Defence Claims Absence of Motive in Deadly Mushroom Case

The judge in the Mushroom Murder Trial has announced there will be at least one more week before the jury can begin deliberations, with final jury instructions starting Monday. 

Erin Patterson, age 50, is pleading not guilty to murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them beef wellington containing death cap mushrooms.

• Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers argued Ms Patterson deliberately obtained death cap mushrooms and incorporated them into the meal
• Prosecution claimed the mother-of-two told "lies upon lies" after the lunch as part of a cover-up
• Defence barrister Colin Mandy criticised the prosecution for "cherry-picking" evidence
• He emphasised Ms Patterson's lack of motive, questioning why she would harm her only support network
• The 50-year-old voluntarily testified and subjected herself to cross-examination and international public scrutiny
• Mr. Mandy will continue his closing address today.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Trial Update and Introduction
• 1:33 Prosecution's Closing Arguments
• 3:13 Defense's Response and Strategy
• 5:00 What's Next in Court
• 6:30 Podcast Wrap-up and Listener Gifts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast. My name is Lisa, and just when we thought we were getting close to the end of this lengthy trial, there was an update from the judge, justice Christopher Beale. He said we have at least one more week left before the jury can start deliberating on a verdict. Justice Beale will start his final instructions to the jury on Monday, so next week, and quote with the wind at my back, I might finish it by Tuesday afternoon. He said Plus, erin Patterson's barrister, columandius C, is feeling a little under the weather at the moment with a sore throat and a cough, so let's hope he's able to nip that in the bud, because I imagine a voice is a barrister's number one weapon in the courtroom. Now, quick reminder before we launch into today's updates head to mushroommurdertrialcom to subscribe to my newsletter. If you haven't yet, please also subscribe to this podcast on your preferred platform so you never miss an episode. You know you've put the time in. Now you have to come through to the end. We've got to be in this together, so make sure you subscribe Now.

Speaker 1: 1:20

Miss Patterson, age 50, is pleading not guilty to murdering three relatives and the attempted murder of a fourth by serving them a beef wellington meal that contained death cat mushrooms. Her defence claims this was a tragic mistake Earlier in the day. The prosecution alleged the mother of two told quote lies upon lies in the days after the lunch as part of her quote cover-up. But Ms Patterson's lawyers are arguing in a nutshell that an absence of motive weakens the case made by the state. In her trial, mr Mandy said the state's case lacked a motive which would usually be fundamental to proving the charges of intent to kill or seriously injure. Here's what else we learnt today in the court in Morwell, regional, victoria.

Speaker 1: 2:15

In her closing argument, crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said that Ms Patterson had deliberately focused her efforts on obtaining death cap mushrooms, which she used to prepare the single beef wellingtons served at a lunch gathering on July 29, 2023. Dr Rogers told the jury that Ms Patterson was not a reliable or honest witness. Wrapping up her final submissions, she said the collective weight of the evidence should lead the jury to find beyond reasonable doubt that the Leongatha woman had intentionally acquired death cat mushrooms and knowingly incorporated them into that tragic meal. In response, mr Mandy criticised the prosecution's handling of the case, describing it as flawed and dismissive of crucial elements. According to the defence, the prosecution had been quote cherry-picking the evidence which suited their case, while quote disregarding inconvenient truths that challenged their arguments. Regarding inconvenient truths that challenged their arguments, he added jurors to weigh whether it was reasonably possible that the mushrooms were added by mistake and to consider whether Ms Patterson truly intended to cause harm. Mr Mandy pointed out that his client lacked both motive and reason to harm her guests. Mandy pointed out that his client lacked both motive and reason to harm her guests Quote if someone were to go through with such a plan, he said quote they would be cutting ties with the only people offering support, risking their relationship with their own children and losing everything of personal value. The quote devoted mother had no motive to deprive her children of their wonderful grandparents. Although Ms Patterson was not required to testify, mr Mandy noted that she voluntarily took the stand, subjecting herself to prolonged cross-examination by a senior prosecutor and public scrutiny on an international scale. According to the ABC, ms Patterson was wearing a pink shirt today and was nodding at times as her defence barrister made his closing address to the jury.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Just a note on this I spent the first week of the trial in Victoria, but now I'm at home in another state. So I normally use the audio link every day to the courtroom. So I appreciate these little additions, bits of colour from the courtroom. So what's next now? Well, mr Mandy is expected to continue with his closing address on Tuesday and I will be back reporting on it for you, as normal. So thank you so much for listening today to the podcast. For more information, visit my website. Make sure you subscribe to that newsletter, mushroommurdertrialcom. And today this is so exciting I've sent off and designed my first batch of thank you gifts for my listeners. I cannot wait to start giving them away. It's going to be awesome. I love doing a bit of merchandise my social media accounts. They are in the show notes and, if you feel like rewarding me for the thousands of hours I've spent on this work, I have a Buy Me A Coffee membership which allows you to pay $5, well, from $5 as a thank you and I get a coffee, and that just helps prop up the podcast a little bit. Now. So that's thank you.

Speaker 1: 6:00

From the land of the never-ending trial, when the jury emerges from its deliberations with a verdict, I feel like we've all been through a war. Well, not quite a war, more like we've moved house a few times. Which, oh my God. Which reminds me. Oh, I gave myself a shiner last week. I was scrounging around in my house in the dark for a microphone and some shoes and I cl clicked the side of a chair, a wooden chair. I was lucky it didn't get my eye, so I did put the photo up on Facebook, but Facebook's having a few issues at the moment, so I don't think you can actually see it. But anyway, trust me, I still do have a shiner, because podcasting is an extreme sport. It's treacherous, believe me or not. But thank you, have a wonderful day and I will speak to you very, very soon. Bye.