In recent weeks, the regional Victorian town of Morwell has been thrown into the global spotlight.
Patterson denies all charges, with her lawyers arguing throughout the case that the poisoning was a tragic accident.
Over eight weeks, six seats in the small Latrobe Valley courtroom have been reserved for media, allocated in a daily ballot, while members of the public and true crime fanatics queued each morning to be able to watch proceedings from the gallery. Most days, it has been full.
While most media organisations tend to report on the significant stages of a trial, this one has been reported on almost every day.
The trial has attracted attracted an immense amount of media coverage across Australian and international outlets coverage across Australian and international media — from local newspapers to global news agencies Reuters, CNN, and the BBC — and has been the subject of podcasts offering daily updates and unpacking evidence presented to the jury.
Members of the tight-knit community have noticed bloated coffee queues, with some claiming the media frenzy has been a boon for local businesses.
As the trial comes to a close, Justice Christopher Beale this week asked jurors to ignore the “unprecedented” attention it had received when coming to their decision.
The facts of the case
On 29 July 2023, Patterson served beef Wellingtons to her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, her mother-in-law’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and Wilkinson’s husband, Ian.
The lunch meal at her home in Leongatha consisted of steak covered in mushroom paste, wrapped in pastry.
All four guests were taken to hospital the following day.
Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson both died on 4 August, and Don Patterson died on 5 August. Ian Wilkinson was the only guest who survived.
Erin Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, spent eight days giving evidence. Source: AAP / Anita Lester
Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in November 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty, maintaining it was an accident and she did not intend to harm her guests. The trial before Beale began in late April in Morwell.
The prosecution’s case
Prosecutors allege Patterson deliberately sourced death cap mushrooms, blitzed them into a powder and concealed them in beef Wellingtons to poison her lunch guests, a jury has been told.
Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC accused Patterson of carrying out “four calculated deceptions” in her final address to the jury.
The first alleged deception was fabricating a cancer diagnosis so there would be a reason to have the four guests over for lunch, the prosecutor said.
Patterson’s second alleged deception was the lunch itself and her decision to source the death cap mushrooms and conceal them in individual beef Wellingtons, the prosecutor said.
It was alleged by the prosecution that Patterson then bought a dehydrator and dehydrated those mushrooms, before blitzing them into a powder to use in the individually portioned beef Wellington.
The prosecutor told the jury Patterson chose to serve the beef Wellingtons as small individual parcels instead of the recipe-mandated log form so she could avoid eating the death cap mushrooms.
Patterson also served her own meal on a different coloured plate for the same reason, according to the prosecution’s case. Patterson denied using a different plate.
The prosecutor told the jury they should instead believe Ian Wilkinson, who gave evidence during the trial.
Rogers alleged Patterson also feigned illness after lunch, which she denied in court.
The defence’s case
Patterson gave evidence in court, claiming the lunch was a terrible accident and she did not intend to poison her guests.
She spent eight days in the witness box, including five days of cross-examination by Rogers.
Patterson admitted she lied during her police interview about foraging for mushrooms, owning a dehydrator, and using it to dehydrate food.
But she denied deliberately foraging for death cap mushrooms and knowing they were in the beef Wellingtons she served to her guests.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy (left) has argued Patterson did not have a motive to kill members of her estranged husband’s family and never planned to serve them death cap mushrooms. Source: AAP / James Ross
When asked by defence barrister Colin Mandy SC if she had ever “intentionally picked death cap mushrooms”, Patterson said “no”.
She denied intentionally including them in the beef Wellingtons.
During his closing submissions, Mandy argued Patterson did not have a motive to kill members of her estranged husband’s family and never planned to serve them death cap mushrooms.
He criticised the prosecutor’s claims there was animosity between Patterson, her estranged husband Simon and her in-laws Don and Gail in the lead-up to the lunch.
Patterson’s barrister argued jurors should not find her guilty of three murders because she told some lies, while also criticising the prosecution’s “absurd” theories.
“She’s not on trial for lying,” Mandy said.
“This is not a court of moral judgement.”
What happens now?
The jurors tasked with deciding Patterson’s fate will begin deliberations next week.
Beale is continuing to sum up evidence in the case and give the jury their final directions, known as the charge.
On Tuesday, he said they must decide on a verdict based “solely on the evidence” and urged members to resist feelings of bias or sympathy for the family of the victims.
He also urged jurors not to be prejudiced against Patterson after she had admitted telling lies and concealing evidence.
“The prosecution alleges the accused knew she was guilty of the offences for which she’s charged and engaged in the relevant conduct in an endeavour to conceal her guilt,” he said on Wednesday.
“The defence, on the other hand, argues that there are other reasonable innocent explanations for the alleged conduct relied on by the prosecution.”
The trial at Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell began in late April. Source: AAP / James Ross
Beale asked the jury not to pay attention to the “unprecedented media attention” the trial had received as they come to their decision.
“No one in the media, in the public, in your workplace or in your homes has sat in that jury box throughout the trial,” he said.
“You and you alone are the ones who must decide whether the prosecution has proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Beale told jurors on Thursday that he would complete his charge before lunch on Monday. The 14 jurors will then be balloted down to 12, who will be sent away to decide whether Patterson is guilty or not guilty.
— With reporting from the Australian Associated Press and Reuters.
