Court has finished for the day.

Follow along tomorrow for more updates.

Before the jury left for the day, Justice Beale advised he will not be finished with his directions tomorrow.

That means the jury will now not enter deliberations until Friday at the earliest.

Justice Beale told the jury he will speak to them next about Patterson allegedly lying about the soure of the dried mushrooms.

He said he wanted to discuss the topic all together in one go tomorrow, rather than starting this afternoon.

Justice Beale has told the jury it may be best if they assess the remainder of the prosecution’s alleged incriminating conduct in relation to Patterson health and hospital visits on their own to save the court time.

However, before finishing on that topic, he summarised the arguments from both legal parties in relation to Patterson’s behaviour at the hospital.

“The prosecution argue the only rational reason for her not receiving treatment and discharging herself against medical advice was because she knew she had not consumed death cap mushrooms,” Justice Beale said.

“The defence argue a reasonable explanation was that she found it difficult to accept that she could have suffered death cap poisoning, (that) she did not come prepared to stay overnight, (that) she needed to make arrangements for the kids and animals, (and that) she intended to return after organising those arrangements.”

Justice Beale also noted the defence argue all of Patterson’s reasons for not wishing to stay at the hospital also need to be considered within the context of her dislike of hospitals and lack of faith in the medical system.

Justice Beale said the prosecution alleges Patterson engaged in incriminating conduct by exhibiting behaviours that indicated she was guilty and acted as such.

Justice Beale said the prosection’s allegations of incriminating conduct include:

• Patterson (allegedly) lying about being unwell and faking being poisoned
• Patterson allegedly lying that she used dried Asian mushrooms in the beef wellington
• Patterson refusing treatment on her first presentation at Leongatha Hospital and leaving against medical advice
• That Patterson was reluctant to receive treatment for herself on her second visit to Leongatha Hospital
• That Patterson was reluctant to receive treatment for her children on 31 July 2023
• That Patterson allegedly lied that she fed her children the leftover beef wellington with the mushroom and pastry scrapped off
• That Patterson reset phone B multiple times commencing on 2 August 2023
• That Patterson, on 2 August 2023, disposed of the dehydrator at the tip
• That Patterson, on 5 August 2023, during the search of her home, gave police phone B instead of phone A, her usual phone
• That Patterson, on 5 August 2023, during the record of interview, lied that her normal number ended in 835, rather than providing police with her usual number ending in 783
• That Patterson lied that she had not dehydrated mushrooms
• That Patterson lied to police that she had never foraged
• That Patterson lied to police about the dehydrator, saying she may have had a dehydrator years ago.

Justice Beale then read the jury testimony provided in court by various witnesses in relation to the prosecution’s allegations.

That included testimony from Simon that his estranged wife “hated hospital” and had a history of leaving hospitals, and evidence from medical staff about Patterson’s behaviour at the hospital.

Justice Beale also noted Patterson gave evidence that she had not come prepared to be admitted and was sceptical about the medical system due to prior negative experiences.

Justice Beale has told the jury they are not required to accept the evidence of Dr Sorell or Fox-Henry.

He said, like all other witnesses, the jury can choose to either accept or reject their testimony.

Justice

Judge Beale has taken the judge through expert testimony provided by Shamen Fox-Henry, a digital forensics expert for Victoria Police who analysed Patterson’s devices.

He recapped Fox-Henry’s evidence, including his credentials, the procedures he performed, what he found on the devices, technical terms and information about the analysis, and what checks he did not do on the devices.

Justice Beale said the analysis identified photos of mushrooms, internet searches, and information about factory resets performed on her phone.

In total, there were more than 2 million artefacts identified, but Fox-Henry was asked to look at 60 to 70 of those., Beale said.

He noted Patterson told the court that she did not remember carrying out the internet searches for iNaturalist in early 2022, but that it was possibly her.

“She said she wasn’t disagreeing with the cross-examiner but she couldn’t remember,” Justice Beale said.

Justice Beale said Patterson said she was interested in finding out whether death cap mushrooms grew in South Gippsland.

Justice Christopher Beale has begun his instructions to the jury by correcting a remark he made yesterday.

Justice Beale told the jury yesterday that the prosecution argue evidence by telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorell suggests Patterson travelled to Loch and Outtrim, but the defence argue his testimony indicates it is also possible she didn’t.

Justice Beale told the jury yesterday: “In short, the defence argument gets you no where”.

However, this morning, Justice Beale said he meant to say: “In short, the prosecution argument gets you no where”.

Justice Beale summarised that the defence argues there is no concrete evidence Patterson travelled to Loch and Outtrim, while the prosecution argues there is circumstantial evidence to suggest she did.

The jury have entered the court after lengthy delays this morning.

Welcome to www.20304050.best’s live blog of the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial.

Here is a recap of what the court has heard so far from the trial:

WEEK 1

Day one: It was revealed that three charges of attempted murder against Patterson in relation to her estranged husband had been dropped by the prosecution.

Day two: The prosecution and defence gave their opening addresses to the jury.

The court heard the prosecution will allege Patterson used a fake cancer diagnosis as the pretense for hosting the lunch, that the guests were served on different coloured plates to her, and she travelled to areas where death cap mushrooms were sighted in early 2023.

