Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Patterson reveals messages she ‘regrets’ sending about lunch guests

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Patterson reveals messages she ‘regrets’ sending about lunch guests

By PAUL SHAPIRO AND WAYNE FLOWER FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: | Updated:

Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson‘s murder trial at Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court in Morwell, Victoria.

This live blog has now closed.

Prosecution alleged Patterson was interested in death caps

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson had an interest in death cap mushrooms in May 2022.

‘Depends on what you mean by interest,’ Patterson responded.

Dr Rogers highlighted a search of a death cap sighting in Moorabbin which was posted to iNaturalist on May 18, 2022.

The prosecutor suggested the post on iNaturalist was similar to a screenshot of an iNaturalist page taken by informant detective Stephen Eppingstall in December 2024.

‘It’s possible, I don’t know,’ Patterson replied.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson ‘looked this stuff up’.

‘It’s possible yes,’ Patterson.

‘It wasn’t your son?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Patterson said.

‘Daughter?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Patterson replied.

The trial has concluded for the week and Daily Mail Australia’s live coverage will resume from 8am local time on Tuesday, June 10.

Patterson has no ‘specific memory’ of searching for death caps online

Dr Rogers said Patterson’s Facebook friend Christine Hunt gave evidence that the accused killer was a ‘good researcher’ and a ‘super sleuth’.

‘Do you agree this is how you were regarded?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘No idea,’ Patterson replied, before adding she could be a ‘good researcher’.

Patterson was shown records of the computer found in her house which suggested an iNaturalist map of death caps was accessed on the device.

The jury previously heard evidence from Cybercrime officer Shamen Fox-Henry (pictured), who said he searched and found death cap and poison references on the device and the data was investigated and reported back.

Dr Rogers pointed out a search on iNaturalist and asked if Patterson searched that page.

‘Does look like somebody did that yes,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t remember doing it, it’s possible it was me… I didn’t use Internet Explorer or Bing but I accept maybe I did this time, I’m not sure.’

‘You don’t know whether it was you?’ Dr Rogers asked.

Patterson said she has no ‘specific memory’ but it was possible because she wanted to know if death caps ‘grew in South Gippsland’.

‘So it might have been this search,’ she said.

The murder trial of Erin Patterson continues in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in MorwellComputer forensic expert Shamen Fox-HenryEXCLUSIVE26 May 2025©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Patterson reveals why lunch guests were chosen

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she invited the Wilkinsons to the lunch to ensure Don and Gail also attended.

‘I didn’t need to do anything, I invited Don and Gail because they would come because they loved me,’ Patterson said.

Patterson previously told the jury her relationship with Ian was ‘friendly and amicable’.

‘I saw him whenever I went to church but socially we didn’t see each other a great deal,’ she said.

Patterson admitted she wasn’t close with Heather (pictured).

The jury heard Ian said Patterson never invited him and Heather inside the house prior to the July 29 lunch.

Wilkinson- Heather Alison

Patterson’s son previously gave evidence he hadn’t seen his mum interact with the Wilkinsons much but thought the relationship was ‘not a negative one, but not strong’.

‘Yeah that’s probably fair,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers asked why the Wilkinsons were invited to the lunch.

‘There were a few reasons,’ Patterson said.

‘Well Ian had been my pastor for years and years and I would see and speak with Ian and Heather a lot after church and I liked them and I wanted to have a stronger relationship with them…

‘Gail had said what I had done to the garden was nice and Heather would like to see it.’

Patterson then broke down sobbing.

‘I wanted to say thank you to them for being good to me over the years,’ Patterson said.

She said Heather helped her with her daughter when she was young and ‘showed kindness’.

‘And I wanted to say thank you to her,’ Patterson said tearfully.

Patterson claims she asked health condition of dying Don and Gail

Patterson claimed she talked to Simon about how Don and Gail were.

‘I suggest you did not ask him… you did not ask how Don was,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘We discussed how Don and Gail were, that’s how I found out they were in hospital,’ Patterson said.

Patterson claimed this occurred during a phone conversation.

Dr Rogers suggested ‘there was no discussion about Don and Gail being in hospital’.

