The alleged poison mushroom cook cried in court as it was revealed how she faked her own cancer diagnosis and dodged the deadly dinner.
, 50, is –three counts of murderand one of attempted murder after a fatal feast at her home in Leongatha,.
Patterson gathered her estranged husband’s relatives together for a at her home in July 2023 which left three dead.
Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers revealed to the court on Wednesday that the mum-of-two had fabricated a cancer diagnosis prior to the lunch.
Patterson allegedly hosted the lunch on the pretence of discussing the best way to tell her two children about the illness – ensuring they would be far away from the meal.
Rogers said: “It is the prosecution case that the accused deliberately poisoned (the victims) with murderous intent.”;
She added that medical tests had found no sign of cancer.
The prosecutor also revealed how the alleged killer dodged the deadly dinner herself.
Rogers said that Patterson served individual beef Wellingtons, mashed potatoes and green beans at the meal.
The guests allegedly all ate from large grey dinner plates, while she ate from a smaller, orange plate – thus avoiding the poison-laced Wellington.
Patterson previously faced three counts ofas well as a total of five counts of attempted murder following a deadly feast at her home in Leongatha,.
One of the charges was for the attempted murder of her estranged husband Simon Patterson– but this was dropped in a shocking twist to the case.
Justice Christopher Beale told the jury on Tuesday that Patterson was no longer accused of attempting to murder her husband.
He also urged the jury to forget about any previous charges, saying: “In other words... you must put them out of your mind.”;
The trial officially began on Wednesday in in Morwell – around 40 miles from where the fatal mushroom lunch allegedly took place.
The ordeal is expected to last around six weeks.
On July 29, 2023 Patterson gathered her estranged husband’s relatives together for a Saturday lunch at her home.
She served up a beef wellington – allegedly containing death cap mushrooms and her guests soon became violently ill.
Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died within a week.
Pastor Ian Wilkinson was the only one who survived the deadly lunch.
But he was left in critical condition and spent almost two months being treated in the Austin Hospital – including time spent in a coma.
Doctors have confirmed all four of their symptoms were consistent with poisoning by death cap mushrooms, which grow wild in the area.
Patterson had also invited her husband to the lunch but he declined, reportedly texting her the night before that he felt “uncomfortable”;.
In a return text minutes later, Patterson reportedly said she was “disappointed”;, as she wanted to prepare a “special meal and that she may not be able to have a lunch like this for some time”;.
Patterson has long denied any wrongdoing and and has always insisted she never meant to serve “my loved ones”; the deadly mushrooms.
She pleaded not guilty to the murder charges in the Latrobe Valley Magistratesin May 2024.
But this is not the first time Patterson has faced accusations of attempted murder.
On “three separate incidents”; spanning across 2021 to 2022, say that Erin attempted to kill a 48-year-old Korumburra man.
It’s understood this man is Erin’s ex-husband, Simon Patterson.
Two of the dates are unknown, however in May 2022, Simon claimed to have suffered from a
In a social media post, he wrote: “I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation.
“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live.
“I was in intensive care for 21 days...”;
And the case has not been short of its twists and turns.
In August 2023a tradesman came forward to reveal that he had seen and photographed what he called a.
The tradesman said he was hired to paint the inside last year so it could be flogged.
But he got more than he bargained for and discovered eerie drawings scrawled in blue and red markers.
Messages were also found over the wall – with one chilling note reading: “You don’t [have] long to live”;.
That same day, a neighbour of Patterson’s claimedin the local area.
In March 2024 cops delved into Patterson’sFacebookaccounts in the hope of bolstering charges against her.
Patterson had a number of profiles online and constantly used different names to post and interact with others, according to the Herald Sun.
She also allegedly took toto declare she was “very good at details”; before the fateful lunch.
