Erin Patterson told friends she'd been 'hiding powdered mushrooms in everything', trial hearsBy court reporter Kristian SilvaTopic:Courts3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 4:31amThe triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson continues in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. (AAP Image: James Ross )In short:The ups and downs of Erin and Simon Patterson's relationship have come under examination as the second week of her trial begins in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts.Ms Patterson is charged with killing three relatives by serving them a meal containing poisonous mushrooms, but her defence lawyer says the deaths were a tragic accident.What's next?The trial is expected to run for several weeks.abc.net.au/news/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-trial-monday-may-5/105252264Link copiedShareShare articleErin Patterson "seemed to really like mushrooms", her friends say, and shared pictures of a food dehydrator in the lead-up to a deadly lunch hosted at her home.Ms Patterson is charged with deliberately cooking a beef Wellington with poisonous death cap mushrooms and serving it to her relatives in July 2023.Don and Gail Patterson, along with Heather Wilkinson, died after eating the meal. Ms Wilkinson's husband, Ian, survived after a long stint in hospital.Ian and Heather Wilkinson, and Don and Gail Patterson. All four were hospitalised after suspected mushroom poisoning during a lunch at Leongatha In July 2023. (Supplied)On Monday, several women Ms Patterson befriended online were called to give evidence in the Supreme Court of Victoria about their interactions with the Leongatha mother.In one message shown to the court, before the deadly lunch, Ms Patterson wrote: "I've been hiding powdered mushrooms in everything. Mixed it into chocolate brownies yesterday, the kids had no idea."Ms Patterson also posted photos of the Sunbeam food lab electronic dehydrator to the Facebook chat group with her friends.One black-and-white photo shown on the court screen showed mushrooms on the dehydrator's shelves. Another image showed chopped-up button mushrooms."She seemed to really like mushrooms," friend Jenny Hay told the court.Erin Patterson's trial is expected to run for several weeks. (ABC News: Paul Tyquin)Ms Hay said she and Ms Patterson spoke over the phone two days after the fatal lunch, and Ms Patterson told her the mushrooms used in the beef Wellington were purchased from an Asian grocer."She said she was sick and in hospital," Ms Hay said.Another friend, Daniela Barkley, said the chat group members initially bonded through a shared interest in discussing the Keli Lane murder case.Their chats evolved to politics, current affairs, their personal lives and cooking, with Ms Barkley saying a number of the friends owned a RecipeTin Eats cookbook.Ms Barkley said Ms Patterson asked the group for advice on cooking beef Wellington and was out looking for appropriate cuts of meat in the fortnight leading up to the deadly lunch on July 29, 2023.Erin Patterson told online friends her religious husband was 'coercive'Ms Barkley and another online friend, Christine Hunt, said Ms Patterson complained on several occasions about her estranged husband, Simon.Ms Hunt said Ms Patterson had painted her husband, a devoted Baptist, as being "coercive" and "abusive". Ms Hunt said Ms Patterson was an atheist who held herself out as a church-going Christian."She was saying to us publicly in that group that she didn't necessarily believe in God," Ms Hunt said.Under cross-examination, Ms Barkley said Ms Patterson's life revolved around her children."I thought she was a wonderful mother," she said.The trial of Erin Patterson, who stands accused of using a poisoned meal to murder three relatives, has heard she confided in online friends about her "controlling" marriage.Look back at how the day unfolded in our live blog.Earlier on Monday, Ms Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, denied asking his wife if she used the dehydrator to prepare the poisonous meal, before she dumped it at the local tip.Under cross-examination, Mr Patterson was asked by defence barrister Colin Mandy SC about a conversation in hospital on July 31, 2023, two days after the fatal lunch.The court heard the discussion between the pair turned to the dehydrator.Mr Mandy asked Mr Patterson if he said, "Is that what you used to poison them?""I did not say that to Erin," Mr Patterson replied.Last week, prosecutors alleged Ms Patterson lied to police about purchasing the dehydrator and using it to prepare mushrooms for the beef Wellington.Six days after the meal, the dehydrator was found by police at a local tip.Ms Patterson's lawyers conceded she dumped the dehydrator, but argued she panicked about the lunch guests falling sick and was not trying to cover up a crime.Lawyers