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Jury heard ‘no expert evidence’ on leftovers with mushrooms scraped off
The prosecution argued if Patterson’s children ate leftover meat they would have experienced some symptoms, the court hears. Beale says no expert testified about whether the children would become ill if they ate meat with the mushrooms and pastry scrapped off.
He says:
You have no expert evidence as to whether that be the case.
You would be speculating if you went down that path.
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Court resumes
The jurors have returned to the courtroom in Morwell.
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Updated at 05.24 BST
The court has adjourned for a lunch break.
Beale will continue instructing jurors from 2:15pm.
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Judge outlines evidence on whether children had eaten lunch leftovers
Beale turns to evidence about Patterson’s alleged lie about feeding her children leftovers of the beef wellington lunch.
Simon testified that on 31 July 2023 Patterson mentioned their children had eaten the leftovers of the meal. Patterson’s children said their mother told them they were eating leftovers the day after the lunch, the court hears.
Webster said Patterson told him on 31 July 2023 her children had consumed the leftover meat from the beef wellingtons, Beale says.
Dr Veronica Foote from Leongtha hospital said when she reviewed Patterson later that day she said her children had eaten the leftovers, with the mushrooms and pastry scraped off.
Patterson disputed the prosecution’s suggestion that she lied about feeding her children leftovers off the beef wellington.
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Updated at 04.06 BST
Judge outlines evidence on Patterson’s recollection of dried mushrooms purchase
Patterson said she told Dr Conor McDermott that dried mushrooms may have been purchased from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley, the court hears.
McDermott testified that Patterson only mentioned Oakleigh.
The prosecution argued Patterson’s story about the source of the dried mushrooms kept changing and she was not forthcoming with the Department of Health, Beale says. The prosecution argued Patterson “sat on her hands” and was slow to respond to the department, the court hears.
The defence said Patterson spoke to 21 people in a 24-hour period after the lunch and delays could impact recollection of events, the court hears. The defence said Patterson never said she was certain about the location of the Asian grocer. No investigation of Asian grocers in Glen Waverley was conducted despite Patterson mentioning this suburb, the court has heard.
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Updated at 05.37 BST
Patterson said she did not lie to police about buying dried mushrooms from Asian grocer, court hears
Beale turns to Patterson’s evidence about the dried mushrooms.
He says Patterson said she realised on 2 August 2023 that she may have put foraged mushrooms in a plastic container including store-bought mushrooms that she had used in the beef wellington.
Beale says Patterson said she did not lie in her police interview when she told investigators she purchased dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh in April 2023 and used these in the beef wellington.
While testifying, Patterson agreed she did not mention to Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha hospital she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer, the court hears.
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Updated at 05.34 BST
Judge outlines evidence from child protection worker and virologist
Beale says child protection worker Katrina Cripps testified that she first spoke to Patterson on 1 August 2023.
Cripps said Patterson told her she bought fresh mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh or Clayton. When asked on 2 August 2023 if she had picked the mushrooms used in the beef wellington meal, Patterson was looking at her phone and did not reply, Cripps said.
Beale reminds the jury of evidence from Dr David Lovelolock, a virologist at Agriculture Victoria in August 2023 who analysed leftovers of the beef wellington meal.
Lovelock said death cap mushrooms were found in two out of seven test tube samples containing substance from a dehydrator dumped by Patterson in the days after the mushroom lunch.
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Updated at 03.12 BST
Beale turns to the evidence of Victorian health department official Sally Ann Atkinson. She testified that Patterson told her on 2 August 2023 she could not remember the Asian grocer she bought the dried mushrooms from. But she pointed to possible suburbs – Oakleigh, Clayton or Mount Waverley.
She said she originally purchased them for a pasta dish but when she opened them she noticed a funny smell and opted to not use them.
Atkinson said Patterson later mentioned Glen Waverley on 3 August 2023 as a possible suburb where the Asian grocer was located. Atkinson said this was the first time Patterson mentioned Glen Waverley, the court hears.
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Updated at 03.38 BST
Judge outlines evidence around alleged incriminating conduct
Justice Beale turns to Patterson’s second alleged incriminating conduct – lying about where the dried mushrooms used in the beef wellingtons came from.
The prosecution has labelled certain conduct as incriminating, meaning it is an implied admission of guilt, the court has heard. The defence has argued there are other innocent explanations for the conduct the prosecution relies on.
Beale outlines the evidence the jury has heard in the case regarding the source of the mushrooms in the beef wellingtons Patterson cooked.
Dr Conor McDermott, a toxicology registrar at Austin hospital, said Patterson told him she sourced button mushrooms, pre-sliced from Leongatha Safeway and mushrooms from a Chinese food store in Oakleigh. McDermott said Patterson said she did not have the packaging for the dried mushrooms.
Matthew Patterson, the son of Don and Gail Patterson, said he phoned Patterson on 31 July 2023 and she said she bought fresh mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from a Chinese shop in the Oakleigh area.
Dr Laura Muldoon, from Monash hospital, said she spoke to Patterson on the same day. She recalled Patterson saying she used dehydrated mushrooms from a Chinese grocery store in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley and did not have any of the packaging.
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Updated at 05.35 BST
Judge to finish charge on Monday, jury told
The jury has entered the court room in Morwell.
Beale is continuing to deliver his instructions to the jury, known as the judge’s charge.
He tells jurors he will finish his charge on Monday before lunchtime.
“You’ll be able to go home for the weekend,” he says.
After the charge is delivered a ballot will be held to determine which 12 jurors will deliberate the verdicts, Beale says.
“And away you go, so to speak,” he says.
Beale reminds the jury they’ll be sequestered after each day of deliberations.
This means jurors will be taken to supervised accommodation after each day of deliberations to ensure they don’t have contact with the outside world.
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Updated at 02.11 BST
What the jury heard yesterday
Before today’s proceedings gets under way, here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Wednesday:
1. Justice Christopher Beale told jurors he would not finish instructing them on Thursday, meaning the earliest deliberations could begin is Friday.
2. Beale said the jury did not need to accept the opinions of expert witnesses in the trial. He said the testimony of expert witnesses were pieces of evidence the jury could choose to accept or reject. The jurors were the “judges of the facts in this case”, he said.
3. Beale began outlining Patterson’s alleged incriminating conduct that the prosecution has raised. He said the defence has argued there are other innocent explanations for the conduct the prosecution relies on.
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Updated at 01.56 BST
Welcome to day 38
Welcome to day 38 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
Justice Christopher Beale will continue instructing the jurors this morning before they begin their deliberations later this week.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent”, but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
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Updated at 01.55 BST