3 hours ago
6
Child protection worker tells court Erin Patterson said she felt ‘isolated’ from in-laws
Cripps recalls Patterson saying a dispute over Simon listing himself as “separated” on his tax return in late 2022 had led to a strain in the pair’s relationship.
She says Patterson described her relationship with Simon’s parents:
She said that Don and Gail had been like the parents she hadn’t had ... They’d always treated her like a daughter-in-law ... that relationship had changed recently. She felt isolated from them.
She said the relationship between her and Simon had changed.
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Patterson’s defence lawyer, Sophie Stafford, is cross-examining Cripps.
Stafford asks Cripps about her conversation with Simon Patterson at Monash medical centre on 1 August 2023.
Cripps agrees that Simon told her Patterson was aware his relatives were unwell after the lunch but not how ill they were.
Patterson did not answer when asked if she picked the mushrooms herself, court told
Cripps says during the home visit, Patterson described the packaging of the dried mushrooms to her as “in a bag that was not re-sealable” with a white label.
Patterson said she had opened the bag previously but decided to not use the dried mushrooms, Cripps says.
Patterson said she was planning to use them in a carbonara dish but decided against it as they had a “strong smell”, Cripps says. She then placed them in a container, the court hears.
She says Patterson told her she decided to use the mushrooms with the strong smell in the beef wellington meal because they “wouldn’t be the primary flavour”.
Cripps says she asked Patterson if she picked the mushrooms used in the dish.
Prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asks Cripps if Patterson answered the question.
Cripps says she did not. She says Patterson was on her phone when she asked the question.
Cripps says Patterson told her she did not eat all of the beef wellington meal.
Cripps says child protection determined Patterson’s two children would remain in the custody of their mother.
On 2 August, Cripps made arrangements to see Patterson, the court hears. She says:
The arrangement was to conduct a home visit.
Patterson’s children were at school during the home visit, the court hears.
During the visit, Cripps facilitated a conversation with a department of health employee who wanted to speak to Patterson about where she had sourced the mushrooms used in the beef wellington. The employee earlier that day told Cripps she could not get hold of Patterson, the court hears.
Cripps recalls what Patterson told the department of health official:
She could not recall where she purchased the mushrooms from.
She says Patterson looked at her online bank statements before she spoke to the department of health employee on the phone, the court hears.
Cripps says:
I saw her scrolling on her phone. I did not see the screen.
She says Patterson did not find a record of buying the mushrooms and said she may have paid cash because it was a small purchase.
Asked about how Patterson described her relationship with Simon, Cripps says she described Simon as “controlling” and “emotionally abusive”:
She did say they had a good relationship until recently.
Cripps says Patterson said she wanted to discuss a medical issue at the lunch.
Cripps says Patterson told her she found the beef wellington recipe in a RecipeTin[Eats] cookbook.
She says Patterson said she “wanted to do something new and special”.
She says Patterson said she bought pre-sliced mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer.
Cripps recalls Patterson telling her that mushrooms from an Asian grocer would “add a nice flavour to the beef wellington”.
Patterson said the children had eaten the leftovers of the lunch but she had scraped off the mushrooms for them, she says.
Child protection worker tells court Erin Patterson said she felt ‘isolated’ from in-laws
Cripps recalls Patterson saying a dispute over Simon listing himself as “separated” on his tax return in late 2022 had led to a strain in the pair’s relationship.
She says Patterson described her relationship with Simon’s parents:
She said that Don and Gail had been like the parents she hadn’t had ... They’d always treated her like a daughter-in-law ... that relationship had changed recently. She felt isolated from them.
She said the relationship between her and Simon had changed.
Cripps works as a child protection practitioner at the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, the court hears.
On 31 July, the department received a report regarding Erin Pattterson’s two children.
On 1 July, Cripps and a colleague spoke to Patterson, her estranged husband, Simon, and her two children.
Cripps tells the court she has a copy of notes her colleague made from these meetings.
Patterson said she and Simon separated in 2015, Cripps says.
She says Patterson told her the children had discussed not wanting to visit Simon on weekends because he “yelled” at them and slept a lot on the weekends.
The jurors have entered the courtroom in Morwell.
The prosecution calls their next witness, Katrina Cripps.
The jurors have not entered the court room yet.
While we wait for today’s proceedings to kick off, here’s a report from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, on what the trial heard yesterday:
What we learned yesterday
While we wait for today’s proceedings to begin, here’s a recap of what the jury heard yesterday.
1. Dr Camille Truong, a mycologist, said she did not find death cap mushrooms in two visual examinations of leftovers of the beef wellington lunch that were provided to her.
2. Truong says it was highly unlikely mushroom poisoning would occur from fungi bought from supermarkets or smaller supply shops because they cannot be cultivated.
3. Prof Andrew Bersten, an intensive care specialist, who reviewed Erin’s medical records from 31 July – the day of the lunch – to 1 August 2023 said he thought there was was evidence she had a “diarrhoeal illness”.
4. The jury was shown CCTV footage of a woman disposing of a dehydrator at a tip, the Koonwarra Transfer Station And Landfill, on 2 August – four days after the lunch.
5. The defence raised the case of a Victorian woman who died by accidentally poisoning herself with death cap mushrooms in an unrelated incident a year after the fateful beef wellington lunch.
Welcome
Good morning.
Welcome to day 12 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin shortly after 10.30am.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent”, but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
