Under Oath: Erin Patterson Faces Cross-Examination In Mushroom Trial

This bonus episode is a narration the transcript from Erin Trudi Patterson's cross-examination yesterday in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where she faces charges for the alleged mushroom poisoning deaths of three people and attempted murder of another.

• Erin Patterson, aged 50,  has pleaded not guilty to all charges
• Prosecutor Dr. Nanette Rogers questioned Ms Patterson about alleged death cap mushrooms
• Ms Patterson, of Leongatha, denies the mushrooms in evidence photos are death caps
• Evidence presented includes photos of Ms Patterson's kitchen scales with mushrooms and her dehydrator
• Ms Patterson admitted to lying to police about dehydrating food because she was "afraid of being held responsible"
• Prosecution alleged Ms Patterson intended to poison guests at lunch, including her estranged husband
• Ms Patterson denied intentionally poisoning anyone
• Trial is expected to continue for approximately two more weeks

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Mushroom Murder Trial
• 1:04 Prosecution Questions Death Cap Evidence
• 3:27 The Dehydrator and Kitchen Photos
• 7:11 Caught in a Web of Lies
• 10:05 Discussing Facebook Conversations and Trial Updates

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello, welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast. My name is Lisa. Today I'm going to read through to you in this bonus episode the transcript, part of the transcript from yesterday Erin Trudy Patterson's cross-examination in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Now Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all three charges of murder and one of attempted murder, and in this part of the transcript she's been cross-examined by Dr Nanette Rogers, who is one of the prosecutors. Now, just quickly, are you there for my newsletter yet, mushroommurdertrialcom? It's free and informative. Now, the other thing is it may go for another two weeks, this trial. So you know, keep your hat on, because we still have a lot to go, and I now feel like Tom Hanks in Castaway, if any of you are old enough to remember that movie. So let's move on. Enough about that. At 12.27pm the jury entered the court. Erin Trudy Patterson recalled Dr Rogers.

Speaker 1: 1:20

I'm still on the topic of Exhibit 18 in Images 1 and 2 from Dr May's evidence and I want to suggest a couple of things to you Now, as I understand your evidence before the break. You deny that these are death cap mushrooms. That's your evidence, erin. That's correct. I don't think they are. You don't think they are Correct.

Speaker 1: 1:38

I suggest you saw Christine McKenzie's post that she posted on iNaturalist on the 18th of April 2023 about death cat mushrooms at lock. You agree or disagree? I disagree. I suggest that you then went to lock on the 28th of April 2023. Do you agree or disagree? I don't know if I did go to lock that day or not. I'm going to suggest that you went to lock on that day to find death cap mushrooms. Agree or disagree? Disagree? And that these mushrooms in image one of exhibit 18 are the death cap mushrooms that you found at lock on the 28th of April 2023. Agree or disagree? Disagree? I suggest that you were weighing these mushrooms, these death cap mushrooms, so that you could calculate the weight required for the administration of a fatal dose for one person Agree or disagree? Disagree, says Erin and the weight required for five fatal doses for five people. Agree or disagree? Erin, disagree. Can we go back to exhibit 55, please? Image six You've got that on the screen. Yes, I do.

Speaker 1: 2:52

You took this photo, almost certainly. Yes, with your mobile phone. I don't know what device. Is that your kitchen bench? Correct? It looks to be. Yes, they look to be shelves in the background, correct? Correct, it's your dehydrator, correct and if you could just be slightly thank you with these. Sometimes, because people are speaking with these transcripts, things sort of sound clunky or out of order, but I am reading the actual transcript.

Speaker 1: 3:27

It was last modified on this device of the 30th of April 2023. I can see that. You see that? Yeah, image eight. You took this photo Probably. Why do you say probably? Because I don't have a specific memory of taking this photo, but it was likely me. Are you suggesting that it was one of your children who took this photograph? Erin, I'm not suggesting anything. It's your kitchen bench. It is. The plastic tray is from your dehydrator. It is.

Speaker 1: 3:56

These are your electronic scales yes, found in the pantry that I referred to earlier. Correct and last, this image was last modified on the 4th of May 2023 on this device. Correct? That's what it says. Yes, can you go, please, to image 12? This is your house inside your house. Yes, is it the photo we just looked at? Is it? Let me check, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you're right.

Speaker 1: 4:24

Image 9. You took this photo, probably with your mobile phone. I don't know what I used to take it. It's your kitchen bench. It looks to be. Yes, these are your electronic scales. Yes, the weight on there is recorded at 490.5 grams. Correct, and last modified on the 4th of May 2023, correct.