‘There was a conversation, yes,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson never asked how Don was doing.

‘Disagree,’ Patterson replied.

‘And never asked about Gail,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Disagree,’ Patterson replied.

‘Do you maintain you asked Simon at this point how Don was?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘I can’t remember the exact words of that conversation,’ Patterson replied.

‘We had a discussion about their health … we were discussing how Don was.’

‘Did you ask or not ask how Don was?’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Yeah I would have,’ she said

‘And did you ask how Gail was?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Correct,’ Patterson replied.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson never asked Simon how Don and Gail were.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

‘Two-faced’ Patterson breaks down

Dr Rogers suggested to Patterson that she didn’t love Don and Gail.

‘Correct or incorrect,’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said tearfully.

‘I love them a lot, they’ve always been really good to me, I think Simon (pictured) hates that I still had a relationship with his parents.’

Dr Rogers pressed further.

‘That’s what you told police that you “loved his parents”, that’s not true, I suggest you were angry that they took Simon’s side,’ Dr Rogers said.

epa12074213 Simon Patterson, Erin Patterson's estranged husband, arrives at the Morwell Supreme Court in Morwell, Victoria, Australia, 05 May 2025. Australian woman Erin Patterson has been charged with the murder of three relatives and the attempted murder of another after hosting a July 2023 lunch that police allege was laced with poisonous mushrooms. Her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson, the wife of a local pastor, died in the days following the meal. The local pastor, Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks of hospital treatment.  EPA/DIEGO FEDELE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

‘That’s not true,’ Patterson replied.

‘In fact you had two faces,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

Dr Rogers accused Patterson of having a ‘public face’ of how she presented herself as loving of Don, Gail and to other family but her ‘private face’ of how she really felt was contained within her Facebook messages.

‘I suggest your private face is the one you show in a private message group,’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson replied.

‘And that’s how you felt about Simon,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘Incorrect,’ Patterson said.

‘And (Simon) wasn’t a decent human being,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘Actually, I still believe that,’ Patterson said.

Patterson’s lunch plan revealed

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if it was ‘unusual’ to invite people over to lunch on July 29.

‘Yeah, that’s probably true,’ Patterson said.

‘I wanted it to be special.’

Patterson said Don and Gail had come over for lunch in June 2023 but that wasn’t a ‘usual’ thing.

Patterson also agreed Ian (pictured) and Heather Wilkinson had never been to her Leongatha home.

DAY RATE - The murder trial of Erin Patterson continues in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in MorwellIan WilkinsonColin Mandy, Sophie StaffordEXCLUSIVE5 June 2025©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Patterson concerned she was being isolated from Simon’s family

Patterson was asked about family gatherings at Don and Gail’s home and if she was worried about not being invited to family events.

She said the gatherings occurred ‘less so’ from 2020.

Patterson said the gatherings were held at the park but not at her home.

‘They were not at my house,’ she said.

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson that she told child protection worker Katrina Cripps (pictured) on August 1 that she loved Don and Gail.

‘Correct,’ Patterson said.

‘And you had a good relationship with them until recently, did you tell her (Ms Cripps) that?’ Dr Roger asked.

‘I had a good relationship with them,’ Patterson replied

‘But the relationship changed,’ Dr Rogers suggested.

‘I did become concerned about that, yes (being isolated).’

Patterson initially disputed she told Ms Cripps she was worried about not being invited to gatherings.

‘My memory is that’s not what I said, however my memory is also fallible and I think she’s wrong … but I could be wrong,’ Patterson said.

‘I said they always treated me like a daughter, not like a daughter in-law, they treated me like their own daughter.’

DAYRATE ERIN PATTERSON TRIAL WEEK THREEDimitri Gerostamoulos, Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University (yet to give evidence)Katrina Cripps, Child Protection ServicesColin MandyDr Nanette RogersEXCLUSIVE15 May 2025©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Patterson denies sending ‘extremely aggressive’ messages

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she sent some ‘extremely aggressive messages’ in the Signal family group chat in 2022 or 2023.

Patterson said ‘no’.

Patterson disagreed there was any ‘tension’ in her relationship with Don and Gail in October 2022.

