liveErin Patterson murder trial live: Mushroom cook helped police find lunch leftovers in binBy court reporter Kristian Silva, Melissa Brown, Tim Callanan and Mikaela OrtolanTopic:Law, Crime and Justice4h ago4 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:16amSkip to timelineabc.net.au/news/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-trial-live-blog-court-evidence/105267156Link copiedShareShare articleThe triple-murder trial of Erin Patterson continues at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in the Victorian town of Morwell.She's accused of murdering three relatives by serving them a beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms.Follow the trial in our live blog.Key EventsErin and Simon Patterson's relationship started to 'go downhill'2m ago2 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:28amLeftover beef Wellington found in bin1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:50amPolice officer takes the witness stand1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:49amShow all key eventsLive updatesLatestOldestKey Event2m agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:28amErin and Simon Patterson's relationship started to 'go downhill'TBy Tim CallananThe trial has resumed after a lunch break, with defence lawyer Sophie Stafford questioning Don and Gail Patterson's daughter-in-law, Tanya Patterson.She confirms she has known Erin Patterson for about 20 years and she and her husband visited Erin and Simon Patterson in Western Australia.She also confirms Erin and Simon loaned her and her husband $400,000 and repayments continued after Erin and Simon separated.Ms Patterson confirms the relationship between Simon and Erin appeared amicable "until the last couple of years".She says their relationship appeared to "go downhill".She says Erin was a good an attentive mother and had a good relationship with her in-laws.Copy link41m agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:50amNeed a refresher on some of the key elements in the case?MBy Melissa BrownIf you're after a reminder on who lies at the heart of the trial and some of the key timelines, here's an explainer from our colleague, Judd Boaz.The timeline prosecutors allege in the mushroom murder trialCopy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:30amMushroom Case Daily podcastMBy Melissa BrownFor those after a deeper dive inside the Erin Patterson trial, court reporter Kristian Silva is updating his podcast each day with key evidence and behind-the-scenes explainers.Mushroom Case Daily with Kristian Silva - ABC listenCopy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:20amWATCH: Catch up on the day's evidence so farJBy Joseph DunstanThe ABC's Alexandra Alvaro is at the law courts in Morwell.Here's a quick run-through of the evidence heard this morning.Loading...Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:12amHospital staff told Erin her potassium levels were fine, court hearsMBy Melissa BrownTanya Patterson says Erin told her she had very low potassium levels.She says a toxicologist came in and told Erin she was well enough to leave.She says Erin asked about the potassium and was told the levels were fine and not as low as would be expected for someone who had had diarrhoea.After Don, Gail and Heather died, Tanya says she received an email from Erin in which she asked if Tanya and Matthew would take the children if child protection became involved.Tanya says she agreed.Court has now broken for lunch.Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:09amDon and Gail Patterson’s daughter-in-law Tanya Patterson is giving evidenceMBy Melissa BrownShe’s married to Simon Patterson’s brother, Matthew.Tanya spoke about her texting Erin after Don and Gail had been moved to the Austin Hospital.She says she asked Erin how she was and whether she wanted her to visit her in hospital.She says Erin responded that that would be lovely, and that she felt nauseous, dizzy and tired.Tanya went to the hospital and says Erin asked how everyone was.She says she told Erin “things were going downhill quickly”.Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:52amLiquid was 'seeping' from bag containing leftoversTBy Tim CallananUnder cross-examination, Senior Constable Martinez-Villalobis confirms that Erin Patterson was cooperative while he looked for leftovers.He confirms there was liquid seeping from the bag containing leftovers.There are no more questions and Senior Constable Martinez-Villalobis leaves the witness stand.Copy linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:50amLeftover beef Wellington found in binTBy Tim CallananSenior Constable Martinez-Villalobis says he found the leftovers in a red-lidded bin outside the property.He says there was little else in the bin, but he found leftovers from "one or two" beef Wellingtons in a brown paper Woolworths bag.He says Erin Patterson was "quite cooperative" at that stage.Senior Constable Martinez-Villalobis took the bag of leftovers to the hospital.There are no more questions from the prosecution.Copy linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:49amPolice officer takes the witness standTBy Tim CallananSenior Constable Adrian Martinez-Villalobis is now giving evidence.He confirms he was asked to do a welfare check on Erin Patterson after a call from Dr Chris Webster.He says he arrived at Erin's house around 10am but was then told by Dr Webster in a second phone call that Erin had returned to the hospital.Senior Constable Martinez-Villalobis says Dr Webster asked him to look for leftovers of the beef Wellington.He also spoke to Erin Patterson, who gave him the code for the gate and suggested where he could find leftovers from the meal."She's given me pretty specific information about which bin they may be in," he says.Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:43amQuestioning of Cindy Munro endsTBy Tim CallananCindy Munro is now being cross-examined by Colin Mandy SC.Mr Mandy asks Ms Munro about when Erin first presented at hospital and she confirms it was very soon after that nurse, Kylie Ashton, was looking for a "discharge at own risk form".Mr Mandy has no further questions and Ms Munro is discharged.Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:40amErin Patterson wanted to go where her children wereTBy Tim CallananMs Munro says Erin agreed to be treated and agreed that her children needed to be treated.She confirms she observed Erin talking to someone on the phone.Ms Munro says she told Erin that she had called an ambulance to take her to Dandenong Hospital and that her children would be taken to Monash Hospital.She says Erin told her she didn't want to go to Dandenong Hospital, she wanted to go where her children were.Erin went to use the bathroom before being loaded into the ambulance, Ms Munro says.That closes the prosecution's questioning of Ms Munro.Copy linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:38amHospital used up all of its mushroom toxin medication on Ian and Heather, court hearsMBy Melissa BrownAnother nurse at Leongatha hospital is now giving evidence.Cindy Munro cannulated Erin Patterson and administered the IV fluids when Erin returned to the hospital after initially leaving.She says Erin didn't look unwell as Ian and Heather.She says she remembers Ian being so unwell he couldn’t lift his head from the pillow, but Erin was sitting up and didn’t look unwell.She says the hospital had run out of all the medication it needed to protect the body from the mushroom toxin because they'd used it all on Ian and Heather.Ms Munro says Erin was stressed and repeated multiple times that she didn't want any of the treatment she was receiving.She says Erin told her about the children eating the leftovers.Ms Munro says that worried her, but that Erin had said she'd scraped the mushrooms off and the kids weren't sick.Erin said she didn't want to cause them any hassle or take them them out of school, Ms Munro says.The nurse says Erin became teary at that point.She says she explained to Erin that if even if the mushrooms had been removed, some of the toxins could have still seeped through to the meat.She says Erin then agreed to receive treatment and bring the children to the hospital.Copy linkKey Event2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:13amJury asks for every Monday off but gets no joy from the judgeKBy Kristian SilvaThe jury has passed Justice Christopher Beale a note asking if they'll now get every Monday off.Nice try, members of the jury! But the answer is no from Justice Beale.Earlier, they were told they'd be having the coming Monday, May 12, as a rest day while trial lawyers work on things behind the scenes.Justice Beale says there may be other days in future where the court won’t sit."It’s a matter for you if you want to go back to work on the Monday," he says.One of the jurors begins vigorously shaking his head, drawing laughter from the courtroom.Copy link2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:12amNurse Kylie Ashton finishes giving evidenceMBy Melissa BrownThe jurors have returned after a short break and nurse Kylie Ashton is back in the witness box answering questions.She is excused after brief questioning about when she first became aware that the children had eaten leftovers, without the mushrooms.Despite being asked whether she was mistaken with her recollection, she's insisted she found out the first time Erin was at the hospital.She says it was her understanding that when Erin left the hospital, she was going to come back with the children.Copy linkKey Event2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:45amErin Patterson agreed to return to hospitalTBy Tim CallananMr Mandy asks Ms Ashton whether she would have told Erin specific information about the health status of the other lunch guests, to which she replies she would not have due to patient confidentiality.She confirms she discussed the situation with Dr Foote about trying to convince Erin not to leave.Mr Mandy asks whether Erin said she would return within a specific time frame, and Ms Ashton agrees that she did agree to return.Mr Mandy says he is close to finishing his questions, but asks for a short break.Copy link2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:37amNurse cross-examined by defence teamTBy Tim CallananKylie Ashton is now being cross-examined by Colin Mandy SC.She confirms all of the events she has described happened within roughly a five minute time period.Ms Ashton confirms she was not aware of the full situation regarding the lunch when Erin Patterson first arrived and was waiting to be seen at the urgent care section.Mr Mandy puts it to Ms Ashton that Erin Patterson wasn't refusing treatment altogether, she just did not want to be admitted at that time.She replies that Erin certainly did not want to be admitted at that time.Ms Ashton says she recalls Erin telling her that her children had eaten leftovers with the mushrooms scraped off.Copy linkKey Event2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:32amNurse tells Erin her life is at riskMBy Melissa BrownMs Ashton says Erin got up and said she needed to leave.She says the conversation went back and forth between Erin wanting to leave, and Ms Ashton expressing concern for Erin's wellbeing and trying to get her to understand the seriousness of the situation.She describes it as "a very short