SIMON Peter Patterson, the estranged husband of the woman accused of the triple murder of three of his family members and the attempted murder of another, Erin Patterson, took the stand in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts on Thursday morning, May 1.

Under questioning by Crown Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC, Mr Patterson said it was very rare for the couple to have guests in their home for meals, and anytime there was to be a family gathering it was generally held at his parents' place.

“Very rare. I don’t think we ever had a gathering of that kind at home. For family occasions we’d gather at our parents’ or Matts’ (Simon’s brother’s place).

It was a clear reference to the fateful family lunch gathering at Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha on Saturday, July 29, 2023 when both of Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, together with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, visited for a meal of beef wellington allegedly laced with death cap mushrooms.

The family members had been asked to the lunch on the pretext of Erin Patterson telling them about a diagnosis for ovarian cancer, and how best to commicate the news to the children. It is an agreed fact that there was no assessment, diagnosis or treatment for cancer.

Dr Rogers went on to probe the fractious relationship between the couple following their marriage in June 2007 and their permanent separation in November 2015, at one stage with Erin flying back to Perth on her own from Townsville during the couple’s travels around Australia, leaving Simon to drive back to Perth by himself with the couple’s baby.

Here is what Simon told the court:

"We again packed up everything, went in a four-wheel drive with a tent and with a young baby and we drove through the northern half of Australia for a few months, up to the top of Cape York Peninsula and then got back down to Townsville where Erin chose to fly just herself back to Perth. So, I packed everything up and [name] and I drove across Australia through the middle, straight back to Perth."

The couple, he said, had been part of an "eclectic friends group" at the Monash City Council when they met, Simon employed as a civil engineer and Erin, who had degrees in business/accounting and air traffic controlling, employed in the animal management/local laws department.

He said she was "very intelligent", quite witty and funny at times, and the couple married on June 2 in 2007, almost immediately deciding to pack up and go 4WD driving around Australia, settling in Perth where they got jobs and had their first child.

However, on returing to Perth from travels around Australia's north, Erin organised a rental place for herself while Simon lived in a caravan park nearby.

"What I understood from Erin was that she was struggling inside herself," said Simon when asked if the problems between the pair were ever identified.

The pair moved back to Victoria in 2013, living briefly at Bena before buying a house in Korumburra.

In November 2015, Erin bought another house in Korumburra and decided to move out.

Simon maintained that he was "always keen to have a good strong marriage to bring the children up in".

Asked when the separation became permanent, whether Erin gave any reason for leaving, Simon said not at that stage.

"Did she say to you that she felt that the way you and she related was toxic?" Asked Dr Rogers

"Later on she did communicate that to me," said Simon.

On a number of occasions he became emotional while being questioned about family matters, at one stage asking for a box of tissues, but assured the court, when offered the opportunity of a break by Justice Beale, that he was alright to continue.

While the couple had reconciled several times during the course of the on again-off again relationship, maintaining regular contact on issues of general interest mainly by text message, Mr Patterson acknowledged there was a key incident which changed their relationship in 2022 after Erin had moved to her new home in Leongatha.

“Yes, at the house. I was dropping off one of the kids and she came out and wanted to have a chat. I could see it was a serious thing,” Mr Patterson told the court.

Erin Patterson had discovered that Simon had listed his marital status as “separated” for the first time on his tax return, an oversight by his accountant, he said, but his estranged wife took great exception to the change.

She said it meant she would have to apply for child support, subsequently unsettling their previously amicable arrangements about paying school fees, medical fees and other family expenses.

The issue of the school fees was subsequently escalated by Erin to Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, who encouraged the couple to try and sort it out.

Asked how Erin got on with his parents, Simon said “very well”.

“They got along very well, especially with dad,” said Simon.

He said his wife Erin developed mutual interests with Don, both of them having inquiring minds.

But the relationship between Simon and Erin went downhill significantly from that point in November 2022, with contact by text message mainly of a functional nature, sometimes with Ms Patterson declining to respond to her estranged husband’s attempts to make contact.

Dr Rogers also probed Simon Patterson about what he understood to be the status of Erin’s finances, stating in response that he knew she had received a $2 million inheritance from her grandmother, funds that were paid out gradually over time.

Dr Rogers then focused in on the family lunch on July 29 to which Simon Patterson was invited to attend but ultimately declined.

The couple exchanged text messages about attending the lunch, Erin Patterson responding to Simon saying she was really disappointed that he had decided not to attend, given the time, cost and effort she had put into preparing a meal of beef wellingtons, saying she may not be able to arrange such an occasion again and that she still hoped he would decide to attend at 12.30pm the following day.

Dr Rogers continued her questioning of Mr Patterson through until the lunch break and briefly afterwards, probing the events in the days following the beef wellington lunch including the hospitalisation of his parents and aunt and uncle, and also Erin Patterson.

She asked him about two discussions he had with Heather Wilkinson about the meal, specifically on which plates the food was served.

"She said I noticed Erin served her food on a coloured plate that was different from the rest," said Simon, but noted that he didn't advance the discussion with his aunt at that time while they were making arrangements to go to hospital.

Dr Rogers asked if they discussed the issue of the plates on the way to the hospital.

"She asked if Erin was short of crockery. Is that why she would have used a different coloured plate to serve her meal on. I said 'yes' Erin doesn't have many plates and that might have been the reason."

Shortly after the lunch break, counsel for the defence, Colin Mandy SC, took up the questioning of Simon Patterson, returning to the matter of the plates at one stage..

He asked Mr Patterson if he was aware of the crockery Ms Patterson had in her Leongatha home, after she moved across from Korumburra and if it was fair to describe them as "a mixture of plates".

"I'd say she had a mis-matched group," said Simon Patterson.

"Not a large number eight or 10 in the house?" asked Mr Mandy.

"That's probably fair," said Mr Patterson.

Mr Mandy spent a lot of time asking Mr Patterson questions about his wife's character, initially that her role as the RSPCA animal managment officer at Monash Council was consistent with her love of animals, that she demonstrated her generousity by advancing a $400,000 loan from her family inheritance to Simon's brother Matt and his wife to build a home in Officer, and "hundreds of thousands" to his other siblings for similar purposes, that she had a loving relationship with Simon's parents and was a devoted mother.

Mr Patterson is expected to return to the stand on Friday morning to continue his evidence. The court will only sit until lunchtime on Friday.