ON DAY 19 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial, the Supreme Court in Morwell heard from the Police Informant, the person in charge of the police case, Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall.
During his evidence on Tuesday, May 27, the court was shown a video interview of the accused, Erin Patterson, at the Wonthaggi Police Station on Saturday, August 5, 2023, where it was confirmed to Mrs Patterson that her mother-in-law Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson had both passed away the day before, on Friday, August 4.
Mrs Patterson acknowledged that she had already been advised that death cap mushrooms were the likely cause of their illness by Dr Chris Webster after her own presentation at the Leongatha Hospital on Monday, July 31.
Det S/C Eppingstall spoke to Erin about a discussion the pair had had earlier in the day, during a search of Mrs Patterson’s home in Gibson Street Leongatha, that she “hadn’t been kept in the loop” about the condition of her husband’s family members and the fact that two of them had died.
He said police were interested to try and understand what made them so ill and why it was that she hadn’t been quite so badly affected herself.
He said police were also keen to understand where the mushrooms for the meal had been sourced and asked Mrs Patterson if she ever went foraging for mushrooms.
“No, never,” Erin Patterson replied.
He also asked Mrs Patterson what she knew about a Sunbeam food dehydrator, but she said she had never owned a food dehydrator.
However, on Friday, August 4, 2023 the day before executing a search warrant at Mrs Patterson’s home, shortly after 4pm on the 4th of August, police had already located the Sunbeam dehydrator discarded in an e-waste bin at the Koonwarra Transfer Station by Erin Patterson at 11.34am on Wednesday, August 2, and also obtained a copy of video footage of Mrs Patterson visiting the tip on that day.
Mrs Patterson, through her defence lawyer Colin Mandy SC, has since admitted that she did go foraging for mushrooms although no details have yet been provided to the court.
Mrs Patterson was also asked by Det S/C Eppingstall in that interview on August 5 why she had invited her husband’s family members to lunch that day with Mrs Patterson replying that she loved them, that they had provided the parental support she didn’t have since the death of her own parents and regardless of her relationship with her estranged husband Simon, she was determined to retain the loving, supportive relationship with his family.
Erin Patterson had been read her rights before the interview, that she was entitled to receive the advice of a solicitor and to discontinue the exchange at any time.
She sat passively in the room at the Wonthaggi Police Station, on her own throughout, with Det S/C Eppingstall and another officer conducting the interview.
She was released without charge.
Erin Patterson has since been charged with three counts of murder arising out of a meal of beef Wellington and death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home on Saturday, July 29, 2023. She has however pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that what happened on the day was a tragedy and a terrible accident.
The trial continues at the Supreme Court in Morwell.