Speaker 1: 4:49

Now I want to please take you to Exhibit 78. This is a still of when you were at Leangatha Hospital on the 31st of July 2023. Okay, that's you depicted in this still, correct, correct, and that is your pink phone case depicted at the bottom of the still, correct, correct? Can I go back to exhibit 55, please, image 13. This is a partial image of a dehydrator tray on kitchen scales. Agreed, yes, and you took the photo, probably with your mobile phone, I don't know what I used. They're your kitchen scales, yes, your kitchen bench, yes, and the tray appears to be sitting on those kitchen scales, correct? It does, and the weight appears to be 158.9 grams. It does, although it could be a seven, I'm not sure. The pink object on the left of the shot is your pink phone case, I suggest. I don't know what it is. I suggest it's the same pink phone as shown in Exhibit 78 from the still of you at Leangatha Hospital I showed you a moment ago. It could be, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 6:03

Do you agree that all of these photos that I've shown you were taken on or after the 28th of April 2023? I would. I would agree with that, except I don't remember if a photograph of the very big mushrooms with the dark gills have a dehydrator in the background or not, but if, okay, if we set aside that particular image, yep, the other photos that I've shown this, dr Rogers, you were taken on or 28th of April 2023, you agree, I would agree with that because it's the date you purchased the dehydrator, correct? Yes, I suggest that you viewed these photos on your Samsung tablet using the Google Photos app, correct or incorrect? I don't know if I did that In what way. You don't know. I don't know if I viewed those photos on my Google Photos app on the tablet. I suggest you did. Okay, I don't know if I did it. I suggest that you did and I think that you've already agreed with this.

Speaker 1: 7:09

You told a lie to police on the 5th of August 2023 when you told them that you'd never dehydrated food. That was a lie. And you told this lie because you knew you had been dehydrating mushrooms correct. Yes, to preserve them to be used later. Correct. Correct. Including mushrooms which you knew to behead death cap mushrooms, correct. No, that is not correct and you lied about dehydrating food and mushrooms because you knew if you told the police the truth then that would implicate you in the poison lunch.

Speaker 1: 7:43

Agree or disagree? I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible. I'll ask the question again. You knew that if you told the truth then that would implicate you in the poison lunch. Agree or disagree? Mr Mandy? Your Honour, oh, mr Mandy, by the way, is Colin Mandy SC. He is Erin's barrister. Your Honour, I've got an issue with the word implicate. I think the witness's answer responded to the proposition within the question. His Honour. Yes, mr Mandy, implicate needs to be more carefully delineated. His Honour, can you use another word or phrase? Dr Rogers, what about this? You knew if you told police the truth then you would be immediately suspected by police of being involved in a poisoning event. That's probably true.

Speaker 1: 8:39

Yes, I suggest that you'd been dehydrating death cat mushrooms on or after the date of the purchase of the dehydrator to put into the Beef Wellingtons you served your four guests at the lunch. Agree or disagree? Can you ask that again, please? But before you do, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the microphone immediately in front of Bill, it covers your face and it makes it hard for me to fully. I lip read a little bit. Yeah, thank you. Is that better? It is better, thank you. All right, I'll ask the question again. I suggest that you've been dehydrating death cap mushrooms on or after the date of the purchase of the dehydrator for the purpose of putting into the beef wellingtons that you served up to your four guests at the lunch. That's not correct, sorry. And further, that you intended to serve one of those beef wellingtons to Simon Patterson. Had he turned up at the lunch, simon's her estranged husband, if he'd come, I would have given him a beef wellington too. Yes, but not one with death cat match shmirms, intentionally, if that was your question.

Speaker 1: 9:50

I want to go now to the lie. You told police that you never forage for mushrooms, exhibit 63. I think, for the transcript of the record of interview, page 8,. Thank you. Question 159. Okay, is that something you had done in the past? Foraging mushrooms? Answer never. Question 160 or anything else like that. Never. Answer, never. So that's what you told police. In the record of interview I did on August 5. I suggest that this was a deliberate lie by you. Sorry was that. It wasn't a mistaken lie. It was a lie. Yes, things about your personal life, correct? Yeah, we did share personal things. Okay.

Speaker 1: 10:42

So now this has jumped to her Facebook friends. Your children, yes. How you felt about Simon Patterson yes, you told them you were an atheist. No, you felt unhappy about Simon and his family wanting their children to go to a religious school. No, you told your Facebook friends about things you cooked yes, including mushrooms yes. And that one of your children didn't like mushrooms, correct. And that you'd bought a dehydrator Correct. Do you agree? You never told any of these Facebook friends that you had forage for mushrooms.

Speaker 1: 11:16

I don't know if I did or I didn't.

Speaker 1: 11:18

I'm suggesting that you did.

Speaker 1: 11:20

You're saying you might have or you might not have. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yes, his Honour. And by forage, what do you mean? Pick mushrooms, wild mushrooms? I don't know if I told them or not. I don't think it needs any further clarification.

Speaker 1: 11:38

Your Honour, did you discuss your Facebook friends cooking any wild mushrooms? I don't know Might you have, because you discuss food with them. I might have, I don't know. It was a group chat for four years. I can't remember everything we talked about. A group chat for four years. I can't remember everything we talked about. Okay, that's all for this morning. I'm going to be following the trial all day and I'll update you in the evening. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Make sure you get to the newsletter mushroommurdertrialcom and follow this podcast, please on your preferred platform. Podcast please on your preferred platform. And this weekend I'm going to be recording more content because we do have another two weeks to go, so I might as well get as much as I can out for you. Thank you again, I appreciate your time and I will speak to you very, very soon. Thanks, Bye.