liveErin Patterson murder trial live: Hospital staff who treated mushroom lunch guests give evidenceBy court reporter Kristian Silva, Melissa Brown, Tim Callanan and Mikaela OrtolanTopic:Law, Crime and Justice2h ago2 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 EventsJury asks for every Monday off but gets no joy from the judge21m ago21 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:13amErin Patterson agreed to return to hospital48m ago48 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:45amNurse tells Erin her life is at risk1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:32amShow all key eventsLive updatesLatestOldestKey Event21m 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 link21m 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 Event48m 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 link56m 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 Event1h 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 Event1h 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 Event1h 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 link1h 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 linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:02amErin Patterson was told she might need liver transplantTBy Tim CallananDr Foote confirms with Mr Mandy that she discussed with Erin Patterson the possibility that she may require a liver transplant if she had been exposed to death cap mushrooms.Mr Mandy asks the doctor whether Erin asked her whether that would be the case for everyone who ate the mushrooms, but the doctor could not recall.Dr Foote also says she was not able to give Erin information about the status of the other guests at the lunch due to patient confidentiality.Mr Mandy has now finished questioning Dr Foote.Copy link1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:58amErin Patterson was 'upset' during hospital presentationTBy Tim CallananDr Foote confirms that Erin Patterson was "upset" during her initial examination of her at Leongatha Hospital.She explains details of the abdominal examination she carried out on Erin.The doctor confirms that she believed at the time that Erin was dehydrated due to gastro illness.She confirms that she discussed with Erin about taking her children to a hospital for assessment."Potentially the children could become unwell and the appropriate place for them would be Monash (hospital)," she says.Copy linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:53amLeongatha doctor returns to the witness standTBy Tim CallananDr Veronica Foote is continuing to give evidence at Erin Patterson's trial.She's being questioned by Ms Patterson's lead defence lawyer Colin Mandy SC.Dr Foote agrees that discussion was held with Erin Patterson about transferring her to a hospital in Melbourne.Mr Mandy asks Dr Foote to confirm whether Erin had a high heart rate and high blood pressure when she initially presented at the hospital and Dr Foote agrees.Copy linkKey Event1h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:44amThe trial won't sit on MondayKBy Kristian SilvaGood morning from inside courtroom 4 as we approach the end of the second week of this trial. We're set to resume with more evidence from Dr Veronica Foote from the Leongatha Hospital.Erin Patterson is in the dock wearing a new outfit today — a dark-coloured blouse.In a small win for the jury, Justice Christopher Beale says they'll be granted a long weekend.The trial will not be sitting next Monday, giving the lawyers time to work on things behind the scenes."We can best achieve that by not sitting on Monday. There are things happening behind the scenes to try and condense the material that will be presented to you," he says.Copy linkKey Event2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:27amWhat happened in the trial yesterday?TBy Tim CallananOn Wednesday, Dr Chris Webster gave evidence about his interactions with Erin Patterson when she presented to hospital.The court heard Dr Webster's triple-0 call asking police to find the Leongatha mother and return her to hospital.Footage was also shown to the court of another doctor, Veronica Foote, trying in vain to stop Ms Patterson from leaving the hospital.You can catch up on yesterday's court proceedings here:Doctor gave blunt warning to Erin Patterson over mushroom poisoning risk, court hearsCopy link2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:07amCatch up on yesterday's blogTBy Tim CallananIf you want to take a more in-depth look at the witness testimony in court yesterday, you can have a look back at how it all unfolded here:Court sees footage of Erin Patterson leaving hospital against medical advice — as it happenedCopy linkKey Event2h agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:05amWelcome to today's blogTBy Tim CallananMore witnesses are due to give evidence today as Erin Patterson's murder trial continues in Morwell.Kristian Silva will again provide us with updates from inside the courtroom at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts.Copy linkPosted 2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:16am, updated 1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:13amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)TimelineRead nextTimelineKey EventsLatestJury asks for every Monday off but gets no joy from the judge21m ago21 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:13amErin Patterson agreed to return to hospital48m ago48 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:45amNurse tells Erin her life is at risk1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:32amErin discharged herself from hospital 'at own risk'1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:29amErin refuses to go into hospital treatment bay, court hears1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:18amErin Patterson was told she might need liver transplant1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:02amLeongatha doctor returns to the witness stand1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:53amThe trial won't sit on Monday1h ago1 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:44amWhat happened in the trial yesterday?2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:27amWelcome to today's blog2h ago2 hours agoThu 8 May 2025 at 12:05amTop Stories'He was that toxic': 600 unused posters tell the story of Dutton's failed campaignTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows Backlit photo of a Dutton press conference, his silhouette centred in front of a microphoneAustralia's best sports rights in the hands of a Soviet-born, former oil tycoonTopic:Media IndustryAlbanese to speak with King Charles, Labor factions hash out next ministryTopic:Government and Politics'Offensive': PM unleashes on ousted Greens MPTopic:Government and PoliticsMother under police guard after house fire that killed three childrenTopic:FiresJust InWoman with more than 1,000 minions in home wins Guinness World RecordTopic:Human Interest11m ago11 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:22amANZ profit rises as NAB boss tips rate cuts and housing boomTopic:Banking18m ago18 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:15amNepotism, financial misconduct claims rock Aboriginal land councilTopic:Local Government5m ago5 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 2:29amGrazier recovering from grain silo collapse running for his rescuersTopic:Emergency Services42m ago42 minutes agoThu 8 May 2025 at 1:51amMore Just InBack to top