FIFTY-year-old Leongatha mother two, Erin Patterson, charged with the murders of three of her in-laws and the attempted murder of another, will be back in court today, Tuesday, June 24.
It’s only been four days since the Supreme Court last sat at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, to hear this widely publicised case, but it feels as if the world has been turned on its head since last Thursday.
The evidence is in and the closing submissions by the prosecution and the defence have been delivered.
It’s now up to the judge, Justice Christopher Beale, to give his instructions to the jury, a process that’s set to take a minimum of two days, because there is such a lot of information to deal with,” according to Justice Beale.
Speaking to the jury last week, before wishing them a good long weekend, Justice Beale urged the jurors to maintain an open mind.
“You have heard the evidence. You have heard the closing speeches of the prosecution and the defence, but you have not heard my charge and as I indicated to you the other day, the charge consists of three parts. The first part concerns the legal principles that you have to apply, some of which I have told you already, but there is quite a few that I haven't spoken to you about yet.
“So, that's the first point. And the second point, and the last point, is that it is more important than ever that you have a good weekend and come back refreshed on Tuesday.”
In a murder trial, the judge's charge to the jury outlines the legal principles that apply to the case, summarises the evidence presented, and guides the jury on how to reach a verdict. The charge essentially translates the law into practical terms for the jury to refer to when considering the facts they've heard.
It is not expected that they will retire to consider their verdict until Wednesday evening at the earliest.
They can only come back with a decision within the courts’ hours, between 10.30am and 4.15pm daily. A jury may also return a verdict on Saturday, but not Sunday.
Erin Patterson has been charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder arising out of a meal of beef Wellington and death cap mushrooms served at a family lunch at her home in Leongatha on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges saying what happened on that day was a tragedy and a terrible accident.
