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

[drsleuth]

Judge addresses lies in Patterson’s police interview​

Justice Christopher Beale has taken the jury to the prosecution’s alleged incriminating conduct relating to Patterson lying in her police interview.

Patterson lied to police about having ever foraged, that she knew about a dehydrator, or that she had ever dehydrated foods.

Justice Beale said Patterson had admitted to those lies and said she did so because she felt police would immediately suspect she had poisoned her guests intetionally.

Justice Beale said the prosecution allege Patterson told repeated lies that were not told in the heat of the moment.

He noted the defence said Patterson claims Simon made an accusation about the dehydrator, which was the turning point when the mother-of-two began to panic.

Judge discusses Patterson allegedly faking death cap poisoning​

Justice Beale has turned to the prosecution’s allegation Patterson faked that she had been poisoned by death cap mushrooms.

He recapped evidence by Patterson’s son who gave evidence that he went downstairs the morning after the lunch and saw his mother drinking coffee and she told him she was sick and had made multiple trips to the toilet overnight.

The boy also gave evidence about their drive to Tyabb later that day and their dinner that evening.

Justice Beale said Patterson’s daughter and her son’s friend also gave evidence about the events of that weekend.

Justice Beale then recapped testimony from Simon, medical staff, public health officer Sally Ann Atkinson, and Tanya Patterson who all gave evidence about Patterson’s reported symptoms and presentation.

Justice Beale also noted toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos gave evidence about the various factors that can contribute to varying symptomology in death cap poisoning patients.

Justice Beale said Gerostamoulos told the court if two people with no prior health issues ate the same portion of the same death-cap laced meal and one died but the other survived, the survivor would be expected to have suffered adverse health impacts.

He then recapped Patterson’s testimony regarding the aftermath of the lunch, including claims her son actually saw her drinking herbal tea, not coffee, that she relieved her diarrhoea in bushland on the drive to Tyabb, and about her visits to hospital.

Justice Beale said the prosecution argued Patterson couldn’t keep her story straight about when her diarrhoea began and that it seemed unlikely she would be driving around if she had the symptom.

The prosecution also argued Patterson’s phone activity suggests she did not go straight home after leaving Leongatha Hospital.

Justice Beale noted the prosecution said doctors concluded Patterson had not suffered from death cap mushroom poisoning and her experience was starkly different to the symptoms of her lunch guests.

Justice Beale then ran through the defence’s arguments - including that Patterson’s accounts of the events were consistent in every meaningful way and that the distribution of the poison throughout the meal could have been uneven.

The defence also said it was common sense Patterson’ would not have had as severe symptoms as she vomited after the meal and weighed around 100kg at the time.

‘If you find the accused has lied, you can use it to determine whether she lied about other things’: Judge instructs the jury on how to assess alleged incriminating conduct​

Justice Beale has instructed the jury on how they can use the alleged incriminating conduct instances while deliberating.

Justice Beale said if the jury accept the accused has lied, they can use that to determine whether she has lied about other things.

“

Justice Beale warned

can assess a lie to determine that she committed the offence if they find the only reason for lying was because knew she had committed the offences.

However, he said they would still need to consider all of the evidence when deciding whether the prosecution had proved her guilty without a reasonable doubt.

Technological issue brings hearing to an early close​

Justice Beale told the jury the next topic, after alleged incriminating conduct, would be “credit lies”.

He referenced a comment Patterson previously made to police, about how she was “very very helpful” to the Victoria Health Department.

However, at the point, as he attempted to pull up files on his computer, he experienced a technical glitch.

He said he would finish on that note and resume next week.

Jury told what to expect next week​

Justice Beale told the jury he expects his charge to be finished by lunch time on Monday.

He said the remainder of his charge will focus of evidence and arguments that have not already been discussed.

He said he still has a bit to go to finish off the first part of his charge, but “we have broken the back of it”.

Jury cautioned as they break for the weekend​

Justice Beale has urged the jury to be vigilant as the trial reaches a crucial point.

“Now ladies and gentlemen, don’t let anybody get in your ear over the weekend. Only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room,” he said.

“Have a media blackout. You have been doing a great job. Keep going.

“Have a good weekend and come back refreshed.

“See you on Monday.”

Judge delivers final speech to jury in Erin Patterson mushroom trial

The mother-of-two is on trial, accused of killing her three in-laws with poisonous death cap mushrooms.

7news.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

11.16am

Judge’s charge to jury enters its fourth day​

By​

Welcome to our coverage of day 39 of the triple-murder trial of accused mushroom cook Erin Patterson in Morwell, where Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale is continuing his directions to the jury.

In a criminal trial, the judge’s directions to a jury – known as a charge – are their final instructions about what jurors need to consider when deliberating their verdict. The judge will also summarise the main arguments of the defence and prosecution teams, and highlight key evidence from the trial.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington lunch at her Leongatha home on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

Her in-laws and Wilkinson died in the days after the meal from the effects of mushroom poisoning. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks in hospital.

Erin Patterson has also pleaded not guilty to one charge of attempted murder. She says the deaths were a terrible accident.

Beale began instructing the jury on Tuesday, when he said his charge would comprise three parts: directions regarding the principles of law; the evidence and arguments made by the prosecution and defence; and directions regarding the requirement that the jury’s verdict must be unanimous.

There are 14 jurors listening to Beale’s charge, so at the end of his instructions, the number of jurors will be reduced to 12 using a ballot system. The panel of 12 will then deliberate their verdict.

1.04pm

How the jury can consider whether Patterson lied about being unwell​

By​

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale is instructing the jury about incriminating conduct, relating to the prosecution’s allegation that accused killer Erin Patterson lied about being unwell and faked having death cap mushroom poisoning.

Beale summarised the evidence of Patterson’s son, in which the boy recalled his mother telling him she was unwell on the Sunday morning after the beef Wellington lunch on Saturday, July 29, 2023, and that they might be unable to go to church because of her diarrhoea.

The accused, Beale said, told the jury her diarrhoea was regular and she had to “poo on the side of the road” while driving back to her Leongatha home from her son’s flying lesson in Tyabb, after it was cancelled on the Sunday.

In her evidence, Patterson said she put soiled tissues in a dog bag and later dropped them in the bathroom at the BP service station in Caldermeade on her way home from Tyabb.

When Patterson arrived at Leongatha Hospital for the second time on Monday, July 31 and was admitted, nurse Mairim Cespon, in her evidence, told the jury about four apparent “poos” the accused did there between 10am and 10.15am.

Cespon told the jury that Patterson commented that the first one looked like urine but was a bowel motion, and the others were described as medium or liquid, as the accused appeared distressed and emotional with a cramping pain that she scored seven out of 10.

Beale told the jury the prosecution argued Patterson was never sick and faked her illness “otherwise it’d give her away”, and that her accounts of illness varied when speaking to others.

The lunch guests were also in advanced organ failure by August 4, 2023, prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, told the jury in her closing address last week.

Patterson’s defence team argued that she was unwell, that her medical test results supported her account, and that her account of her symptoms was consistent throughout.

Beale, in his charge to the jury, said incriminating conduct included alleged lies and deliberate untruths.

He said there were two ways the jury could use these, and that the law says they can use lies to help assess an accused person’s credibility.

“That is not to say just because you find that the accused lied about one matter, you must also find that she’s been lying about everything else,” the judge told the jury.

“But you can use the fact that she did, if you find that you did, to help you determine the truthfulness of the other things that she has said.

“It’s one factor to take into account. It’s for you to decide what significance to give those suggested lies.”

Beale said another way this topic could be used by the jurors was as admissions of guilt.

“You may only use evidence that Erin Patterson lied in this way if you find that she did tell a deliberate untruth, and the only reasonable explanation for doing so is that she believed that she had committed the charged offences,” Beale said.

“However, I must warn you that even if you find that the accused believed that she committed the offences charged, you must consider all the evidence when deciding whether the prosecution has proved the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

Pinned post from 1.13pm

‘Don’t let anyone get in your ear’: Judge sends jury home for weekend​

By​

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale has finished instructing the jury for the day and will resume his charge next week.

He told the jury he expects to finish his charge before lunchtime on Monday.

“Don’t let anyone get in your ear this weekend,” Beale told the jurors before sending them home.

“Only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the jury room. You’ve been doing a great job, keep going. See you on Monday.”

The jury will begin deliberating once Beale finishes his charge.

Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington lunch at her Leongatha home on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

Her in-laws and Wilkinson died in the days after the meal from the effects of mushroom poisoning. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks in hospital.

Patterson has also pleaded not guilty to one charge of attempted murder. She says the deaths were a terrible accident.

Our live coverage of the trial will resume on Monday.

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

 

[JBowie]

He told the jury he expects to finish his charge before lunchtime on Monday.

Alleluia!

 

[Spectrix]

Don’t forget you are reading summaries of points in media. When I listened to “Nights with Ping” podcast he actually read what Judge was saying word for word - it came over quite differently.

To have the judge's directions read word for word, the podcast would need to be 5 or 6 hours long.

 

[drsleuth]

To have the judge's directions read word for word, the podcast would need to be 5 or 6 hours long.

I think what Ping reads is verbatim. Not that he reads every word the Judge or what ever is said in court everyday, just the sections he reads out.

I found it beneficial as it gives more content than what some MSM is reporting.

He is a few days behind thou

 

[jesse]

Are the judge's directions affecting anyone here's opinion, having now heard the allowable evidence? Doesn't seem so.

I guess they are saying it is the same with a jury. If a judge gives their directions at the end of the trial, as opposed to at the beginning.

imo

If I were on a jury, it would.

 

[Camp Chair 2.0]

The jury is again being reminded about Patterson’s ‘bush poo’.

She claimed to have taken a dump in scrub on the side of the road on the way home from Tyabb.

Justice Beale reminded the jury of the nine-second footage Patterson made at the BP Caldermeade toilet where she claimed she dumped a doggy bag of her bush poo.

Patterson claimed to have later eaten a bowl of cereal and said she went to bed about 10-11pm and felt sick about 1-2am.

The jury heard Patterson claimed water was ‘going straight through her’.
Patterson, under evidence, said she didn’t agree with some of what her son told police.

The jury previously heard the son said he couldn’t recall her mum stopping for a bush poo.

Patterson also claimed she was ‘worried about pooing her pants’.

On the Saturday evening immediately after the lunch Patterson said she drove her son’s friend home but stayed in the car because it acted ‘like a cork’ to stop her from pooing herself

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

Some eloquent journalism there by the DM.

 

[drsleuth]

Ping also posts on X ( Twitter ) for anyone interested

https://x.com/NightsWithPing

 

[Monstradamus]

yes, my friend who is a chef said to me there was no way that those children were fed the "reheated" meat innards - it would have been a rock. I wish we could see the receipt and see if it said how many actual fillet steaks she bought - and whether it actually quantified them.
We decided she had left over raw meat and cooked that up for the kids, thus "the best steak" her son had ever had.
And some other observations.... buying presliced mushrooms for a special meal - you just don't - you buy the whole mushrooms - they are guaranteed to be fresher. She also used i am pretty sure pre cut and stripped beans and gravy mix.... lazy or what - its not THAT special - plus filo pastry as a substitute for prosciutto - that ain't an appropriate substitute two layers of pastry? crazy

She bought 5 x twin pack eye fillets, so a total of 10. EP testified she used 6 for BWs, and put the other 4 steaks in the freezer.
I believe when she referred to "leftovers" she meant "leftover ingredients " and cooked the remaining steaks Sun night for the kids, IMO.

 

[LinasK]

She bought 5 x twin pack eye fillets, so a total of 10. EP testified she used 6 for BWs, and put the other 4 steaks in the freezer.
I believe when she referred to "leftovers" she meant "leftover ingredients " and cooked the remaining steaks Sun night for the kids, IMO.

I think so too. She's being purposefully ambiguous in her answers IMO to imply that the children were fed Beef Wellington, so that it had to be safe- and they didn't get ill...

 

[Scuffy35]

She bought 5 x twin pack eye fillets, so a total of 10. EP testified she used 6 for BWs, and put the other 4 steaks in the freezer.
I believe when she referred to "leftovers" she meant "leftover ingredients " and cooked the remaining steaks Sun night for the kids, IMO.

The leftover ingredients already had mushroom duxelles on them that needed to be scrapped off? I find that hard to believe.

 

[LinasK]

The leftover ingredients already had mushroom duxelles on them that needed to be scrapped off? I find that hard to beleive.

