Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #7 *Arrest*

[drsleuth]

3.47pm

From atheist to regular church attendee: Simon speaks of estranged wife’s faith​

​

Twice during his cross-examination, Simon Patterson has been questioned about his estranged wife’s faith.

Earlier today, Colin Mandy, SC, asked Simon about the start of his friendship with Erin, when they both worked for Monash City Council, and about a trip to the Korrumburra Baptist Church with other friends.



Simon said that when he met Erin, she was an atheist, but she had been moved by the communion part of the service at the church and had to step outside.

In courtroom 4 of the Latrobe Valley justice precinct in Morwell, Simon was just asked about her faith again. “She was influenced by a few factors, including, I guess, my involvement in her life,” Simon told the jury.

“It’s really God’s leading that makes us Christians or not, if that’s what you’re asking. But yeah, she did become a regular church attender.″⁣

She also attended Bible study lessons, he said.

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago15.57 AEST
Mandy is asking Simon about Erin’s crockery at her Leongatha home.

Simon says Erin had a “mixture of plates”.

“It’s not that they were all different to each other... she had a bunch of ceramic plates, generally, that weren’t all the same. There were a few the same as each other,” Simon says.

Mandy asks: “so there’s no set ones?”

Simon says it was a “a mismatched group of plates” with some matching ones in the collection. He recalls one coloured plate in the collection.

Simon agrees Erin had about eight to 10 plates in her house.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago

Defence questions Simon Patterson over crockery​

By Judd Boaz​

Mr Mandy is now pressing Simon Patterson over his statements regarding crockery in Erin Patterson's Leongatha home.

"You were to some extent familiar with the crockery Erin had," Mr Mandy asks.

"When Heather said to you, is it possible that Erin's maybe short of crockery, your response was she doesn't have a lot of crockery, that may well be the reason for the different coloured plate."

"Something along those lines," Mr Patterson responds.

Mr Mandy presses Mr Patterson on the plates in the house, and has him confirm for the court that there was no uniform set of plates in the house.

“Perhaps eight or ten plates in the house?" Mr Mandy asks.

“I guess, yeah, that’s probably fair,” Mr Patterson says.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

3.58pm

Love of learning: Erin had close bond with her father-in-law​

​

Simon Patterson said Erin had a close relationship with his father, Don, and shared a love of science and knowledge.

Both Don and his wife Gail were involved grandparents.

Don Patterson.

“Mum and Dad, when the COVID restrictions started, they started a weekly Saturday morning, I think, they call[ed] it a cousins’ chat, or a cousins’ catch-up, where they go online to, like, Zoom ... to all catch up,” Simon told the jury.

Simon grinned and appeared jovial as he recalled how his father often incorporated rockets into time with the grandchildren.

“Dad loved rockets. There were lots of rocket-based activities,” Simon said.

Over the years, the jury heard, Erin attended many lunches at Don and Gail’s house, including wider family gatherings and smaller get-togethers with her children and their grandparents without Simon.

Simon agreed Erin was a devoted mother to their children and was very keen and supportive for them to be involved in different activities.

3.59pm

The single colourful plate in Erin Patterson’s crockery collection​

By​

Defence counsel Colin Mandy, SC, is now asking Simon Patterson about his estranged wife Erin’s crockery at her home in Gibson Street, Leongatha.

“She had a mixture of plates and it’s not that they’re all different to each other, but she had a bunch of ceramic plates generally that weren’t all the same, but there are a few of the same as each other,” Simon said.

“And then, couple more that was sort of same as each other but different to the first lot, if you know what I mean.”

Mandy: Amongst those plates, there are a number of colourful ones?

Simon: No, there’s only one colourful one.”

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Shortfusepsb]

Entering a toilet at a service station: leaving after 9 seconds.
Was this just for show, in case she was watched, her car movements traced?

Or, did she dispose of something?

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago07.02 BST
Mandy questions Simon about Erin’s weight gain and whether she felt self-conscious about this.

“Do you accept she wasn’t happy with the way she looked?” Mandy asks.

“Erin is not particularly happy with how she is.... probably most aspects. I don’t think she has high self esteem,” Simon replies.

Simon says Erin didn’t explicitly express weight gain as being a cause for low self esteem.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

4.05pm

‘Erin is not particularly happy with how she is’: Simon speaks of estranged wife’s self-esteem​

By​

The cross-examination of Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, included a line of questioning involving the accused murderer’s self-esteem.

When asked about Erin’s self-esteem, particularly after gaining weight over the years, Simon replied that his wife rarely spoke about the topic.

“Erin is not particularly happy with how she is,” Simon said. “I don’t think she has high self-esteem.”

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

Key Event
4m ago

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', estranged husband says​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Mr Mandy puts to Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon that his wife's appearance had changed "over the years" and she was embarrassed about how she looked.

"She didn't really say that too much ... I don't remember her saying that at all," Mr Patterson says.

But he says he doesn't think his estranged wife is "particularly happy with how she is".

"Including probably most aspects, I don't think she has high self-esteem," Mr Patterson says.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrsAddick]

This is an interesting line of questioning. Her choice is religion itself is not relevant IMO, however converting for reasons outside ones’s own beliefs potentially is (say, for example, doing it to please a partner or their family, or to feel less like an outsider and accepted in your community.

I went to Catholic school in Victoria but my family wasn’t religious at all. I recall going to mass and being forced to line up for communion like all the other kids, but told to ‘cross my arms over my chest’ to receive a ‘blessing’ from the priest. It was a visible sign and constant reminder (in front of hundreds of students and our teachers) that I ‘was not one of them’

3.47pm

From atheist to regular church attendee: Simon speaks of estranged wife’s faith​

​

Twice during his cross-examination, Simon Patterson has been questioned about his estranged wife’s faith.

Earlier today, Colin Mandy, SC, asked Simon about the start of his friendship with Erin, when they both worked for Monash City Council, and about a trip to the Korrumburra Baptist Church with other friends.



Simon said that when he met Erin, she was an atheist, but she had been moved by the communion part of the service at the church and had to step outside.

In courtroom 4 of the Latrobe Valley justice precinct in Morwell, Simon was just asked about her faith again. “She was influenced by a few factors, including, I guess, my involvement in her life,” Simon told the jury.

“It’s really God’s leading that makes us Christians or not, if that’s what you’re asking. But yeah, she did become a regular church attender.″⁣

She also attended Bible study lessons, he said.

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

now07.12 BST
Jurors are now being shown messages between Erin and Simon Patterson about child support payments on 21 November 2022.

Using the app Signal, Erin’s message to Simon reads:

FYI I put in child support application so that I can apply for family tax benefit, as I said I was going to do a few weeks back. Their procedure is try to contact you by phone or letter, idk which, to confirm basic details such as you accept you’re the father of the children and agree we’re separated etc. They asked for a date of separation, it’s kind of moot because the assessment doesn’t begin until the date I applied, which is November 18th, but I said September 14h for the sake of having a date. They’ll probably ask you to confirm that so that or information lines up. Just fyi.

Simon replies:

Thanks for the heads up.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kemug]

Entering a toilet at a service station: leaving after 9 seconds.
Was this just for show, in case she was watched, her car movements traced?

Would 9 seconds even be possible?!

 

[drsleuth]

now07.20 BST
Simon agrees child support was assessed at about $40 a month, the court hears.

“It was hardly anything,” he says.

Simon agrees up until this point he had been paying for the children’s school fees.

Mandy asks Simon about child support authorities advising him to stop paying school fees.

Simon tells the court he was advised he would be “double paying” if he paid Erin child support and paid the fees. He says this was before he knew the child support amount would only be $40 a month.

Simon agrees this created some friction between the couple.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

4.17pm

‘Just FYI’: A text message exchange on tax and separation dates​

​

Inside courtroom 4 of the Morwell courthouse, Erin Patterson has placed her glasses on her face, and is closely following a trail of text messages as they’re displayed on a screen

Her lawyer Colin Mandy, SC, is showing messages from the Signal messaging app from November 21, 2022, when Erin was discussing with Simon child support and splitting school fees.

Here are some of the text messages that were shown to the jury:

Erin: FYI I put in child support application so that I can also apply for Family Tax Benefit as I said I was going to do a few weeks back. Their procedure is try to contact you by phone or letter, I don’t know which, to confirm basic details, such as, you accept you’re the father of the children and agree we’re separated etc. They asked for a date of separation, it’s kind of moot because the assessment doesn’t begin until the date I applied, which is November 18, but I said September 14 for the sake of having a date, they’ll probably ask you to confirm that, so that our information lines up, just FYI.

Simon: Thanks for the heads-up.”

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

3m ago

Friction around child support, court hears​

By Judd Boaz​

In the final part of testimony before wrapping up for the day, the defence questioned Mr Patterson about friction arising from child support payments.

Messages between Erin and Simon Patterson were shown discussing an application for family tax benefits.

Mr Patterson told the court he was paying about $40 a month in child support payments, but was to be reassessed on how much he would pay in the future.

He says that although he was previously paying for school fees, he stopped doing so on advice.

Mr Mandy has not finished his questioning regarding the child support, but that will continue tomorrow morning.

The court has now adjourned.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[katydid23]

Here are some tidbits from thread #1 on this case:

Here is video clip of her first public comments.

'I didn't do anything,' she told the media.