for Ms Patterson — who has pleaded not guilty — say she does not dispute that the guests suffered from toxic mushroom poisoning.However, they argue she did not deliberately poison them and had no intent to cause them harm.Estranged husband 'puzzled' by wife's claim of health issueThe trial previously heard Ms Patterson had told her husband and the lunch guests a fortnight earlier that she had important medical news to share. At the lunch, Ms Patterson falsely claimed she had cancer.Mr Patterson — who was a late withdrawal from the lunch — said he was "puzzled" that his wife would flag the serious "news" two weeks in advance."I didn't feel fully confident that there was a serious medical issue to discuss," he said.Simon Patterson continued giving evidence on Monday, in the triple-murder trial against his wife Erin Patterson. (AAP: James Ross)On Monday, the up-and-down relationship between the Pattersons was again a topic of questions directed at Mr Patterson.The court was shown messages Ms Patterson sent to a family group chat in December 2022, where she complained about her husband formally declaring himself as separated on his tax return.Ms Patterson believed the change meant she could no longer claim about $15,000 a year in tax benefits, and that she had been short-changed a further $90,000 in child support payments that would have been received if the government knew the couple had not been together for several years."I foolishly trusted him to do right by me and the kids when it came to the crunch," she wrote in the group chat.Listen to the latest Mushroom Case Daily episodesPhoto shows An illustration of Erin Patterson with her face inside the shape of a mushroom.The ABC podcast will bring you all the key updates from the trial of Erin Patterson over an allegedly poisonous mushroom lunch.Tensions between the pair were also strained when Ms Patterson moved their children to a different school without telling her husband.Mr Patterson appeared emotional and tilted his head back when describing another "extremely inflammatory" message that his wife had allegedly sent to the family group chat.The message was not shown to the court, and Mr Patterson did not explicitly say what it was about."It was having a crack at me," he said.The trial resumes on Tuesday.Loading YouTube contentPosted 3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 4:31am, updated 1h ago1 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 6:17amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesAndrew Hastie drops out of Liberal leadership raceLIVEPhoto shows Hastie gestures with one hand while speaking at a press conference in a parliament house courtyard.Albanese says he received 'very warm' phone call from Donald TrumpTopic:Foreign AffairsPhoto shows a middle-aged man wearing glasses pointing'Laughable policies': Voters explain what went wrong for CoalitionTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows A young coupleRecord-breaking number of women to enter ParliamentTopic:VotingPhoto shows a composite image of three womenNationals MPs '100 per cent' back nuclear being kept as Coalition dissects lossTopic:Federal GovernmentPhoto shows A man in a shirt and hat.Popular nowAndrew Hastie drops out of Liberal leadership raceLIVEPhoto shows Hastie gestures with one hand while speaking at a press conference in a parliament house courtyard.'Heartbreak' as two children found dead in NSW, woman in custodyTopic:Law, Crime and JusticePhoto shows Police place cordons off an unseen crime scene.Teal MP Zoe Daniel's high-profile seat is just one of 16 still in doubtTopic:ExplainerPhoto shows Zoe Daniel Doorstop November 2022Related topicsCourtsLeongathaMorwellTop StoriesAndrew Hastie drops out of Liberal leadership raceTopic:Australian Federal ElectionsPhoto shows Hastie gestures with one hand while speaking at a press conference in a parliament house courtyard.Albanese says he received 'very warm' phone call from Donald TrumpTopic:Foreign Affairs'Laughable policies': Voters explain what went wrong for CoalitionTopic:ElectionsRecord-breaking number of women to enter ParliamentTopic:VotingNationals MPs '100 per cent' back nuclear being kept as Coalition dissects lossTopic:Federal GovernmentJust InCanberra families of teens killed in crash tell of 'never ending' painTopic:Courts16m ago16 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 7:58amPiastri a winner again, but 'poorly executed' Griddy proves he is humanTopic:Formula 132m ago32 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 7:42amMan jailed for 'bizarre' theft of car with woman and child insideTopic:Crime34m ago34 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 7:40am'Magic of friendship' on show at Bangtail Muster in Alice SpringsTopic:Carnivals and Festivals35m ago35 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 7:39amMore Just InBack to top