The prosecution will also allege Patterson dumped a food dehydrator – which was found to contain traces of death cap mushrooms – at a local tip in the days after the lunch, and that she set up two phones in early 2023 but only one was recovered by police during a search of her home.

The defence will argue the deaths were an “accidental terrible tragedy” and Patterson did not intentionally poison her guests.

The defence say Patterson lied to police because she “panicked”.

Day three: Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, took the stand as the prosecution’s first witness. The court heard about the former couple’s relationship, Patterson’s inheritance, and were shown texts the pair exchanged about the lunch and child support.

Day four: Simon Patterson returned to the stand for cross-examination. He became emotional as he described the court process as “very difficult”. The court heard Patterson suffered from mental illness, that she was “very hurt” after an “afterthought invite” to Gail’s birthday party, and was shown more heated texts about child support payments.

WEEK 2

Day five: Three friends Patterson made in a true crime Facebook group took the stand. They said Patterson shared photos of her food dehydrator online and that she consulted the group for advice on beef wellington recipes around July 2023.

Day six: Ian Wilkinson, who was the only guest to survive the lunch, took the witness stand. He described his relationship with Patterson, what happened at the lunch, and the symptoms he and his late wife, Heather, later suffered.

Day seven: The court heard evidence from the children of the four lunch guests as well as doctors who oversaw the two couple’s treatment. Don and Gail Patterson’s daughter, Anna Terrington, became emotional on the stand while recalling conversations with her parents about the lunch. The court was also shown CCTV of Patterson leaving the hospital against medical staff’s advice and heard a triple 0 call a doctor made to police after she discharged herself.

Day eight: The court heard from nurses and paramedics who tended to Patterson at hospital. They said she did not seem “unwell” and that they did not witness her making frequent trips to the toilet, despite her reportedly suffering from diarrhoea. The court also saw a pre-recorded interview of Patterson’s daughter speaking to a detective in August 2023 Her daughter told the officer her mother was sick the day after the lunch and she saw her go to the toilet around “ten times”.

Day nine: The court was shown a pre-recorded interview of Patterson’s son speaking to a detective. During the conversation, the teenage boy spoke about disputes between his parents and said his mother reported having diarrhoea after the lunch.

WEEK 3

Day 10: The court heard evidence from a mushroom expert, mycologist Thomas May, who provided information about the growth and distribution of death cap mushrooms in Australia. The court heard that he shared photos of death cap mushrooms on iNaturalist, a website where citizen scientists share observations of wild mushrooms, in May 2023. His observation was made in Outtrim, in Victoria’s Gippsland region. The prosecution will allege Patterson travelled to that area in the days after the sighting.

Day 11: CCTV footage of Patterson allegedly dropping a food dehydrator to a tip in the days after the lunch was shown in court. A mycologist who examined leftovers of beef wellington recovered from Patterson’s bin revealed the food remnants only contained field mushrooms. The court also heard from a medical expert who found Patterson’s hospital records did suggest she was suffering from a diarrhoeal illness.

Day 12: The court heard from a child protection worker who interviewed Patterson in the days after the lunch. She said Patterson described Simon as “controlling”, spoke about the beef wellington recipe, the lunch, and her bid to prevent a diarrhoea accident. The court also heard from a toxicologist who revealed traces of death cap mushroom toxins were found in the lunch leftovers and a dehydrator recovered from a tip.

Day 13: The court heard from a plant expert who examined the lunch leftovers and food dehydrator. He told the court death cap DNA was found in samples from the dehydrator, but not in the leftovers.

WEEK 4

Day 14: The court heard from a fungi expert who observed death cap mushrooms in Loch in April 2023 then reported the sighting on iNaturalist. The court also heard analysis from a digital forensic expert found Patterson’s mobile data showed she visited Loch and Outtrim in the days after death cap sightings were posted online.

Day 15: Under cross-examination, digital forensic expert Matthew Sorell confirmed analysis placing Patterson’s mobile phone in Loch and Outtrim in autumn 2023 was not conclusive. The court was also shown CCTV of Patterson making a nine second bathroom trip at a service station the day after the lunch.

Day 16: The court heard from a digital forensic expert who extracted files from Patterson’s computer. A report shown in court revealed there were visits to iNaturalist in May 2022, including to a page on the website about a death cap sighting in Melbourne.

Day 17: The court was shown Facebook messages Patterson sent to friends complaining about her frustration with Simon and his family. The court was also shown mobile phone analysis that indicated a number of factory resets were performed on a phone Patterson handed over to police.

Day 18: The court heard from an intensive care doctor who revealed all four lunch guests arrived at Austin Hospital critically ill. He said Don Patterson was given a liver transplant, but Gail and Heather were deemed too ill to receive one. Despite the surgery, Don died. Ian underwent a bowel surgery and later recovered after weeks in intensive care.

WEEK 5

Day 19: The court heard from Sally Ann Atkinson, a public health officer who was tasked with investigating the source of the mushrooms. She said Patterson gave differing accounts of events over separate interviews.

