Erin Patterson to give evidence
Erin Patterson will take to the witness box and give evidence in her triple murder trial.
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, has told the court his client will testify.
“The defence will call Erin Patterson,” he said.
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 has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The court is on a short break. The trial will resume at 3.30pm.
Key events
Patterson asked about life before the mushroom lunch
Mandy asks about Patterson’s son’s issues at his previous school.
A reminder that Patterson’s children and their schools cannot be named due to a suppression order.
Mandy asks about the care arrangements for Patterson’s children.
She says they both lived with her full time.
They could see Simon whenever they wanted to and practically what that meant was [our daughter] spent a big part of Saturday afternoon and evenings with Simon.
She says her daughter and Simon sometimes did “extra things” like going to the beach or local pool.
But [our son] was only seeing his dad at church or at youth group.
Patterson says at the start of 2023 she had been accepted into a bachelor of nursing and midwifery at Federation University. But she deferred this due to her daughter’s health issues, Patterson says.
She says this was in control by mid-2023 and she was planning to commence the degree in early 2024.
Patterson questioned about life in July 2023
Mandy begins to examine his client. He says he will start by asking Patterson about her life in July 2023.
“In July of 2023, how were your children?” he asks.
She replies:
My children had just recently settled into a new school.
They had been there for a couple of weeks at the end of July.
She says they were coping “a lot better than I expected” and quickly made new friends.
Patterson called to give evidence
The jury has returned to the courtroom in Morwell.
“I call Erin Patterson,” Mandy says.
Patterson, who is sitting in the witness box, is wearing a paisley-patterned long-sleeve shirt and dark coloured pants.
Our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, is in the courtroom in Morwell.
Members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families, including Ian Wilkinson, are in the court. Wilkinson is the sole surviving guest from the lethal lunch hosted by Patterson on 29 July 2023.
There are no spare spots in the 40-seat room.
Erin Patterson to give evidence
Erin Patterson will take to the witness box and give evidence in her triple murder trial.
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, has told the court his client will testify.
“The defence will call Erin Patterson,” he said.
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 has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The court is on a short break. The trial will resume at 3.30pm.
The court is now hearing an agreed statement of facts being read by prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC.
Rogers said the agreed facts included that analysis of fingerprints found of the dumped dehydrator matched Patterson’s fingerprints.
The analysis was conducted by a fingerprint specialist, the court hears.
Warren asks Eppingstall about the target for searches conducted by police when a warrant is executed.
Eppingstall says police aim to seize “all electronic items”. He says this can be anything that stores data including tablet devices, phones and USB sticks.
Warren shows the court room a photo of a black item on the windowsill in Patterson’s home. The phone was taken by police during the search of the Leongatha property.
She asks Eppingstall if it is the mobile phone that has been referred to as Phone A.
Eppingstall says it is a matter for the jury.
Warren takes Eppingstall to Patterson’s discharge at own risk form from a hospital admission in 2015.
She then takes Eppingstall to a medical form of Patterson’s from Leongtha hospital. The document says it was printed on 31 July 2023.
She notes Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, is listed as her next of kin. The address for Simon is listed as Patterson’s Leongtha property.
Warren asks if Simon lived at this address in 2023.
“No m’am,” says Eppingstall.
Jury returns from lunch
The jury is back in the courtroom in Morwell.
Mandy concludes the defence’s cross-examination.
Prosecutor Jane Warren is re-examining Eppingstall.
The jury will be back in the court room from 2.15pm when the trial will recommence.
What the jury heard on Friday
Here’s a reminder of what the jury heard on Friday.
Erin Patterson called Gail Patterson the “best mum-in-law anyone could ever ask for” 14 months before she allegedly murdered her.
During the cross-examination of Eppingstall last week, Mandy showed the court messages between Patterson and her in-laws, Don and Gail. One exchange between Patterson and Gail from May 2022 was shown to the jury.
Gail wrote to Patterson:
Happy Mother’s Day Erin. May God bless you. Love Don and Gail.
Part of Patterson’s reply said:
Happy Mother’s Day to the best mum-in-law anyone could ever ask for!
The jurors are on a break.
We’ll bring you more updates once they return to the courtroom.
Mandy shows the court call records of a sim card ending in the digits “783”.
He says that between 12.01am and 1.45pm on 5 August 2023, these records indicate that “this sim card has lost its connection to the network”.
Eppingstall agrees.
Mandy says the next time the sim card connected to the network was at 1.44am on 6 August 2023.
“Yes, sir,” Eppingstall replies.
Mandy says it is an example of the “limitations” of what can be extracted from call records.
Mandy is showing the jury a flow chart which shows three sim cards police investigated.
Eppingstall previously told the court there were three phones police believed Patterson used – two Samsungs and a Nokia. He said one of the Samsungs, referred to as phone A, had never been recovered.
Mandy says the chart demonstrates one sim card was used across several mobile phones from 2019.
Mandy says in early 2023, Patterson’s son’s sim card went into a phone, referred to as phone B.
Mandy then shows Eppingstall photos police took during another search of Patterson’s home in November 2023.
One photo shows white shelves that were photographed by police in August 2023.
Mandy says some items seen in the first search are no longer visible.
Eppingstall says the shelf has been rearranged.
Mandy takes Eppingstall through photos taken by police of Patterson’s house during a search on 5 August 2023.
The photo shows plates in the dishwasher and on the kitchen bench.
Mandy says it shows two black dinner plates, two white plates, some red and white plates and a “colourful” striped plate.
Lead detective in case continues to be cross-examined
The jurors have entered the courtroom in Morwell.
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, is cross-examining Eppingstall.
Welcome
Erin Patterson’s trial is entering its sixth week.
We’re expecting Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of investigating the fatal lunch, to continue giving evidence today.
While we wait for today’s proceedings to get under way, here’s a reminder of what the jury heard last week.
Our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, was in Morwell last week and reported from inside the court room.
