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Erin Patterson charged with several homicides.
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Erin Patterson
dumped her dehydrator amid fears her children would be taken from her after she served lunch guests deadly beef Wellingtons.
On Wednesday, Patterson took the stand again for the second consecutive day at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, which is located in eastern Victoria.
The individual, aged 50, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges related to the killings of Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail’s sibling, Heather Wilkinson.
They died after
eating death cap mushrooms included in beef Wellington dishes at dinnertime at her residence in Leongatha on July 29, 2023
.
Patterson informed the court that she disposed of the dehydrator at the nearby landfill following drop-offs for school with her kids several days after the fatal lunch incident.
Shortly afterwards, she informed the jury, “I took the dehydrator to the dump.”
The court was informed that child protection officers were en route to interview Patterson following reports that death cap mushrooms may have been included in the meal in question.
The Child Protective Services were scheduled to visit my home that day, and I was terrified of discussing the meal and the food dehydrator,” she explained. “I feared that they might hold me responsible for something related to these topics.
‘Because it made everybody ill, and I feared they might take away the children.’
Patterson said she started feeling concerned that she could be accused of intentionally harming her in-laws following a discussion with her ex-husband Simon at the hospital on August 2nd.
Under questioning by her own barrister Colin Mandy SC, Patterson said she
spoke with the children about their reasons for being at the hospital and discussed why others around them were also sick.
Patterson mentioned that they were worried her lunch might have caused illness among the others.
Once the children exited the room heading for the vending machine, Patterson said she took the opportunity to discuss her dehydrator with Simon.
The discussion revolved around Patterson adding dried mushrooms to her daughter’s muffins, and she remarked that they were preferred over regular muffins.
That was when Simon confronted her with an unforeseen query.
Patterson alleged that he asked her, “Is this how you used the dehydrator to poison my parents?”
I replied, of course not.
During the exchange, Patterson was moved to tears as she recounted what followed.
Patterson said the remark made her reflect on numerous instances when she had utilized the dehydrator. She remembered specifically how she had employed it a few weeks prior to dry wild-picked mushrooms.
“What if they entered the container with the Chinese mushrooms? It might have happened,” she stated.
Patterson had previously told the jury foraged mushrooms may have been added to a jar she had that contained bought dried mushrooms and mushrooms from the local supermarket she had dehydrated herself.
The jury learned that Patterson expressed feeling accountable for the situation affecting her dining guests.
‘I simply felt very afraid,’ she stated.
Once she got back home, Patterson said she began to feel panicked.
‘I was desperate,’ she stated.
‘Because I had made the meal and served it, and people had got sick.’
Patterson told the court she
told no-one
She was worried that wild-picked mushrooms may have mistakenly ended up in the beef Wellingtons.
“Have you been informed that the concern was about death cap mushrooms being part of the meal?” Mr. Mandy questioned Patterson.
‘Yes,’ she replied.
“What thoughts crossed your mind regarding what could have been inside the dehydrator?” Mr. Mandy inquired.
“Well, I believed there could be signs of that, indications of any wild-picked mushrooms present,” Patterson replied.
Simon Patterson has refuted alleging that his spouse poisoned his parents following the fatal meal.
During the initial days of the trial, he was questioned regarding the discussion he held with her at Monash Medical Centre following the fatal meal.
“Did you use this to poison them?” Mr. Mandy allegedly said.
“I didn’t tell Erin that,” Simon replied.
The jury also learned that Patterson reportedly made claims of having
regurgitated the piece of beef Wellington from the fatal meal following her overindulgence in the cake that Gail Patterson purchased for dessert
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Patterson stated that she advised him to save some for their consumption, which meant that not much was eaten. Additionally, a significant portion of the cake Gail brought remained uneaten, and he also kept that.
Patterson, sharing details with the jury regarding her lifelong battles with body image and weight, mentioned that she had taken a piece of cake while tidying up following the meal.
She mentioned, ‘I ate one slice of cake, followed by another slice, and then an additional slice.’
“How many slices of cake did you consume?” Mr. Mandy questioned.
‘The entire thing,’ she responded.
Patterson stated that ‘about two-thirds’ of the cake remained uneaten.
“I felt nauseous. My stomach was too full, so I headed to the restroom and made myself vomit,” she explained.
The proceedings presided over by Justice Christopher Beale at the Supreme Court of Victoria are still ongoing.
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