'I loved them and I'm devastated that they're gone.'

She then mistakenly confused Don with Ian by expressing her 'hope' that 'Don pulls through'.

Erin spoke for a couple of minutes but did not answer questions about where the mushrooms came from, who picked them or what meal she made for her guests.

'I'm so devastated by what's happened,' she said as she wiped away a tear.

She described the two couples as 'some of the best people I've ever met'.

Erin broke down as she explained that Gail was like a mother to her after her own mother had died.

'Gail was like the mum I didn't have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail had never been anything but good and kind to me,' she said.

'Ian and Heather were some of the best people I'd ever met. They never did anything wrong to me.

Woman who cooked up poisonous mushrooms denies she did anything wrong

A woman who cooked a meal with poisonous mushrooms that resulted in the deaths of three people has tearfully denied she did anything wrong.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[SouthAussie]

Does anyone know whether Erin has supporters at the trial?

She appears to be very isolated.

Since the investigation began, I have not heard a single character referee speak in her support.

I think she is quite isolated. She has one sister. No parents. As SP said, she was never one for having people over to their place when they were together so maybe few or no friendships.

SP's parents - who she had a relationship with - are now dead. And goodness knows how her children feel about her ... she has been locked up for a long time, and they might be living with their dad. With all of their grandparents dead now, too.

 

[SouthAussie]

During this part of his testimony, Erin Patterson's focus is fixed on her estranged husband, but she is showing no emotion.

Probably would like him to feel the heat of her stare. imo

I get the feeling that she ran the roost, her choice to leave him multiple times, him taking her back, she had the power and the money ... then one day SP chose not to participate in those games any more.

 

[Detechtive]

So wait, she is backdating the application to get a Family Tax Benefit back payment?
I believe you can get a 3 month back payment?

I find the financial motives compelling, despite what Simon says about that they both weren't very interested in money.

Here she is with millions in assets, she buys homes for herself and the kids with each inheritance and leaves him, and squabbles about child support and school fees. I find it hard to accept she wasn't interested in money, especially being an accountant. All of the accounts I know are very thrifty and they hide money in assets and do other things to avoid paying tax such as reducing their taxable income
.

 

[MrsAddick]

3.58pm

Love of learning: Erin had close bond with her father-in-law​

​

Simon Patterson said Erin had a close relationship with his father, Don, and shared a love of science and knowledge.

Both Don and his wife Gail were involved grandparents.

Don Patterson.

“Mum and Dad, when the COVID restrictions started, they started a weekly Saturday morning, I think, they call[ed] it a cousins’ chat, or a cousins’ catch-up, where they go online to, like, Zoom ... to all catch up,” Simon told the jury.

Simon grinned and appeared jovial as he recalled how his father often incorporated rockets into time with the grandchildren.

“Dad loved rockets. There were lots of rocket-based activities,” Simon said.

Over the years, the jury heard, Erin attended many lunches at Don and Gail’s house, including wider family gatherings and smaller get-togethers with her children and their grandparents without Simon.

Simon agreed Erin was a devoted mother to their children and was very keen and supportive for them to be involved in different activities.

3.59pm

The single colourful plate in Erin Patterson’s crockery collection​

By​

Defence counsel Colin Mandy, SC, is now asking Simon Patterson about his estranged wife Erin’s crockery at her home in Gibson Street, Leongatha.

“She had a mixture of plates and it’s not that they’re all different to each other, but she had a bunch of ceramic plates generally that weren’t all the same, but there are a few of the same as each other,” Simon said.

“And then, couple more that was sort of same as each other but different to the first lot, if you know what I mean.”

Want to understand this relationship with the in-laws. Genuine bond with Don?…shared interests, mutual respect (going to him for advice).

Sounds like they weren’t the primary targets but collateral damage (to hurt Simon?). This is a lot to digest

 

[katydid23]

Want to understand this relationship with the in-laws. Genuine bond with Don?…shared interests, mutual respect (going to him for advice).

Sounds like they weren’t the primary targets but collateral damage (to hurt Simon?). This is a lot to digest

I aim going back through the earliest threads because there was information about a change in her relationship with her in-laws, allegedly.

Apparently she resented that they were siding with Simon concerning the co-parenting issues. And some people thought she may have felt betrayed by them because of the recent tensions between them all.

I am trying to find those posts now.

Here are some old articles from the start of the case:

Daughter-in-law refuses to say what she cooked for doomed guests

The woman who hosted a poisonous lunch where four people fell ill - three of whom have since died - has been forced to flee her home.

www.dailymail.co.uk

VERY INTERESTING PICTURE BELOW

+11
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Real estate photos show mushrooms growing at the base of a tree at Ms Patterson's Leongatha property