Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #14 *Arrest*

[MrJ]

Oh, he's going there.

Key Event
1m ago
Defence warns jury to be wary of 'misleading' impressions

By Joseph Dunstan

Mr Mandy says the prosecution tried to "pull apart" his client's account, "but it didn't unravel".

He suggests to the jury that his client had conversations with more than 21 people in 24 hours at one point in the week after the lunch, and it was hard to remember what she told each of those people.

The defence lawyer says the jury must be vigilant for "misleading" impressions that could have been created during questioning.

He takes the jury back to cross-examination of Simon Patterson, who told the court it was "possible" he didn't tell his wife that all four lunch guests were unwell the day after the lunch, rather than just his parents.

"[We submit] your decision on that would be a straightforward one ... Erin said he only told me about Don and Gail," he says.

 

[MaxDecimus13]

Is that true?
Who is Sir Bob Massingbird?

Apologies, I'm being facetious. I thought the ... would make it clear.

 

[drsleuth]

15:40

Jury told Patterson did not have to take the stand​

Mr Mandy said his client had the right to silence and sit in the dock and say nothing during this trial but Patterson was put under an 'intense, surgical examination' in the witness box.
'Yet she decided to give evidence and give her account and subject herself to several days of cross examination by a very experienced barrister (pictured left),' he said.
Mr Mandy said Patterson also admitted to the jury the lies she had told and again reminded the jury Patterson spoke to 21 people in 24 hours.
'She was bombarded with questions about the meal,' Mr Mandy said.
'Her account was the same to those people.'


15:42

Defence says people can be 'honestly mistaken'​

Mr Mandy said it was 'likely' Patterson had given consistent information to all who asked her questions at the time.
He then took the jury to the various locations Patterson gave for the Asian grocer.
'People have different memories about events,' Mr Mandy said.
Mr Mandy also suggested people can be 'honestly mistaken'.
Mr Mandy told the jury to consider how difficult it is for someone to remember precisely what they told everyone under similar circumstances as his client.

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates

Follow Daily Mail Australia's live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson's murder trial here.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[MaxDecimus13]

You can't have explosive diarrhea and still wear white pants

This is funny, but it is little details like that that I suspect people will remember.

 

[LinasK]

Yeah I wish they did also, but for me I find the 'panic' defence in this case extremely weak. I don't think there's any other option for them, I think that's them clutching at the last available straw.

In the US, we call this behavior "Consciousness of Guilt". Tossing/hiding evidence isn't the actions of an innocent person, even if you think they suspect you.

 

[MrJ]

Show's over for today, folks.

Just now
Hearing wraps for the day

By Joseph Dunstan

Today's hearing wraps a little bit earlier than usual.

Colin Mandy SC is expected to continue delivering his closing address to the jury tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

They were terrible investigators, except Erin, who dug up things on everyone and kept files on them, and harassed and stalked a lot of people (who were not criminals).

Talk about stalker behaviour...

 

[drsleuth]

3.47pm

Panic and premeditation: Defence argues the former, not the latter, led his client to the tip​

By​

A few times now, Colin Mandy, SC, has centred on the prosecution’s narrative around Erin Patterson’s dehydrator.

The dehydrator’s purchase was openly shared on social media, specifically within a true crime group. This suggested a lack of concealment, Mandy told the jury.

Mandy said the dehydrator itself was not disposed of after the mushrooms were dehydrated, or well before the lunch.

“Instead, its purchase was broadcast on social media.”


Instead, he asked jurors to focus on timing. His client disposed of her dehydrator a day after she had a confrontation about the cooking appliance with her estranged husband in hospital.

The timing of the disposal spoke volumes of her state of mind at the time, he said. He also pointed out that his client had driven to the tip in her own car, and had done the transaction using her own details.

“It can only have been panic, not because she is guilty, but because that’s what people might think,” Mandy said.

Erin Patterson murder trial day 33 as it happened: Accused mushroom cook lied to authorities and in witness box, prosecutor says in concluding argument; defence argues no intent, panic explains actions

Inside courtroom four in Morwell, Patterson, on trial for murder, listened intently as prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, concluded her closing argument, and defence barrister Colin Mandy, SC, commenced his.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MsMarple]

Who among us hasn't mistakenly taken evidence to the tip, and mistakenly repeatedly factory reset a phone, and mistakenly repeatedly lied about having cancer, and mistakenly picked, dehydrated, powderised and cooked toxic mushrooms. Why, this could have happened to any of us. But for the grace etc etc.

