2m ago11.30 AEST
Patterson says she lied to police about owning a dehydrator
Mandy turns to the police search at Patterson’s Leongatha home.
Patterson says during the police search she was able to use her phone to make enquiries for her daughter’s activity and to call a lawyer.
Mandy turns to Patterson’s police interview when she was asked questions about a dehydrator. In the interview, an officer asked Patterson if she had ever dehydrated “food or anything”. Patterson replied, “No.”
“Was that a lie?” Mandy asks.
“It was,” says Patterson.
In the interview, she also denied owning a dehydrator or knowing anything about a dehydrator in her house.
Erin agrees both of these responses were lies.
Mandy asks why she told these lies.
Well I had disposed of it a few days earlier, in the context of thinking that maybe mushrooms I’d foraged or the meal I’d prepared was responsible for making people sick.
Then on Saturday Detective Eppingstall told me that Gail and Heather had passed away and it was this stupid knee-jerk reaction to dig deeper and keep lying.”
I was just scared but I shouldn’t have done it.
Mandy takes his client to her answers in the police interview where she said she had never foraged for mushrooms.
Patterson says she lied for the same reason.
1m ago02.31 BST
Mandy takes Patterson to elements of the prosecution’s case against her.
He asks if all the six beef wellingtons she cooked were the same. She says, “Yes.”
He asks if all the beef wellingtons she served on plates at the lunch were the same. She says, “Yes.”
He asks if she lied about her children eating leftovers of the same lunch.
“No,” Patterson says.
He asks his client if she pretended to be sick. She replies “no” as her voice trembles.
He asks if she has ever intentionally picked death cap mushrooms or used the toxic fungi in the beef wellingtons she prepared on 29 July 2023.
A visibly upset Patterson says “no” to both questions.
This blog is now closed
www.theguardian.com