Erin Patterson, the woman accused of murdering and attempting to murder her relatives by serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Patterson, 49, was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in November after hosting an allegedly fatal lunch at her house in regional Victoria.
She is accused of murdering three guests who attended lunch at her Leongatha property on 29 July 2023: Don and Gail Patterson – the parents of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – along with his aunt Heather Wilkinson.
She is also alleged to have attempted to murder Simon Patterson on three occasions in 2021 and 2022.
The two final counts of attempted murder also relate to the lunch and Simon Patterson – who was invited but did not attend – and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who was left critically ill after the lunch but was discharged from hospital in September.
Wearing a royal blue jumper and with her hands clasped in front of her, Patterson appeared in the courtroom via camera from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, where she is being held on remand, for the brief hearing in the Latrobe Valley magistrates court in Morwell on Tuesday.
The court heard Patterson had elected to “fast track” her case, meaning she would skip a committal hearing in the magistrates court and proceed to what is known as a section 198 hearing in the supreme court, where the evidence against her would be tested for the first time.
It meant she had to enter a plea to the charges against her for the first time. She answered “not guilty, your honour” eight times as the magistrate, Tim Walsh, outlined the charges against her.
The prosecutor, Sarah Lenthall, told the court that three of the attempted murder charges against Patterson relating to Simon Patterson had also been amended to include the locations where they allegedly occurred.
Police allege Patterson attempted to murder him between 16 and 17 November 2021 in Korumburra; between 25 and 27 May 2022 in Howqua; and on 6 September 2022 in Wilsons Promontory.
Before Patterson entered her plea, Walsh gave her a standard direction which outlined that a court may take into consideration the nature of her plea at a later date. Reductions in sentences can be applied in Victoria for earlier guilty pleas.
Walsh asked Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, whether he had explained the “fast track” process to her, which is designed to quickly progress contested matters to trial by bypassing committal hearings in the magistrates court, and whether Patterson understood it.
“I have and she does,” Mandy responded.
Walsh had previously heard that Patterson wanted a committal hearing, the hearing where the evidence is tested against her for the first time, to be held in Morwell.
There was no reason given at Tuesday’s hearing for Patterson’s decision to fast-track the case.
Walsh also clarified that, during the 22 April appearance, he wrongly gave the impression that the Latrobe Valley magistrates court could not accommodate Patterson’s committal hearing for several months.
He said this was because Mandy, who he described as an “extremely capable senior counsel”, had indicated to Walsh that he only had limited availability, but Walsh had not made this clear during last month’s hearing.
“It’s an extremely voluminous brief, it cannot be passed to another barrister at a moment’s notice,” Walsh said.
“I just wanted to clarify that because I think it’s important that the community is aware that the court could have accommodated it.
“It is a criticism of nobody because … the fault probably lies with myself.”
Patterson will face the Victorian supreme court for a directions hearing on 23 May.
