A video of Erin Patterson’s interview with police has been proven throughout her triple homicide trial, with the footage exhibiting her telling detectives she didn’t personal a meals dehydrator, regardless of them having simply discovered a handbook for one in her home.
Patterson, 50, faces three costs of homicide and one cost of tried homicide regarding poisoning her 4 lunch company – family of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with a beef wellington served at her home in Leongatha on 29 July 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not responsible to murdering Simon’s dad and mom, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and trying to homicide Ian Wilkinson, Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband.
Attorneys for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident.
On the afternoon of 5 August 2023, per week after the lunch, Patterson was interviewed at Wonthaggi police station.
Her home had been searched by police earlier that day.
Throughout the 21-minute video proven to the jury, Detective Main Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall, the officer answerable for the investigation, asks Patterson a collection of questions in regards to the lunch, and objects discovered through the search.
“We need to talk about the deaths of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson at present with you, after we had been on the home earlier we mentioned you hadn’t actually been stored within the loop, and it got here as information to you that Heather and Gail had handed away,” Eppingstall stated in the direction of the beginning of the interview.
Timeline
Erin Patterson: how Australia’s alleged mushroom poisoning case unfolded — a timeline
Present
Erin Patterson hosts lunch for estranged husband Simon’s dad and mom, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Patterson serves beef wellington.
All 4 lunch company are admitted to hospital with gastro-like signs.
Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson die in hospital.
Don Patterson dies in hospital. Victoria police search Erin Patterson’s residence and interview her.
Ian Wilkinson is discharged from hospital after weeks in intensive care.
Police once more search Erin Patterson’s residence, and she or he is arrested and interviewed. She is charged with three counts of homicide regarding the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the tried homicide of Ian Wilkinson.
Homicide trial begins. Jury hears that costs of trying to homicide her estranged husband Simon are dropped.
“We’re making an attempt to grasp what has made them so sick.”
Patterson responds, “mmm, yeah”.
Eppingstall stated police had been additionally “making an attempt to grasp why you’re not so sick”.
Patterson, who didn’t have a lawyer together with her through the interview, however had been given an opportunity to contact one earlier than it began, stated: “I’ve by no means been in a scenario like this earlier than, and I’ve been very, very useful with the well being division.
“As a result of I do need to know what occurred, and I’ve given as a lot data as they’ve requested for.”
Eppingstall stated to Patterson that she had additionally been useful to police whereas they searched her home.
Patterson went on to element her closeness to Don and Gail, saying this was pronounced as a result of her personal dad and mom and grandparents had died.
“All the time been actually good to me, and so they at all times stated to me they might assist me, with love and emotional assist, despite the fact that we’re [separated],” she stated.
“They’re the one household that I’ve bought, and so they’re [the] solely grandparents that my kids have. And I need them to remain in my children’ life … I believe Simon hated that I nonetheless had a relationship together with his dad and mom, however I cherished them.
“Nothing that he has ever completed to me will ever change the actual fact they’re good, respectable folks.”
Patterson appeared emotional within the dock whereas she watched the interview, which was performed on a small display screen to her left.
She additionally detailed a dialog she stated she had with Dr Chris Webster when she went to hospital on the Monday after the lunch.
“He stated to me we’ve bought a priority they’ve eaten demise cap mushrooms,” Patterson instructed police.
“And I stated what, and he stated yeah that’s what we’re involved they’ve eaten.”
Eppingstall went on to ask Patterson about whether or not she owned a dehydrator, given police discovered a handbook for one in her home.
She stated she didn’t, however had manuals for many stuff, and “I simply preserve all of them”.
Patterson went on to say that she could have beforehand owned one, as when she first bought her Thermomix she was “enthusiastic about making every part from scratch”.
The courtroom has beforehand heard Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, inform the jury that his shopper lied to police when she stated she by no means owned a dehydrator.
Mandy stated the lie in regards to the dehydrator wanted to be thought of within the context of how Patterson felt within the days after the lunch, as coming to phrases with the actual fact she served “up a meal that had such tragic penalties” impacted on the way in which she behaved.
Eppingstall is in regards to the fiftieth, and closing, prosecution witness referred to as in Patterson’s trial.
The courtroom heard earlier on Tuesday that Patterson appeared stunned when instructed by murder squad detectives throughout a search of her property that two of her lunch company had died.
Det Sgt Luke Farrell gave proof about executing a search warrant at her Leongatha property per week after the lunch.
Farrell instructed the courtroom that about 11.40am on 5 August 2023 he was a part of a crew of 4 murder squad officers who arrived at Patterson’s home.
It was his accountability to conduct the search, with different officers tasked with taking photographs and movies of the search, and logging any seized objects.
The courtroom heard {that a} transcript of a recording of Farrell chatting with Patterson initially of the search indicated that he launched himself and stated police had a warrant.
He then stated: “It’s in reference to the demise of two folks over the previous couple of days.” Patterson responded: “Who died?”
Earlier in his proof, Farrell stated Patterson had “expressed shock” when she realized that a few of her company had died.
“I don’t know what she was or wasn’t conscious of, however she was instructed in my presence, and expressed she didn’t know beforehand,” Farrell stated.
The courtroom heard that Heather Wilkinson had died about 2.05am on 4 August and Gail Patterson about 5.55pm the identical day.
Farrell additionally instructed the courtroom police had not seized plates from Patterson’s home through the search, aside from a plate with fruit on it which Heather dropped at lunch, nor had they photographed each plate.
Police seized a number of digital gadgets through the search, together with a cellphone, a pill and a pc.
Images taken by officers through the search and proven to the courtroom included photos of a number of plates and a RecipeTin Eats Dinner cookbook.
Farrell stated one web page of the ebook was marked however that he had additionally discovered a recipe for beef wellington “splattered with cooking” on a separate web page.
A video was additionally performed to the jury exhibiting Farrell sitting with Patterson at her kitchen desk and explaining that the search had been accomplished however he would wish to grab her cellphone.
She handed it over and stated it might require a pin.
“It’s both 1315 or 131528, I can’t bear in mind which one,” she instructed Farrell.
Farrell stated that the cellphone really didn’t want a pin code.
He stated the search had completed about 3.30pm, then police searched a unit in Mount Waverley which detectives believed was additionally owned by Patterson. Nothing was seized through the second search.
The courtroom additionally heard on Tuesday from Sally Ann Atkinson, a Department of health official who investigated the lunch to find out if it required a broader public well being response.
The investigation led to a closing report in regards to the lunch, dubbed The Patterson Household Outbreak, which concluded that “it was extremely unlikely that the business mushroom provide chain was contaminated with amatoxins” and that “the danger to public well being was deemed very low”.
The trial continues.