Well yeah, cuz everyone reacts differently, right?

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago06.51 BST

Patterson opened herself to 'scrutiny of the whole world', defence says​

Mandy reminds the jury Patterson had a right to silence and did not have to testify in the trial.

“She doesn’t have to provide anything and yet she decided to give evidence and subject herself to several days of cross-examination by a very experienced barrister.”

He says in doing so Patterson opened herself up to juror’s scrutiny and the “scrutiny of the whole world.”

Erin Patterson mushroom trial day 33 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Detechtive]

Talk about stalker behaviour...

Yes. I only see people who are alleged perpetrators as 'fair game' to discuss and look into their background. Erin had a different view. Anyone who disagreed with her was automatically 'fair game' and I found the behaviour to be unhinged and alarming.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

She did, but she was quickly banned for impersonating someone on WS. IMO

Oh, the irony...

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Yes. I only see people who are alleged perpetrators as 'fair game' to discuss and look into their background. Erin had a different view. Anyone who disagreed with her was automatically 'fair game' and I found the behaviour to be unhinged and alarming.

That sounds like someone who could build up rage and resentment against someone who didn't agree with her opinions or she couldn't control. Someone who could be a dangerous person to know even...

 

[drsleuth]

15:54

Jury told to ignore key evidence of Simon​

Mr Mandy has again told the jury about inconsistent evidence from Simon regarding the health of his wife's lunch guests.
The defence barrister questioned if Simon told Patterson everyone was unwell on the Sunday.
'Did he tell her about all four, or just two?' he said.
'If only two were unwell it could have just been gastro.'
Mr Mandy said Simon claimed he told Patterson everyone was sick.
Mr Mandy said he asked Simon that question again and was told 'I think that's what I told her'.
Simon also then admitted it was possible he didn't tell Patterson about all four guests being sick.
Mr Mandy said it's an important issue and the jury should not find Simon said 'it was all four'.
'He only told me about Don and Gail,' Mr Mandy reminded the jury what Patterson said.
'Dr Rogers put Simon's 'four guests line' to Patterson five times,' Mr Mandy said
'Without putting the full picture.'
The trial has concluded for the day and Daily Mail Australia's live coverage will resume from 8am local time on Wednesday, June 18.

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates

Follow Daily Mail Australia's live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson's murder trial here.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Megnut]

ago15.41 AEST
Mandy tells the jury the prosecution’s theory of Patterson making individual beef wellingtons fails if they cannot prove a non-poisoned pasty exists.

He says the prosecution’s case means Patterson would have eaten all of her beef wellington otherwise there would have been non-poisoned beef wellingtons in her bin.

Patterson previously told the court that she did not eat all of her beef wellington and the remnants were in the bin outside her home.

“If her portions were in the bin then her portions were poisoned,” Mandy says.

Erin Patterson mushroom trial day 33 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

Huh? Which side is he on?????

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago06.57 BST
Mandy says Patterson spoke to many people after the lunch. He says it’s “likely” Patterson was “being consistent” when she gave accounts to people including child protection workers and medical staff.

He says witnesses had different “emphases” in questions they were asking her.

Erin Patterson mushroom trial day 33 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

I think that consistency argument is pretty weak when one considers how often on the stand EP chopped and changed her own story and basically disputed just about everyone else's evidence

 

[Detechtive]

Erin must have been 'confident there was no poison' to direct police to leftovers in bin​

Mr Mandy refuted the prosecution’s claim that Erin had been “forced” to tell police where the leftovers were.
He said she directed them to the bin “without hesitation”.
“Pointing out where to find the leftovers, without hesitation, must mean almost certainly that she did not know at the time they were poisoned,” he said.
“She must have been confident that there was no poison in them to do that.
“The inference you can draw is that she genuinely believed there was no death caps inside the leftovers.”
Mr Mandy said the Crown’s case that she ate her whole portion of beef wellington, which she disputes, is concocted to suit their theory that she is guilty.
They claimed she ate an unpoisoned portion and must have consumed the whole thing so that there would be no uncontaminated leftovers in the bin for police to find.
“There is not an iota of evidence that Erin ate all of hers. Not a whisper of evidence. This is an example of the prosecution making up a theory,” he said.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-closing-addresses-continue-in-mushroom-cook-case/live-coverage/2d6e483591ad308c611f94b4f9620a47#/entry/32266498

 

[drsleuth]

15:54

Jury told to ignore key evidence of Simon​

Simon also then admitted it was possible he didn't tell Patterson about all four guests being sick.