rapid communication" which included talking about the poor condition of the other guests and that they were being transferred to other hospitals for higher-level care.Ms Ashton says she told Erin "her life was at risk. These guys were really unwell. We had two in ICU at the time".She says Erin kept repeating the same reason for leaving — that she hadn't come to the hospital prepared to stay, that she did not think she would need to be admitted, and that she needed to go away to prepare and would come back.Copy linkKey Event3h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:29amErin discharged herself from hospital 'at own risk'TBy Tim CallananMs Ashton explains that she told Erin it was important that she brought her children in for assessment given the seriousness of the situation.She confirms that Erin signed a "discharge at own risk" form, which is now being shown to the court.Ms Ashton says Erin was trying to leave through the ambulance bay when she tried to convince her to stay, with the help of Dr Foote.She says she got the form for Erin to complete, which she did.The nurse says Erin left after signing the form but she was told that she should return as soon as possible for treatment."It's liver preserving [treatment] so the sooner we can get it, the better the chance of preserving organs," she says.Copy linkKey Event3h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:18amErin refuses to go into hospital treatment bay, court hearsMBy Melissa BrownThe court is now hearing from nurse Kylie Ashton who was on duty at Leongatha Hospital when Erin first presented.She says she arrived at work and was told there had been a possible death cap poisoning and that four guests who ate a meal had been admitted to hospitals.Ms Ashton was involved in the care of Ian and Heather Wilkinson when they were moved into the Urgent Care Centre.“Ian looked very very unwell at that point,” she says.Ms Ashton says Erin came in during the morning and remained at the seats opposite the nursing station.“Erin wasn’t ready or willing to come through to a bay for a more formal assessment,” Ms Ashton tells the court.Copy link3h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:09amThe prosecution is re-examining Dr FooteMBy Melissa BrownThe prosecution is back to questioning Dr Foote.She's being asked about other explanations for Erin's high heart rate and high blood pressure.Dr Foote says the high readings could be caused by medical conditions such as uncontrolled blood pressure or stress and anxiety.After being asked why Erin's readings went down over the next few hours, Dr Foote replied "it’s possible that the stress of the situation had dissipated a bit".Dr Foote has now finished giving evidence.Copy linkShow more postsPosted 4h ago4 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:16am, updated 55m ago55 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 3:36amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)TimelineRead nextTimelineKey EventsLatestErin and Simon Patterson's relationship started to 'go downhill'2m ago2 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:28amLeftover beef Wellington found in bin1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:50amPolice officer takes the witness stand1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:49amHospital used up all of its mushroom toxin medication on Ian and Heather, court hears1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:38amJury asks for every Monday off but gets no joy from the judge2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:13amErin Patterson agreed to return to hospital2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:45amNurse tells Erin her life is at risk2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:32amErin discharged herself from hospital 'at own risk'3h ago3 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:29amErin refuses to go into hospital treatment bay, court hears3h ago3 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:18amErin Patterson was told she might need liver transplant3h ago3 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:02amLeongatha doctor returns to the witness stand3h ago3 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:53amThe trial won't sit on Monday3h ago3 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:44amWhat happened in the trial yesterday?4h ago4 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:27amWelcome to today's blog4h ago4 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:05amTop StoriesTwo men found guilty of murdering Indigenous schoolboy Cassius TurveyTopic:HomicidePhoto shows Cassius Turvey Forever 15'Children at the grown-ups' table': Liberal insiders reveal a catastrophic campaignTopic:ElectionsAustralia's best sports rights in the hands of a Soviet-born, former oil tycoonTopic:Media IndustryMacquarie Bank's dodgy trading may be 'tip of the iceberg' for industryTopic:BankingGreens leader Adam Bandt concedes Melbourne seat after 15-year careerTopic:Government and PoliticsJust InPremier's 'not a red cent more' claim re Hobart stadium funding under fireTopic:Explainer5m ago5 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:25amOld schoolhouse restoration transforms piece of history in Adelaide HillsTopic:History22m ago22 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:08amTruckies call for industry reform to attract more young drivers Topic:Road Transport Industry31m ago31 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:00amCounting for seat of Bean likely to drag on for days as AEC turns to postal votesTopic:Elections30m ago30 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 4:00amMore Just InBack to top