Day 20: Homicide detective Stephen Eppingstall, who oversaw the investigation, took the stand. The jury was shown footage of Patterson’s interview with police. During the interview, she denied having ever foraged for mushrooms and said she loved her former parents-in-law.

Day 21: The court was shown Patterson’s Woolworths shops in the lead up to the lunch and medical records from 2021, which indicated she had concerns about ovarian cancer. The court also heard phone data records show her primary sim card was removed from a Samsung a23 and put into a Nokia while police were searching her house on 5 August 2023.

Day 22: Detective Eppingstall was cross-examined by Patterson’s defence team. The court heard police budgets determined the analysis of Patterson’s phone. The court was also shown various receipts - including for cash payments at Koonwarra Transfer Station - as well as messages Patterson sent to Facebook friends and her former parents-in-law.

Day 23: The defence resumed cross-examination of detective Eppingstall. The court was shown messages between Patterson and her former parents-in-law in early and late 2022, in which Don and Gail inquired about Patterson’s health and she showed concern about them catching Covid. The court was also shown a Mother’s Day message exchange between Gail and Patterson, in which she described her as the ‘best mother-in-law’ anyone could ask for.

WEEK SIX

Day 24: The defence wrapped up cross-examination of detective Eppingstall. Patterson took the stand and told the court about what her life was like in July 2023. She also explained how she met her estranged husband, Simon, and described key moments from their first few years of marriage. She also said trouble with communication was the root cause of their marital issues.

Day 25: Patterson told the court about her issues with binge eating, child support discussions with her estranged husband, and how she used her inheritance. She explained she was converted to Christianity by Simon and claimed she had never told a Facebook friend that she was an atheist. She also spoke about her issues with hospitals, fondness for mushrooms and dehydrating food, and her history of foraging for wild mushrooms. She told the jury she accepted that death cap mushrooms were in lunch she served at her Leongatha home and that she was “ashamed” of messages she had sent to her Facebook friends about her former parents-in-law.

Day 26: Patterson spoke about the days after the lunch, claiming she pulled over to got to the toilet in bushland because she had diarrhoea. She said she wiped, put the tissues in a dog poo bag, and CCTV footage of her entering a BP toilet for mere seconds showed her disposing of the tissues.Patterson admitted to carrying out three out of four factory resets on one of her phones. She said she performed the last one, while her phone was in police custody, to see if detectives were “silly enough” to leave it connected to the internet. She also said she changed her phone number in the days after the lunch because she didn’t want Simon to contact her. Patterson said it wasn’t until a conversation with Simon in the hospital about the food dehydrator that she began to think her foraged mushrooms may have been responsible for the poisonings. She said she then became “scared” as child protection workers were now involved and so she lied to public health officers and dumped the dehydrator.

Day 27: The prosecution began cross-examination of Patterson. She denied lying to her lunch guests about having cancer, saying she wasn’t “that specific”. She was also questioned about foraging, child support, photos found on her devices, and conversations she had with Facebook friends.

Day 28: Under cross-examination, Patterson denied sending aggressive messages to Don and Gail as well as the suggestion that she was ‘two-faced’ about her relationship with her former parents-in-law by sending expletive-filled messages about them to her Facebook friends. She also told the jury she could not remember conducting iNaturalist searches on her computer.

WEEK SEVEN

Day 29: The court heard the ENRICH Clinic, in Melbourne, where Patterson said last week that she was booked for a gastric byspass surgery appointment in late 2023 - does not offer gastric bypass surgery. When the prosecution put that fact to Patterson, she said she was ‘puzzled’ and denied lying about having the appointment. Patterson also told the court she could not remember using iNaturalist or making a food order to a pub moments after the mushroom website were accessed. She also said her son was “mistaken” in his interview with detectives.

Day 30: During cross-examination, Patterson conceded the ENRICH Clinic in Melbourne does not offer gastric bypass surgery services. The prosecution asked why Patterson needed more mushrooms for the lunch as she had purchased 1.75kg of button mushrooms in the six days before the meal. Patterson told the court she ate 1kg of those mushrooms before the day of the lunch. Patterson also disputed what her children told police about why she did not want them at the lunch.

Day 31: Patterson was questioned by the prosecition about her diarrhoea medication claims. She also denied making up a conversation with Simon about the food dehydrator and said her daughter was mistaken about her also eating the lunch leftovers. During re-examination, Colin Mandy asked Patterson about her appointment at the ENRICH Clinic and searches on her device for the iNaturalist website.

WEEK EIGHT

Day 32: The prosecution began its closing address. Senior prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC alleged Patterson made four key deceptions in a bid to cover her tracks.

Day 33: The defence began its closing address. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC told the jury would need to consider whether there was a reasonable possibility that the poisonings were accidental and a reasonable possibility Patterson did not intend to kill or cause serious injury to her guests.

Day 34: The defence concluded its closing address. The jury were told if they thought Patterson “probably did it” they should still find her not guilty, as that would mean they still had reasonable doubt.

WEEK NINE

Day 35: Justice Christopher Beale began his charge to the jury. The jury were told the different types of evidence they heard in the case and how they can use them during deliberations.

You can catch up on the details from the last blog here: