Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #11 *Arrest*

[MsMarple]

now06.33 BST
Patterson says when police arrived to conduct a search of her Leonagtha home on 5 August 2023, a mobile phone referred to as “phone A” was on a windowsill near a charging station.

The court previously heard from the lead detective on the case there were three phones - two Samsungs and a Nokia - connected to Patterson.

Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of the investigation, said one of the Samsungs -phone A - had never been recovered.

Patterson says she handed police phone B - the phone she had been using at the time.

Mandy shows his client a photo, taken by police during the search, which shows a black case on a windowsill.

Patterson says the photo shows “a black phone case with phone A inside.”

During his cross-examination, Eppingstall said whether the photo showed phone A was a matter for the jury.

 

[MrJ]

apologies to our non-Australian audience but I get big ScoMo energy from Erin's lies. Next she'll tell us she didn't go to Hawaii

 

[katydid23]

1m ago
Erin's children return home

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin says when her children arrived, her son fetched his flying book and was sharing it with his grandfather Don, and Ian had a meeting at church, so the lunch gathering dissolved.

She says her son and his friend then went into a room to play computer games, but probably helped clean up.

Ms Patterson says there were some "scraps" on guest plates, and the rest of her beef Wellington along with some potato she hadn't eaten.

There were also leftovers from the potatoes, beans and gravy.

So she had scraps of Beef and gravy and she didn't give any to her big beautiful black Labrador?

I find that hard to believe. Our lab would have been sniffing around the kitchen and staring at me with soulful eyes all day.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago06.34 BST
Patterson says when she returned home after being interviewed by police she found the Nokia phone and phone A on the windowsill.

She says she took the SIM card out of phone A and put it into the Nokia so she could use the phone.

Patterson says she was “baffled” the Nokia was still in the house.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Maybe they could play Shannon Noll singing "What about me, it isn't fair...?"

Bravo!!

 

[SouthAussie]

What device was she using to conduct the factory reset...

Where is Phone A, Erin?

 

[Detechtive]

apologies to our non-Australian audience but I get big ScoMo energy from Erin's lies. Next she'll tell us she didn't go to Hawaii

Or for our US folks, that she did not have sexual relations with that dehydrator.

 

[katydid23]

Here is what we all knew she'd say.

Key Event
1m ago
Erin says she threw up after eating leftover cake

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin says while her son played PC games with his friend, she had several pieces of cake, progressively eating all of the cake Gail Patterson had left behind — which she says was two-thirds of the original cake.

After eating the cake, Erin says "I felt sick, I felt overfull, so I went to the toilets and brought it back up again".

Yesterday, the court heard Erin say she had struggled with binge eating and bulimia throughout her life.

Erin says she later had some loose stools, which started about 5:30pm.

A reminder you can access the Butterfly foundation if this raises any issues for you on 1800 33 4673 or webchat.

I really hope and pray that the prosecution gets a rebuttal and can show evidence that vomiting does not protect a person from death cap poisoning. The toxins enter the bloodstream almost immediately.

 

[LinasK]

So she had scraps of Beef and gravy and she didn't give any to her big beautiful black Labrador?

I find that hard to believe. Our lab would have been sniffing around the kitchen and staring at me with soulful eyes all day.

As I'm reading that my German Shepherd is begging me for my steak. My previous dog was a Black Lab.

 

[Shortfusepsb]

Her testimony reveals a consistent behavioural pattern: initial denial or omission of critical facts, followed by partial disclosure only when contradicted by hard evidence, and finally, justification through emotionally contextualised narratives.

This sequence—deny, concede, rationalise—is not uncommon in individuals exhibiting traits associated with certain personality disorders, particularly within the Cluster B spectrum, such as narcissistic or borderline personality traits.

Key indicators include:

• Delayed admissions only when confrontation with evidence is unavoidable.
• Elaborate explanations designed to shift focus from intent to emotion (e.g., “I was scared,” “I was overwhelmed,” “I was trying to protect my children”).
• Projection and deflection, where blame is distributed across circumstances, memory lapses, or misunderstood motives.

These are not necessarily indicators of criminal guilt, but they are highly relevant when assessing credibility, reliability, and behavioural consistency.

What we are seeing is not just inconsistent testimony—it is a behavioural defence mechanism: one that aims to manage perception, preserve narrative control, and avoid direct accountability.

Make no mistake, the prosecution will have a small team of clinical specialists taking notes and advising them in the wings. They will have a very strong strategy to pull her apart.

 

[Detechtive]

Her testimony reveals a consistent behavioural pattern: initial denial or omission of critical facts, followed by partial disclosure only when contradicted by hard evidence, and finally, justification through emotionally contextualised narratives.