Patterson ‘loved’ Don and Gail

Dr Rogers asked about Patterson’s relationship with Don and Gail (pictured).

The jury heard Simon explained the relationship between his parents and Patterson.

‘They loved you and you loved them,’ Dr Rogers said Simon had said.

‘They did love me and I did love them, I do love them,’ she said tearfully.

Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, who all died after attending lunch at Don and Gail's former daughter-in-law, Erin Patterson's, home on July 29. - 12408649 - 12432785  12435147  12435147  - 12713367  - 13239485  URGENT: 13334171 Mushroom lunch update - Erin Patterson to appear in court today

Patterson didn’t tell authorities mushrooms had been foraged, court hears

Dr Rogers has suggested Patterson never told authorities she foraged for mushrooms but instead dumped her dehydrator at the tip.

Patterson was asked about her reaction even after learning Don and Gail were sick.

‘If you loved them you would have notified the medical authorities the foraged mushrooms went in with (other mushrooms),’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I had been told that people were getting treatment for possible death cap poisoning so that was already happening,’ Patterson responded.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson ‘never once told medical professionals foraged mushrooms could be in (the meal)’.

‘Correct,’ Patterson replied.

‘Even after your discharge you didn’t tell a single person they may have been foraged,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Correct,’ Patterson replied.

‘Instead you got up and drove the kids to school and came home,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I did do that,’ Patterson said.

‘And then got rid of the dehydrator,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘Correct,’ Patterson replied.

Patterson reminded of reaction to death cap poisonings

Patterson is again reminded about the conversation she had with Simon at the Monash Medical Centre where he said, ‘is that how you poisoned my parents using that dehydrator’.

The conversation took place after Patterson learned people had been getting treatment for death cap posioning.

Dr Rogers took Patterson to her previous answers.

Patterson was reminded that she said she dried foraged mushrooms in the dehydrator weeks earlier and put them into a jar.

‘And I just got really scared,’ she said at the time.

‘Frantic,’ Patterson said upon arriving home.

Patterson agreed that was her evidence.

Prosecution alleged Patterson made poisoned beef Wellington for Simon ‘in case he turned up’

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson (pictured) lied to Simon about her medical issues because she wanted him at the lunch to ‘poison him’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson made a poisonous beef Wellington for Simon ‘in case he turned up’.

‘No, that’s not true,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested when Simon didn’t show at the lunch she dumped his beef Wellington.

Patterson told the jury she put the pastry and mushrooms in the bin.

Erin Patterson, the woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms, is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. (James Ross/AAP Image via AP)

Patterson denies asking Simon for advice

Dr Rogers has persistently asked Patterson if she approached Simon after a church service on July 16, 2023 and said she had some ‘important medical news’ that she wanted advice on and how she would break that to the kids.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

‘I did not say that.’

Patterson also disputed that she mentioned she wanted help in how to break it to the kids.

‘That wasn’t the purpose of the lunch or the purpose of the invitation,’ she said.

Dr Rogers again said Simon said in his evidence that he claimed Patterson wanted advice on the children.

‘He did say that but I did not say that to him,’ she said.

‘I did invite him to lunch.’

Dr Rogers said Simon said in his evidence that Patterson was keen for the kids not to be there.

‘I did not (say that to him),’ Patterson said

Dr Rogers said Simon might have accepted the lunch invite if his parents and the Wilkinsons attended.

‘I disagree with that,’ the accused said.

Patterson called Simon ‘nasty’

Patterson also said she said Simon was mean but never said he was ‘nasty’.

‘Yeah I think I did say that,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she told child welfare officer Katrina Cripps ‘Simon became nasty’ after she claimed child support.

‘Yeah I think I did say that, yep,’ the accused said.

More texts from Patterson about Simon are revealed

Patterson was also shown a message she sent to Facebook friend Christine Hunt where she said Simon was ‘coercive’ and they ‘disagreed a lot’.

Dr Rogers (pictured) also asked Patterson if she posted online that ‘Simon was not a good father’.

‘No I didn’t,’ she said,

Dr Rogers reminded Patterson that her Facebook friend and witness Danni Barkley said she posted ‘Simon wasn’t a nice person’.

