The first week of Erin Patterson's mushroom murder trial outlines the decision facing a juryBy court reporter Kristian SilvaTopic:Courts1h ago1 hours agoFri 2 May 2025 at 8:59pmErin Patterson has always maintained her innocence of the murder and attempted murder charges. (ABC News: Paul Tyquin)abc.net.au/news/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-trial-simon-husband-court-jury/105245990Link copiedShareShare articleWhen police turned up to Erin Patterson's house, they began looking through the rubbish for a leftover beef Wellington.An officer walked to an outside bin, put on some gloves, and started fishing inside."The bin had approximately three bags piled on top of each other," crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC told the Supreme Court in Morwell this week."The leftovers, which looked like a meat-filled pastry, were in the bottom of the bottom bag."As a packed courtroom watched on, pictures of the stale-looking remnants were flashed up on the screens.What was initially thought to be the source of food poisoning, then became a suspected murder weapon.Reduced to its simplest form, the jury in Ms Patterson's trial will have to decide whether a beef Wellington cooked in her kitchen represents a terrible accident, or the ultimate act of betrayal.According to prosecutors, Ms Patterson carefully crafted a plan to lure her in-laws to her home on July 29, 2023.Ian Wilkinson (left) was the only guest to survive the lunch. His wife Heather Wilkinson, and Don and Gail Patterson all died from suspected mushroom poisoning. (Supplied)She booked the date a fortnight in advance, telling them after church she wanted to discuss the ramifications of medical news she'd received.The showpieces of the meal were individually prepared mushroom beef Wellingtons, containing eye fillet Ms Patterson had spent a "small fortune" on.Husband Simon Patterson was a last-minute cancellation, saying he felt "uncomfortable" spending an afternoon in the presence of his estranged wife.Simon Patterson turned down his estranged wife's invitation to join the lunch, the court heard. (AAP: James Ross)But his parents Don and Gail, and other relatives Ian and Heather Wilkinson, dutifully turned up. Gail brought a cake and Heather prepared a fruit platter.The group sat down for lunch and said grace, with the Supreme Court hearing the beef Wellington was a hit.Don even ate half of his wife's serve and that afternoon, Heather was said to have raved about the meal to the secretary of their church."Heather told them that they'd had a lovely lunch, that they had beef Wellington and that it was delicious and beautiful," Dr Rogers told the Supreme Court.A painful death as 'irreversible' organ failure set inSix days later, Heather was dead. Gail also died on August 4. Don passed away the following day. Ian Wilkinson spent more than five weeks in hospital.Experts concluded it was the mushrooms in the beef Wellington that got them. As it turned out, the fungi was no ordinary variety. They were Amanita phalloides, also known as death caps.All parts of the death cap are extremely poisonous and cannot be made safe by cooking or peeling. (ABC News: Penny McLintock, file photo)The court heard that the four lunch guests suffered terribly. Death by the poisonous mushrooms was slow and brutal. Diarrhoea and vomiting escalated to organ failure."The final phase is characterised by irreversible liver and kidney failure and metabolic acidosis, which is where the blood becomes too acidic," Dr Rogers told the jury.Ms Patterson did not fall sick like the others. Prosecutors allege that was because her beef Wellington meal — apparently served on a different-coloured plate to the others — did not contain death cap mushrooms at all.Loading YouTube contentBut Ms Patterson's defence team, led by Colin Mandy SC, argued she experienced symptoms of illness. He insisted the entire ordeal was a tragic accident.Mr Mandy conceded his client had told several lies about things before and after the lunch itself.She lied to police about the existence of a food dehydrator which she had used to prepare the mushrooms and later dumped at the local tip.She lied to the lunch guests when she told them her big medical "news" was cancer.And while initial claims she had never foraged for mushrooms in the wild was also a lie, the truth was that she never intended to pick death cap mushrooms, he said.Weeks-long trial to examine details of lunchAll of this, Mr Mandy insisted to the jury, was not proof of murder. It was proof of a woman who "panicked"."She was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food that she'd served to them," he said."Might someone panic in a situation like that?"The opening addresses from the prosecution and defence have touched on several aspects of the case they intend to explore in the evidence.They include where Ms Patterson picked mushrooms and what her hospital medical records showed.They also include why, in the days after the fatal lunch, she allegedly completed a factory reset on one of her phones in the middle of a police investigation.And what does sole survivor Ian Wilkinson remember about the lunch?Prosecutors have told the jury they do not have a concrete motive as to why Ms Patterson would allegedly commit a triple murder and an attempted murder.Prosecutors allege Ms Patterson murdered her relatives using a beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms. (News Corp)By law, a motive is not something required to prove murder. But criminal intent is.The defence says that intent did not exist.Despite an increasingly messy separation with Simon Patterson, Mr Mandy said his client had maintained a good relationship with her in-laws.She was particularly fond of father-in-law Don, the court heard, and shared a love of learning, books and conversations.A grieving family falls under a murder-trial spotlightDuring two days in the witness box, Simon Patterson rode a wave of emotions, constantly swivelling from left to right in his chair.He first reached for a tissue when describing the breakdown of his marriage, and fought back tears when he spoke about his father's decline in hospital.The strained relationship with his wife is now at the centre of a trial that's captured global attention.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.Disagreements over finances, child support and properties are being used as evidence for the jury to assess the case.On top of that, the jury has heard Mr Patterson continues to grieve his parents and aunt, while the woman he remains married to and has two children with stands accused of a triple murder.Police initially dug through Erin Patterson's garbage for clues.Now lawyers on both sides of the bar table are sifting through the Pattersons' private lives to build their respective cases.The first week of Erin Patterson's murder trial:Tuesday: Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson no longer facing charges over estranged husbandWednesday: 'Panicked' Erin Patterson lied to police but is innocent of triple murder, court hearsThursday: Erin Patterson 'seemed' to love in-laws, estranged husband tells courtFriday: Erin Patterson sent 'extremely aggressive' texts to estranged husband, court hearsPosted 1h ago1 hours agoFri 2 May 2025 at 8:59pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesAlbanese 'not surprised' he was targeted by Russian criminalsLIVEPhoto shows Anthony Albanese speaking in a sports stadium. 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