Jury told to be careful assessing mushroom cook’s lies
Tara Cosoleto |
Jurors cannot find mushroom cook Erin Patterson guilty of murdering her lunch guests simply because she admitted telling lies, a judge has warned.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale provided the caution during the fourth day of his directions to the jury in Patterson’s triple-murder trial.
He noted the lies the 50-year-old has admitted, which include claims she never foraged for wild mushrooms and that she never had a dehydrator.
Jurors could use those lies to assess Patterson’s credibility on other statements she made to witnesses or during her evidence, Justice Beale said.
But just because Patterson lied about one thing does not mean she lied about everything, and jurors would need to consider all of the prosecution’s evidence, the judge warned.
“Do not reason that just because she has told a lie about something then she is guilty,” Justice Beale said.
The warning came after he outlined the evidence around Patterson’s alleged fake illness after the death cap mushroom-laced lunch.
Patterson’s former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died in hospital days after eating the beef Wellingtons prepared by Patterson on July 29, 2023.
Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson became unwell but was the only lunch guest to survive.
Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one charge of attempted murder, claims she was also unwell after the meal.
Justice Beale outlined the evidence from Patterson herself, where she reported having nausea and explosive diarrhoea for more than a day after the lunch.
The judge also reflected on the evidence from Patterson’s children, ex-husband Simon, doctors and nurses, who at times stated how well she appeared.
Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC claimed Patterson was pretending to be sick because she knew she had not eaten the deadly death cap mushrooms.
Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy SC argued she was unwell but not as sick as her lunch guests due to the amount of beef Wellington she ate, her age, size and general physical health.
Justice Beale said the evidence around Patterson’s condition after the lunch should be considered in the context of alleged incriminating conduct.
Patterson has admitted some of the conduct, including disposing of the dehydrator at a tip and lying about foraging for wild mushrooms.
Justice Beale said jurors have to consider whether Patterson told the lies because she panicked in fear of being wrongly accused and losing custody of her children.
Patterson has denied lying about feeling unwell and feeding her children leftovers from the beef Wellington lunch.
If the jury found she did engage in the alleged conduct, they must consider whether she did so because she feared being wrongly blamed, the judge said.
“Even if you think that conduct makes her look guilty, that doesn’t mean she is guilty,” Justice Beale said.
He sent the jurors home for the week shortly before 1pm on Friday, advising them his directions should finish before lunch on Monday.
The jury of 14 will then be balloted down to 12, who will be tasked with deciding whether Patterson is guilty or not guilty of each of the charges.
AAP