‘I definitely discussed my relationship with Simon in the chat group,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t remember saying he wasn’t a nice person.

‘I might have said that in a private chat group, I don’t know.’

Patterson said it was true she discussed Simon’s cleanliness with Ms Barkley.

‘Yeah it is true because I spent two weeks cleaning his house at one point,’ she said.

Patterson also admitted she didn’t want the kids staying at Simon’s house.

epa12068668 Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers departs from the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, Victoria, Australia, 29 April 2025 (issued 02 May 2025). Australian woman Erin Patterson has been charged with the murder of three relatives and the attempted murder of another after hosting a July 2023 lunch that police allege was laced with poisonous mushrooms. Her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson, the wife of a local pastor, died in the days following the meal. The local pastor, Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks of hospital treatment.  EPA/JAMES ROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Patterson called Simon a ‘deadbeat’

Patterson also wrote a message in which she referred to Simon as a ‘deadbeat’.

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson was ‘unhappy’.

‘I don’t know if I was happy or unhappy… I was frustrated I think,’ Patterson said.

‘I don’t think hurt is reflected in this message, I was frustrated.

‘I was hurt about a lot of things, yeah I was,’ she said.

Patterson grilled over texts about Simon and his family

Patterson is shown a message she wrote to her Facebook friends on December 7, 2022, where she discussed that if Simon wanted to walk away from his responsibilities, then it’s ‘a blessing in disguise’.

Patterson is also reminded of the ‘this family I swear to f***ing God’ message.

Dr Rogers suggested to Patterson this ‘expressed your true feelings’.

‘No,’ Patterson replied.

Patterson was also reminded of the ‘f*** them’ message.

‘That’s what you thought about Don, “f*** them”,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I regret writing that,’ Patterson said.

‘I was venting.’

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was angry at Don and Gail (pictured) for not taking her side over Simon’s.

‘I wasn’t angry but I was frustrated and hurt,’ she said.

Patterson said she wasn’t angry when she wrote the ‘f*** them’ message.

Patterson also denied she was angry when she wrote those messages to her Facebook friends.

Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, who all died after attending lunch at Don and Gail's former daughter-in-law, Erin Patterson's, home on July 29. - 12408649 12435147  12435147  - 12713367  - 13239485  - 13239485  URGENT: 13334171 Mushroom lunch update - Erin Patterson to appear in court today 13643053

Patterson moved kids to new school without telling Simon, court hears

Patterson was grilled about moving her children to a different school without telling Simon (pictured).

Patterson said she told Simon in March 2023.

‘In my house. He was dropping our daughter off … and we invited him into the house and told him,’ she said.

‘And Simon said “OK”.’

Dr Rogers said Simon claimed they’d had ‘no serious conversation’ about moving schools.

‘My memory is the context of what he said there was whether we discussed it in 2021, 2022,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers suggested to Patteron that she ‘just moved’ the kids.

‘I did move them… but I told Simon in March,’ the accused responded.

‘That’s not true… you felt entitled to change schools,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘No,’ Patterson replied.

Dr Rogers asked Patterson if the dispute about fees and child support had vanished by the time she asked Simon to look after her goat while she was in New Zealand in December 2022.

‘I don’t think it had completely disappeared no, but it had by some weeks later,’ she said.

DAYRATE Day 1, week 2. Erin Patterson arrives at court in the back of a police van ahead of the start of week two of her high-profile trial. Also spotted Simon PattersonEXCLUSIVE5 May 2025©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Patterson denies being angry with in-laws over school fees

Patterson, who is today wearing a black top with white polka dots, was again asked by Dr Rogers about a series of Signal messages between herself, Simon, Don and Gail.

In the messages, the subject of paying the kid’s school fees was discussed.

Patterson was asked to read a Signal message she sent Don and Gail to the court.

She mentioned she may want to get a court order to change the schools.

Patterson agreed the school fees was a big factor in the message.

‘I wanted them to help mediate the communication between us,’ Patterson said.

Patterson disagreed she asked Don and Gail to help her get Simon to pay half the school fees.

Dr Rogers kept suggesting that Don ‘refused to get involved’ which Patterson agreed.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson was angry that Don didn’t want to be involved but she disagreed.