This sequence—deny, concede, rationalise—is not uncommon in individuals exhibiting traits associated with certain personality disorders, particularly within the Cluster B spectrum, such as narcissistic or borderline personality traits.

Key indicators include:

• Delayed admissions only when confrontation with evidence is unavoidable.
• Elaborate explanations designed to shift focus from intent to emotion (e.g., “I was scared,” “I was overwhelmed,” “I was trying to protect my children”).
• Projection and deflection, where blame is distributed across circumstances, memory lapses, or misunderstood motives.

These are not necessarily indicators of criminal guilt, but they are highly relevant when assessing credibility, reliability, and behavioural consistency.

What we are seeing is not just inconsistent testimony—it is a behavioural defence mechanism: one that aims to manage perception, preserve narrative control, and avoid direct accountability.

Make no mistake, the prosecution will have a small team of clinical specialists taking notes and advising them in the wings. They will have a very strong strategy to pull her apart.

This is delightful.

 

[MrJ]

no ABC updates for 20 minutes...

 

[da_worm]

For someone who was desperate to keep a close and loving relationship with her inlaws, who she loved like her own parents, she sure didnt seem concerned about them when they were in hospital.

 

[MsMarple]

Sooo… she made a beef Wellington but without the mustard, crepe, prosciutto but subbing phyllo dough for the crepe.

Then she found the duxelles too bland when she tasted them so she mixed in some rehydrated smelly mushrooms from… some unknown source. And didn’t bother tasting it to see if it was still bland.

Good grief!

 

[Detechtive]

Game of phones back in the spotlight​

When police searched her home on August 5, Erin says Phone A – a Samsung phone she was using before she set up Phone B – was on a window sill near a charging station.
She says she gave them Phone B when they asked her to hand over her phone because it was the device she was using at the time.

Erin says she was given a property seizure record from police which stated two Samsung devices had been taken which left her confused.

She found a Nokia phone left in a basket and Phone A on the window sill.
“So I took the 783 SIM out of Phone A and put it into the Nokia, so that I could use the Nokia,” she says.

She says she turned the Nokia off after midnight.
Last week, Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall told the court police never located Phone A or the Nokia after they searched Erin’s house on August 5 and November 2.

The jury is having a quick break.

 

[katydid23]

6m ago06.23 BST
Mandy takes Patterson to a digital report, previously shown to the jury, showing four factory resets were performed on one of her phones.

The court previously heard four resets - one in February 2023 and three in August 2023- were performed on the phone Patterson provided to police during the search. The search was conducted on 5 August 2023.

Mandy asks Patterson if she is responsible for the factory resets.

“I’m responsible for the last three,” she says.

Paterson says her son conducted the first reset after he damaged his phone.

The second factory reset on 2 August 2023 was to get her son’s information off the phone.

She says the factory reset on 5 August 2023 was because she “panicked” and didn’t want detectives to see photos in the Google app of mushrooms and the dehydrator.

Regarding the factory reset on 6 August 2023, Patterson said after the police search she wondered if she could login to her Google account and see where the seized devices were. She said she wondered if police were “silly enough to leave it connected to the internet”.

“I hit factory reset to see what happened,” she says.

She says the factory reset on 5 August 2023 was because she “panicked” and didn’t want detectives to see photos in the Google app of mushrooms and the dehydrator.

Regarding the factory reset on 6 August 2023, Patterson said after the police search she wondered if she could login to her Google account and see where the seized devices were. She said she wondered if police were “silly enough to leave it connected to the internet”.

“I hit factory reset to see what happened,” she says.



OOHHH wow, she's feeling a bit over confident now, saying ^^^ this stuff. Calling the cops silly etc.

She is poking the bear now. I bet the prosecution cannot wait to get their time with her.

 

[MrJ]

The jury is having a quick break.

Oh the ABC didn't say this in their blog. Thanks!

 

[Detechtive]

“So I took the 783 SIM out of Phone A and put it into the Nokia, so that I could use the Nokia,” she says.​

Okay, this is obscene. Nobody would use a Nokia instead of a Samsung by choice.

 

[MsMarple]

no ABC updates for 20 minutes...

Same with Guardian. Must be an objection.

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Questioning turns to relationship between Erin and in-laws

By Judd Boaz

After a short break we return to Mr Mandy's questioning of Erin Patterson.

Mr Mandy shows his client multiple pages of message exchanges between Erin and her in-laws.

Many of the messages we have already heard, including Don Patterson suggesting ways to entertain the children and organising to tutor his grandson in mathematics.

As with much of her testimony relating to her children, Erin's voice wavers and she fights backs some tears.

She tells the court that she had a "really good" relationship with Don and Gail in 2022.