She said she didn’t know what it would be about. She said it was unusual that Heather and Ian had been invited as they hadn’t been invited to Erin’s place before.
Terrington called her mother, Gail, on the day of the lunch at about 5pm:
Mum said it [the lunch] went well … she said that they had beef wellington and … that it was too much for Mum, and Dad finished hers.
Terrington becomes teary as she recalls her mother not being able to finish her beef wellington dish.
Search found no record of Erin Patterson having received a cancer diagnosis, court hears
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall is reading written witness statements to the jury.
The first statement is of Angela Child, the treasurer of the Korumburra Baptist church, where Ian Wilkinson is the pastor. She recalls her arriving at Ian and Heather’s house at 3pm on 29 July 2023 – just hours after the lethal mushroom lunch.
Heather told her they had a “lovely lunch” and described the beef wellington as “delicious and beautiful”.
“She continued to rave about the meal,” Child says.
She says neither Ian or Heather looked sick.
Danielle Romane, from the state’s department of health, has also made a written statement.
She says a request to search the state’s cancer registry found no record of Erin Patterson having received a cancer diagnosis.
It is mandatory for health services in Victoria to report all cancer diagnosis to the registry, the court hears.
Medical expert recounts arrival of the Wilkinsons at Dandenong hospital
Ian Wilkinson – Simon Patterson’s uncle, and a guest at the lunch his estranged wife Erin hosted – was transferred to Dandenong hospital, the court hears.
Dr Mark Douglas says Ian reported experiencing severe nausea and constant vomiting and told staff he had eaten the full portion of the beef wellington lunch.
Ian was also admitted to ICU and then transferred to the Austin hospital.
Douglas recalls Heather Wilkinson, Ian’s wife, arriving at Dandenong hospital before she was also admitted to ICU and transferred to the Austin:
I do recall her saying it was a delicious meal.
Douglas concludes his evidence. There is no cross-examination.
Doctor ordered death cap mushroom antidote two days after lunch, court hears
By 6.30am the following day – 31st July – Morgan advised Dr Mark Douglas that Don’s condition had worsened and Gail was showing “similar progress”.
Douglas, who was on call, advised Morgan to immediately administer silibinin – the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.
Arriving at Dandenong hospital, Douglas says he reviewed Don in the intensive care unit.
Under questioning by Nanette Rogers SC, Douglas confirms Don was conscious at this point.
Douglas recalls a conversation with medical staff who said the mushrooms in the beef wellington meal consumed by Don were from an Asian grocer.
Don was then sedated to allow for incubation so he could be transferred to the Austin hospital which has a major toxicology unit, Douglas says.
Gail was later also transferred to the Austin hospital, the court hears.
At about 11.30am on 30 July – the day after the fateful mushroom lunch – Douglas received a call from Dr Beth Morgan asking for toxicology advice about a patient, Don Patterson, the court hears.
What I was told was that Don was quite unwell, both in his clinical state and lab state… Gail was not as unwell as Don.
Douglas says he was told two other relatives had similar symptoms to Don and Gail Patterson – the accused, Erin Patterson’s, in-laws.
He says his colleague, a qualified toxicologist, advised that Don could be administered N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) – a medication for liver function.
The jurors have entered the courtroom.
The next witness is Dr Mark Douglas, an emergency medicine registrar at Monash Health. He is giving evidence via video link.
In July 2023, he was working at Dandenong hospital’s toxicology department as a registrar.
Five things jurors heard on day six
While we wait for proceedings to begin, here are five things the jurors heard on day six of the high-profile trial.
1. Ian Wilkinson, the survivor of the mushroom lunch, described his relationship with Erin as “friendly” and “amicable”. He said the pair were more “like acquaintances”. Ian and his wife, Heather, were very happy and excited about being invited to the lunch, the court heard.
2. Ian told jurors when the four lunch guests arrived at Erin’s house on 29 July 2023, Heather and Gail Patterson went to inspect Erin’s pantry. He recalled Erin was “very reluctant” about this.
3. Recalling the beef wellington lunch, Ian said Erin plated the dishes. He told jurors Erin rejected an offer by Heather and Gail to help plate the individual beef wellingtons. Ian said Erin ate off a “orangey-tan” plate that was different to the grey plates the four guests used.
4. Ian testified that after the lunch, Erin told the guests she had a “life-threatening” cancer. He said Erin told them about a diagnostic test which had found a tumor. The defence suggested Erin had told the guests she had a suspected cancer. Ian rejected this and said Erin was “fairly clear that the [cancer] diagnosis was given”.
5. The jury also heard about how the lunch guests were treated in hospital. While Don and Gail Patterson were at Dandenong hospital, the toxicology department raised the possibility of death cap mushroom poisoning because of the delayed onset of symptoms.
Welcome to day seven of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin at 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, regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and the aunt of her estranged husband, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The defence’s case is that the events were an accident and Patterson never intended to harm her lunch guests.
[English News]
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