VERDICT WATCH Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #16 *Arrest*

[imstilla.grandma]

The allegedly incriminating conduct includes:

1) She lied about being unwell and faked death cap mushroom poisoning;

2) She lied that she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery;

3) She refused treatment on her first presentation at Leongatha Hospital and discharged herself against medical advice;

4) She was reluctant to accept treatment for herself on her second presentation at Leongatha Hospital;

5) She was reluctant to obtain medical treatment for her children on July 31;

6) She lied that she had fed her children the leftover beef wellingtons with the mushrooms and pastry scrapped off;

7) She reset Phone B multiple times commencing on August 2;

8) She disposed of the dehydrator at the local tip;

9) On August 5 she provided police Phone B instead of her usual mobile phone which has never been recovered;

10) She lied to police during her record of interview on August 5 that the SIM in Phone B was her usual service;

11) She lied in her record of interview that she’d never foraged for mushrooms;

12) She lied in her record of interview about never using a dehydrator or dehydrating things;

14) She lied in her record of interview about owning a dehydrator;

15) She lied in her record of interview by saying she may have owed a dehydrator years ago.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/erin-patterson-trial-judge-tells-jury-they-must-scrupulously-guard-against-sympathy-for-patterson-and-wilkinson-families/news-story/b7a111a2d517b33aea98460502fe2ac9

 

[Kemug]

And let's not forget the things she maximises:

1 Simon putting his marital status as "separated"
2 How much she loved Simon's family (or was that how much she @#!%@# hated them?)
3 Her "symptoms" of Deathcap poisoning
4 All her "symptoms" of ovarian cancer
5 How much money, time and energy she had put into preparing the very special lunch

Etc, etc.

 

[JBowie]

Judge Beale sure is dragging this process out, IMO.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I wish the prosecution called a rebuttal expert about this! And also about whether vomiting the meal hours post-lunch would have affected the toxicity if Erin had consumed the Death Caps!

Yeh, let's just disregard all of the evidence and let her walk. This judge is unreal.

 

[SouthAussie]

Justice Christopher Beale has moved on to another point of alleged incriminating conduct: the disposal of the dehydrator by accused mushroom cook Erin Patterson.

Patterson told the jury she disposed of the dehydrator because she was scared people would think she was intentionally responsible for the deaths of her lunch guests, and feared her children would be taken away.

She said after being released from hospital, she dropped her kids off at the bus stop on August 1, 2023, before returning home to get the dehydrator and dump it at the local tip.

Beale noted that Simon Patterson, Erin’s estranged husband, told the jury he’d never known her to own a dehydrator.

Once the dehydrator was seized, testing found traces of death cap mushrooms, Beale said.

The judge said the prosecution argued that dumping the dehydrator was one of the accused woman’s four deceptions, part of a sustained cover-up of her alleged crimes.

The defence argued this made no sense as their client did not dispose of the dehydrator when she dehydrated the mushrooms – instead, she broadcast the fact that she had one to her Facebook friends.

Erin Patterson murder trial day 40 LIVE: Jury begins its deliberations after judge finishes instructions; verdict must be unanimous

The jury in the trial of Erin Patterson, accused of murdering three people with a poisonous mushroom meal, is now deliberating its verdict.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MrJ]

Like surely common sense dictates that if death cap mushrooms make the entire dish toxic then you'd make another version or feed your kids a completely different meal. It is speculation without evidence but like. It's obvious to me

 

[SouthAussie]

Depending on conflicting time zones? What does that mean? That the phone had been moved by the police to a different time zone before Erin wiped it again?


"The focus turns to a phone known to the trial as Phone B.

The jury is reminded of evidence about a police search of Ms Patterson's home, after which she gave a mobile phone to police.

Ms Patterson had been allowed to use her phone unobserved during part of the search, the judge reminds the jury.

Justice Beale talks about a factory reset of the phone that took place either during the search, when it was in Ms Patterson's possession, or after it was seized by police, depending on conflicting time zones."

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[SouthAussie]

Justice Beale spends some time on mobile phone records that the jury has already seen.

Members of the jury are directed to some photographs from the searches of Ms Patterson's home, showing items in various places.

He says it's a matter for the jury to decide whether some of these items show a phone or something else.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Kemug]

10:43

Jury told when they will be sequestered​

Justice Christopher Beale has told the jury he will finish his charge on Monday afternoon and then two jury members will be balloted out.

RSBM
Are you absolutely sure he isn't reading "War and Peace"?

 

[SouthAussie]

Justice Beale moves on to factory resets Erin Patterson agreed she carried out on Phone B. She said one was done by her son.

Ms Patterson has previously said she reset the phone again because she knew there were photos of mushrooms and the dehydrator on it. Her defence team said she panicked and didn't want investigators to see them.

Erin Patterson gave evidence that she didn't know where Phone A was when police conducted a search of her home.

She told the jury Phone A went into a skip bin, which is something she occasionally did.

