HOW good are you with emojis?
It’s a matter for the jury, as they say, but you can probably chance your arm and say the use of an emoji with a straight line for the mouth, in several of Erin Patterson’s messages to her Facebook group chat friends was, like the emoji itself, ambiguous.
Called ‘Face with Neutral Expression’, it was one of a number of emojis to rear its head on Day 27 of the much-publicised ‘mushroom murder’ trial in the Supreme Court at Morwell.
These are of course the most serious of moments. Three people have died, another almost passed in similarly shocking circumstances and a person, 50-year-old Leongatha mother of two, Erin Patterson, is on trial for their murder and attempted murder.
The person who prepared the meal of beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms, Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges maintaining that what happened at her home that day was a tragedy and a terrible accident.
The issue of what a straight line face emoji means came up during the first day of cross-examination of Mrs Patterson by Crown Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers.
She was probing a message Erin sent to the group on December 6, 2022 at the height of a dispute between herself and estranged husband Simon Patterson over his newly designated status as “separated”, a child support application and the payment of school fees, doctor’s fees and other costs associated with the couple’s two children.
“At 10.44 am, from you: 'No nothing. But also more happened. Don rang me last night to say that he thought there was a solution to all this if Simon and I get together and try to talk and pray together'.
“Then there are two eyeball-rolling emojis, correct?” said Dr Rogers.
Erin was initially inclined to agree but then appeared to be peering more intently at the picture of the message on her iPad, also shown on the screen in Courtroom Four.
“Actually, I'm not sure they are. They look to be, I can't actually see how that is an eye-rolling emoji. It's just an emoji with a straight line for the mouth.”
“What does that emoji stand for to you?” asked Dr Rogers in her cross-examination.
“I'm not sure. I don't know,” said Mrs Patterson, although clearly, she was the one that wrote it.
Dr Rogers made exactly that point.
“It's a deliberate decision by the user to select an emoji, do you agree?”
“It can be, yes,” responded Erin.
Dr Rogers put it to Mrs Patterson that the decision to use an emoji is deliberate. She agreed.
Dr Rogers then went on to ask about two emojis used in a message to her friends while referring to a comment from Don Patterson that they might try to solve their problems by praying together.
“All I can say about it is it's a face with a straight line for a mouth. I don't know what I would call it,” said Erin
“Even though you used it?” Yes.
She asked Mrs Patterson about the use of the same emoji while commenting on a claim that Don and Gail didn’t want to get involved in financial matters “…but just hope we will pray for the kids”.
“I suggest to you that these are eye-roll emojis,” said Dr Rogers.
“I think there are better eye-roll emojis than these that actually makes it clear that your eyes are rolling. I can't see anything about eyes rolling in there.”
Dr Rogers went on to suggest that by inserting the emojis Erin was actually mocking the religious component of the Pattersons’ messages.
“No, I wasn't mocking, I was frustrated,” said Erin.
“Even though these emojis are right next to the phrases 'pray together' and 'pray for the kids'?
Mrs Patterson agreed the emojis came after those aspects of the Facebook group messages.
Dr Rogers then moved on to “your so-called cancer diagnosis” in a long day of questioning about the testimony provided by Erin Patterson during three days in the witness box. The cross-examination continued on Friday in the Supreme Court in Morwell.
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