Recap: what the jury heard today
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard today during Patterson’s cross-examination:
Erin Patterson said she could not recall accessing posts about death cap mushroom sightings on the citizen science website iNaturalist in May 2022. The court was shown a report from data extracted from a computer that police seized from Patterson’s house a week after the lunch. It showed the Bing search engine was used to look up the citizen science website iNaturalist in May 2022.
Patterson said on 1 August 2023 – three days after the lunch – that she realised foraged mushrooms may have been in a plastic container storing store-bought mushrooms that were used in the beef wellingtons. This occurred after her estranged husband, Simon, asked if she used a dehydrator to poison his parents, Patterson said. She agreed she did not tell anyone about this realisation.
Patterson denied that the “purpose” of the fateful lunch on 29 July 2023 was to discuss advice about a medical issue she had. Patterson acknowledged she told Simon about “some medical stuff” when she invited him to the lunch about two weeks prior.
Patterson said the medical issues referred to gastric bypass surgery for weight loss, which she was planning to have. She said she had a pre-surgery appointment booked.
Patterson said she felt “ashamed” about a message she sent to her Facebook friends in December 2022 where she wrote “fuck em” in relation to her in-laws, Don and Gail. She rejected the prosecution’s suggestion that messages in a group Facebook chat reflected her true feelings towards Don and Gail.
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Court adjourns
The court has adjourned for the long weekend.
Justice Christopher Beale reminds the jury not to speak to anyone about the trial apart from their fellow jurors in the jury room.
Patterson’s cross-examination will continue on Tuesday from 10.30am.
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