If that were true, the meat would have been contaminated from the Death Caps, and the children would have gotten ill, therefore they had to have eaten non-poisoned meat.

 

[Scuffy35]

If that were true, the meat would have been contaminated from the Death Caps, and the children would have gotten ill, therefore they had to have eaten non-poisoned meat.

That is what Erin maintains as her story though. I know what she says she did and what she actually did are two entirely different things.

Now we have the judge adding legitimacy to the story of scraping off the mushrooms to feed to the children as there was no expert witness to confirm that there would be cross contamination.
Common sense though would tell you that of course there would be cross contamination.

 

[Spectrix]

I wondered about the even distribution thing as well. We heard about the blitzing to go into the children’s brownies. Did we actually hear how the dried mushrooms that were dried and then redried were mixed in? Chopped or blitzed? It’s pretty bamboozling to keep track of all this evidence.

Erin stated that she tipped a little hot water over the dried mushrooms and then added them into the duxelle with a spatula.
We know that's untrue because under a microscope, the only mushroom flesh visible was regular button mushroom. She had to have powdered them first.

 

[You'reNicked]

I find it difficult to believe that someone (Erin) who lied so frequently wants us to believe that all the other witnesses were either lying or had faulty memories.

I find it difficult to believe that someone (Erin) who can remember what day of the week a particular date fell on, could not remember which grocery store she (supposedly) purchased mushrooms from.

I find it difficult to believe that someone (Erin), who told one of the witnesses that she might be changing her phone number due to being security conscious, would give the police a phone which was not secured by a PIN.

I find a person who said she wanted to see if the police were 'silly enough' to have left the seized Phone connected to the internet, and then proceeded to perform a remote factory reset of such phone, to be both arrogant and brazen.

Furthermore, I find the fact that she searched for deathcap mushrooms online and then, moments later, proceeded to order a nourishing and healthy meal for herself and her children, quite creepy.

And the judge...I've been a juror on two, admittedly much shorter trials, but in neither case did the judge go through the particular pieces of evidence piece by piece, saying why the jury should discount them. To my eye, it's almost as if he has become part of the defense team. And five days of 'giving instructions' - is this a Guinness World Record?

As a common citizen, I find the judge's behaviour rather disturbing.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Erin Patterson trial: Judge tells jury alleged mushroom poisoner admitted lies​

The judge overseeing Erin Patterson’s murder trial has told the jury prosecutors allege she faked being sick with death cap mushroom poisoning to avoid suspicion.

Prosecutors allege Erin Patterson faked being sick in an effort to avoid suspicion after the illnesses of her husband’s family members, the judge overseeing her triple murder trial has told the jury.
Continuing his summing up of the arguments and evidence in the case, Justice Christopher Beale turned to the final piece of alleged incriminating conduct prosecutors argue can only be reasonably explained by Ms Patterson holding the belief she was guilty of the charged offences.

This was Ms Patterson allegedly lying about being unwell and faking death cap mushroom poisoning.

Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty. Picture: Supplied
Justice Beale said Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC had argued not a single medical witness observed her to be unwell and asked them to compare that to the experience of the lunch guests.

Dr Rogers, he said, argued when Ms Patterson was discharged with no evidence of death cap poisoning on August 1 each of the guests were on life support in an advanced state of organ failure.

The judge said prosecutors argue there was no medical evidence to support vomiting that would prevent serious illness and she had not told a single doctor about this claim.

“She was not sick with death cap mushroom poisoning, she was lying about it,” he summarised.

Defence, Justice Beale said, had questioned if it was possible for people to share the same meal and have different outcomes.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC, he told the jury, had argued there was no evidence to answer that question.

The accused account is consistent in every meaningful way,” the judge said Mr Mandy argued.

Justice Beale said defence argued she was not faking illness and pointed to her low potassium, elevated haemoglobin and elevated fibrinogen.

“You can’t fake that,” he said Mr Mandy argued.

Erin Patterson’s defence team of Sophie Stafford and Colin Mandy SC. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele
Justice Beale said jurors could use alleged incriminating conduct to assess Ms Patterson’s credibility or as an implied admission of guilt.

But he directed the jury they could only use the alleged conduct in that way if it was the only reasonable explanation.