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates

Follow Daily Mail Australia's live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson's murder trial here.

www.dailymail.co.uk

1m ago06.57 BST
Mandy says Patterson spoke to many people after the lunch. He says it’s “likely” Patterson was “being consistent” when she gave accounts to people including child protection workers and medical staff.

Erin Patterson mushroom trial day 33 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

BBM : So when Simon says something is possible , it's taken as he could have been wrong.

But when Erin wants to prove something than it's likely that she is right.

Righto Mr Mandy, gotcha!

 

[Megnut]

3.39pm

Big house, beautiful garden and a good place: Defence paints a picture of a woman content with her life​

By​

Inside courtroom four in Morwell, Erin Patterson, on trial for murder, looks teary in the dock as her defence barrister explains what she has to lose.

Colin Mandy, SC, maintains she never intended to kill anyone. He starts to paint a picture of his client as a woman content and looking to the future in 2023.

Losing his voice, he returns the jury to the dynamic between his client and her estranged husband. Even after they separated, he said, Patterson and Simon continued to treat their assets as joint assets. He added that the closeness between Patterson and Don and Gail and her children continued.

There was no doubt, he said, that Don and Gail Patterson had a great relationship with their grandchildren, and that Patterson was a devoted mother to her children.

Erin Patterson, her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson (bottom right), and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson (top right).Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong

“[In 2023] Erin was in a good place. She had a big beautiful house. She had just landscaped the garden,” Mandy said.

He said that at the time Patterson had her children with her, she was looking forward to returning to studying.
“All things considered, she was in a good place,” Mandy said.

“In that context ... it is most unlikely she would have planned to murder people, especially if it’s inevitable it would be discovered.”

Mandy said that it was, according to the crown, a “carefully planned event, this lunch”.

“They weren’t ever clear about this but some of the arguments that they made were that this was some woman that had been thinking about this event, this lunch and planning it for months, at least since she bought the dehydrator and possibly visited Loch on the same day, that’s the theory,” Mandy said.

Mandy said it was inevitable that the focus would have been on the cook very, very quickly.

“Investigation was inevitable given how unwell these people were. And that’s exactly what happened. It was a certainty,” Mandy said.

Mandy said that Patterson invited her guests to her house so that everyone else knew that they were coming to the house.

“It wasn’t a secret,” he said. “All invited well in advance. All of them discussed the invitations with others in their family. She decided to feed them all in her own house. She decided to prepare a lavish, complicated meal that took a lot of time and effort. Not just a simple bolognaise ... And that prosecution theory in our submission doesn’t make any sense,” Mandy said.

He said Patterson never intended this to happen and if she had been planning this from April she would have never bought a dehydrator in her own name and details using her card from a local store, take photographs of the dehydrator, take photographs of the mushroom of the dehydrator, share the photos online, and then wait for so long after the meal before getting rid of the dehydrator.

“Erin Patterson did the opposite of all these things... because she never planned to kill anyone.″⁣

Erin Patterson murder trial day 33 as it happened: Accused mushroom cook lied to authorities and in witness box, prosecutor says in concluding argument; defence argues no intent, panic explains actions

Inside courtroom four in Morwell, Patterson, on trial for murder, listened intently as prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, concluded her closing argument, and defence barrister Colin Mandy, SC, commenced his.

www.theage.com.au

Bbm

Lavish, complicated meal? Time and effort?

With discount beef, store bought gravy, penny mushrooms...

Lord, she skipped half the steps! Skipped half the ingredients!

Unless he means the time she took to gather (forage) and prepare (dehydrate) exotic (wild) mushrooms (mushrooming) and for no reasonable reason powder them and add them to individual BWs, following no recipe known to man, woman or child, back through all of eternity.

jmo