Prosecution claim Patterson weighed death caps

On Thursday, Dr Rogers mentioned a photo which fungi expert Dr Tom May confidently said depicted death cap mushrooms.

‘I don’t think they are,’ Patterson responded.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson saw a post on plant identification website iNaturalist of a death cap sighting at Loch made by Christine Mckenzie on April 18, 2023.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

‘I suggest you then went to Loch on April 28,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I don’t know if I did go to Loch on that day or not,’ Patterson responded.

‘I suggest you went to Loch on that day to find death cap mushrooms,’ Dr Rogers said.

‘I disagree,’ Patterson said.

Dr Rogers then showed Patterson a photo she suggested were death cap mushrooms picked from Loch.

The Crown prosecutor also suggested Patterson weighed death cap mushrooms to ‘calculate the weight to administer the fatal dose required for one person’.

Dr Rogers also suggested Patterson weighed death caps to calculate how much was needed to kill five people.

Patterson said she disagreed.

A court sketch drawn from a video link shows Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, appearing as a witness for her own defense, at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Australia, June 2, 2025.  AAP/via REUTERS    ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN AUSTRALIA.

Prosecution suggests Patterson lied because she thought her lunch guests would die

In what became nothing short of a heated exchange, Dr Rogers (pictured) bombarded Patterson with questions suggesting she told repeated lies about having cancer in yesterday’s court proceedings.

‘You told this lie, I suggest, as part of your efforts to get the lunch guests, and Simon, to attend your lunch, correct or incorrect?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘Incorrect,’ came the response.

‘I suggest that you never thought you would have to account for this lie about having cancer because you thought that the lunch guests would die?’ Dr Rogers said.

‘That’s not true,’ Patterson responded.

‘And your lie would never be found out, correct or incorrect?’ Dr Rogers asked.

‘That’s not true,’ Patterson insisted.

Day Rate - Erin Patterson Trial 6th June Nanette RogersCrowd

Patterson refuted lone lunch survivor’s evidence

The jury had heard evidence in the opening days of the trial from Pastor Ian Wilkinson (pictured), who was the only person to survive the deadly lunch.

Mr Wilkinson claimed Patterson told lunch guests she had undertaken a diagnostic test that showed a spot on the scan that was a tumour.

‘I remember him saying that in his evidence, but I don’t believe I said that,’ Patterson said.

‘Might you have said it?’ Dr Nanette Rogers asked.

‘I don’t think so, no,’ Patterson said.

Slowly dying at Korumburra Hospital after the lunch, the court heard Don Patterson also claimed Patterson mentioned she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

The court heard Don had told his son Simon: ‘Mum doesn’t want me to tell you this. It’s about what Erin talked to us about at the lunch.’

DAYRATE Trial of Erin PattersonIan WilkinsonColin MandyJane Warren, Sarah LenthallStephen EppingstallColin PattersonEXCLUSIVE5 June 2025©MEDIA-MODE.COM

Patterson to front up for day 5 in the witness box

More crowds (pictured on Friday) have braved the chilly weather to turn up to see Erin Patterson in the witness box for the fifth straight day.

Patterson is currently under cross-examination by lead Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC.

Patterson has been a big drawcard with people queuing up outside the courthouse very early each morning to get a front row seat in the murder trial.

Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly serving them a beef Wellington lunch made with death cap mushrooms.

Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit.

The court heard Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was also invited to the gathering at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, but didn’t attend.

Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller, differently-coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate off four grey plates.

Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this.

On Thursday, Justice Christopher Beale told the jury it was possible the trial may go on for another couple of weeks.

It’s likely Patterson will be in the witness box all week and possibly next week too, the jury was told

Justice Beale said once evidence is completed, he will have legal discussions with the parties while the jury is out, before closing addresses can commence.

Day Rate - Erin Patterson Trial 6th June Nanette RogersCrowd

Day Rate - Erin Patterson Trial 6th June Nanette RogersCrowd

Day Rate - Erin Patterson Trial 6th June Nanette RogersCrowd

Day Rate - Erin Patterson Trial 6th June Nanette RogersCrowd

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