“Even if you think the conduct makes the accused look guilty, that does not mean the accused is guilty,” Justice Beale said.

Jurors were sent home shortly before 1pm after Justice Beale reaffirmed he would complete his final address on Monday before lunchtime.

“Ladies and gentlemen don’t let anybody get in your ear over this weekend, only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the jury room,” he said.

“You’ve been doing a great job, see you on Monday.”

Lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson and members of his family were spotted getting a coffee before court. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele
Ms Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she hosted on July 29, 2023, with members of her estranged husband’s family.

Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, died from death cap mushroom poisoning in the week following the lunch.

Ms Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, also fell critically ill but recovered after about a month and a half in hospital.

Prosecutors allege Ms Patterson intentionally sourced and included death cap mushrooms in the lunch intending to kill or seriously injure her guests.

Her defence argues that she did not intend to harm anyone, and the case is a tragic accident.

Ms Patterson and Simon Patterson remain married. Picture: NewsWire
Mushroom cook admitted to lies: court

Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson has admitted she told a series of lies to police, the judge overseeing the trial has told the jury.

Continuing his summing up of the arguments and evidence in the case, Justice Christopher Beale turned to Ms Patterson’s lies during her record of interview with police on August 5, 2023.

These were; she lied about never foraging for mushrooms, she lied about not owning a dehydrator, she lied about never dehydrating foods and lied by saying she may have owned a dehydrator years ago.

In the witness box, the judge said Ms Patterson had admitted these lies but explained that she “probably knew” police would immediately suspect her in the poisoning event.

“She said it was a stupid knee-jerk reaction to dig deeper and she was scared,” Justice Beale said.

Don and Gail Patterson died a day apart in early August. Picture: Supplied.
Justice Beale told jurors that prosecutors had argued these could be used as incriminating conduct or implied admissions of guilt.

The judge said Ms Patterson’s defence had referenced an alleged conversation with her husband on August 1 where he accused her of poisoning his parents.

Simon Patterson denies this occurred.

Justice Beale said defence barrister Colin Mandy SC argued this alleged conversation was a “turning point” where Ms Patterson began panicking, fearing she would be wrongly blamed.

“Its not incrimination conduct, she starts panicking, she starts lying,” he said Mr Mandy argued.

On Thursday, Justice Beale advised jurors they would be sent out to deliberate a verdict following the conclusion of his address on Monday next week.

The trial continues.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Justice Beale gives detail about the last parts of his directions​

Before the end of Friday's proceedings, Justice Beale gave some information about what will be included in the final parts of his directions.

"I will be focusing on evidence and arguments that haven’t featured in the first part of the charge," he said.

He said the second part of his directions will continue to address "issues in this case, and the evidence and arguments that bear upon those issues".

Justice Beale then said the third part will be "mercifully brief".


Directions will resume on Monday

Justice Beale tells the jury he expects to finish his directions on Monday, when he'll deal with the issues they have to decide in the case.

"Don’t let anybody get in your ear over the weekend," he tells the jurors.

"Only discuss this case with your fellow jurors in the privacy of the jury room."

The jury is then sent out for the weekend.

 

[Kemug]

He warns them not to reason that just because she lied, she must be guilty.

RSBM
It seems he is reluctant to credit anyone with any common sense. Or life experience.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Being in prison suits EP, she looks well. She should probably just stay there anyway. Some people are well suited to being locked up IMO.

JMO MOO

 

[seekingjustice**]

"One study has even shown that a judge’s instructions may only have an effect on the jury’s decision when delivered at the commencement of the trial.
It is suggested that this is because jurors will usually have already assessed the evidence by the time the judge delivers his or her final charge, and will not be able to retrospectively evaluate and judge the evidence in accordance with instructions which are first given at that late stage"

Bench Book Criminal Charge Book - - Judicial College of Victoria

I also noticed this instruction in the Criminal Charge Book:
When summing up, the judge must:

1. Explain only so much of the law as is necessary for the jury to determine the issues in the trial;
2. Refer to the way the parties have put their cases in relation to the issues, but need not summarise the closing addresses;
3. Identify so much of the evidence as he or she considers necessary to assist the jury determine the issues in the trial, but need not give a summary of the evidence (Jury Directions Act 2015 s 65).
   

   Criminal Charge Book - BarNet Jade

   resources.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au