She also mentioned feeling puzzled when she noticed Phone A hadn't been seized during the police search of her home.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Eloise]

I tried to find info on the balloting but couldn't. How does it work?

 

[SouthAussie]

Meanwhile, Justice Beale reminds the jury, the defence questioned why would Erin Patterson would go to all that trouble.

Defence lawyer Colin Mandy SC said if his client was a murderer who wanted to conceal all the evidence, why didn't she just do a factory reset of Phone A?

He argued that Ms Patterson did not know police were going to search her home on August 5, and that the phone would have been "long gone" if the prosecution's case was accurate.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[JBowie]

I tried to find info on the balloting but couldn't. How does it work?

Some form of drawing numbers out of a hat, is my guess.

Either 2 are drawn for elimination, or 12 are drawn for inclusion.

 

[SouthAussie]

I tried to find info on the balloting but couldn't. How does it work?

There's a piece here by the Vic Law Reform Commission.


Ballot cards with the name and number and occupation of each prospective juror are generated from this list. The ballot cards for the jury pool are placed in the ballot box in the jury pool room.

...... a jury pool supervisor randomly selects the required number of ballot cards from the ballot box to form a jury panel.

2. Jury trials in Victoria - Victorian Law Reform Commission

Introduction 2.1 This chapter provides information about jury trials in Victoria as contextual information to the three jury empanelment processes that are the subject of the terms of reference. 2.2 First, there is a brief discussion of the purpose of jury trials and the key principles of...

www.lawreform.vic.gov.au

 

[SouthAussie]

Court adjourns for the day​

Justice Beale tells the jury he has one more topic to cover in relation to alleged incriminating conduct.

He says when the jury returns tomorrow, he'll address Erin Patterson's alleged lies about being unwell.

The jury is then sent out and court is adjourned until tomorrow.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[dothetime]

Trying to think of any good consequences of this whole mushroom saga, especially if EP is not found guilty:

SP is now able to see his wife's character in a clearer light;

people will be better informed about death cap mushrooms; and

people will be more alert in regards to chronic lying being a thing.

Any other good consequences . . . ?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

PROSECUTION

The prosecution, lead by Nanette Rogers, spent a month laying out its case against Erin Patterson.

Rogers told the court that the accused had foraged for the death caps, dried them and measured out a “fatal dose” on her kitchen scales before adding them to her guests’ Beef Wellingtons, ensuring her own food was untainted.

It was all part of a “sinister deception”, Rogers argued, saying Patterson had lied to police when asked whether she had ever foraged for mushrooms or owned a food dehydrator, which was later found in a landfill site and contained traces of death caps.

Dozens of witnesses, including relatives and forensic, medical and mushroom experts, gave evidence for the prosecution.

Among them was Simon Patterson, who told of the couple’s strained relationship in the months before the fatal lunch.

Ian Wilkinson also gave evidence, telling the court the accused had served her own meal on a different coloured plate.

DEFENCE

Erin Patterson’s defence, led by barrister Colin Mandy, did not dispute there were death caps in the meal or that she had lied to police about key details such as foraging for mushrooms.

But Mandy told the court the deaths were a “terrible accident” and that while the accused might have had “spats and disagreements and frustrations” in her relationship with her estranged husband she had no reason to kill her lunch guests.

Erin Patterson gave evidence in her own defence and spent eight days in the witness box including five days of cross-examination by Rogers.

She was the only witness for the defence.

https://kfgo.com/2025/06/25/factbox-key-facts-in-australias-mushroom-murder-trial/

 

[JBowie]

There's a piece here by the Vic Law Reform Commission.


Ballot cards with the name and number and occupation of each prospective juror are generated from this list. The ballot cards for the jury pool are placed in the ballot box in the jury pool room.

...... a jury pool supervisor randomly selects the required number of ballot cards from the ballot box to form a jury panel.

2. Jury trials in Victoria - Victorian Law Reform Commission

Introduction 2.1 This chapter provides information about jury trials in Victoria as contextual information to the three jury empanelment processes that are the subject of the terms of reference. 2.2 First, there is a brief discussion of the purpose of jury trials and the key principles of...

www.lawreform.vic.gov.au

That appears to be the process for empanneling a jury at the outset of the trial.

I cannot find any description for what is termed the 'balloting-off' process to deal with subsequent jury reduction.

 

[SouthAussie]

That appears to be the process for empanneling a jury at the outset of the trial.

I cannot find any description for what is termed the 'balloting-off' process to deal with subsequent jury reduction.

I imagine it will be the same. The 14 jurors ballot cards go into the ballot box, the admin person draws out 12 and they form the jury.

imo

 

[Old Soul]

I tried to find info on the balloting but couldn't. How does it work

I imagine it will be the same. The 14 jurors ballot cards go into the ballot box, the admin person draws out 12 and they form the jury.

imo

Maybe those that are still awake, after Justice Beale finishes his directions, will form the jury