Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Facebook messages about accused killer’s family revealed: ‘What morons’

The major development of Thursday happened late in the day when defence barrister Colin Mandy SC showed homicide detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall Facebook messages between Erin Patterson and her ‘online friends’.

Mr Mandy (pictured) said they came from a report which contained 186 pages of chat messages between a number of people.

The jury heard a friend sent a message: ‘What morons.’

That was followed by: ‘Anyway, you weren’t asking them to adjudicate, you just wanted them to hear your story’.

Patterson responded: ‘I said to him about 50 times yesterday that I didn’t want them to adjudicate.

‘Nobody bloody listens to me. At least I know they’re a lost cause.’

Another friend wrote: ‘If you haven’t heard from Simon, invite him for a response.’

Another wrote: ‘It’s pathetic.’

A third wrote: ‘If he doesn’t want to talk about your marriage, they could at least demand to know how he’s financially supporting the kids.’

Mr Mandy suggested the friends were venting with each other.

They also discussed Cheers actress Kirstie Alley’s death and their pets.

Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly serving them a beef Wellington lunch made with death cap mushrooms.

Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit.

The court heard Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was also invited to the gathering at her home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, but didn’t attend.

Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller, differently-coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate off four grey plates.

Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this.

Victoria’s health department said the death cap mushroom poisoning was ‘isolated’ to Patterson’s deadly lunch.

Multiple witnesses, including Erin’s estranged husband, Heather’s husband and other family members, have given emotion-charged evidence to the jury.

Medical staff have told the jury of the painful symptoms the dying lunch guests and Mr Wilkinson suffered.

An expert witness told the court death cap mushrooms were detected in debris taken from a dehydrator Patterson had dumped at a local tip.

Telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorell also told the jury Patterson’s phone was detected near areas at Outtrim and Loch, in the Gippsland region, where death cap mushrooms had been spotted.

Victoria Police Cybercrime Squad senior digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry said he found evidence of a death cap mushroom on data from a computer seized from Patterson’s Leongatha home on August 5, 2023.

On Friday, Austin Hospital intensive care director Professor Stephen Warrillow told the jury he was at the Melbourne health facility in July 2023 when the poisoned lunch guests were transferred to his care.

Professor Warrillow said all patients were given intense treatment and Don received a liver transplant.

Ian Wilkinson sat in court and listened as details of how his wife died from death cap poisoning were aired in court.

The jury also heard the text exchanges between health department officer Sally Anne Atkinson and Patterson in the days after the deadly lunch as authorities rushed to solve the cause of the outbreak.

On Tuesday, the jury was shown the police interview Patterson took part in shortly after her home was searched on August 5.

Detectives seized a manual for a Sunbeam hydrator but Patterson denied in her interview that she had ever owned such an appliance.

Patterson also told police she invited her in-laws for lunch because she loved them and they were like real family to her.

Homicide Squad detective leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall told the court officers searched for a Samsung Galaxy A23 – known as ‘Phone A’ – but it was never found.

Sen-Constable Eppingstall also said another Samsung Galaxy A23 – known as ‘Phone B’ – was factory reset multiple times including while police searched Patterson’s Leongatha home.

He said Phone B was later remotely wiped while it was kept in a secure locker at the Homicide Squad headquarters in Melbourne.

The jury also heard Patterson’s family had a history of cancer and her daughter had a benign ovarian cancer cyst removed.

On Thursday, lead defence barrister Colin Mandy suggested to Sen-Constable Eppingstall that a photo taken during the Leongatha police search depicted the mysterious Phone A.

Mr Mandy also highlighted other devices he suggested police failed to seize including laptops and a USB stick.

Later, the jury heard Facebook messages between Patterson and her online friends in which they discussed Simon, pets and the death of actress Kirstie Alley.

The jury also heard Signal messages between Don and Erin in which Don and Gail (pictured) wished Patterson well and also prayed for her health.

Further messages between Gail and Erin in May 2022 reveal Patterson wished her former mother-in-law a happy Mother’s Day

‘Happy Mother’s Day to the best mother-in-law anyone could ever ask for,’ Erin wrote.

Mr Mandy then read some Signal messages between Erin, Simon (pictured), Don and Gail in November 2022.

The messages were about a surgery that Erin’s son had recently undergone.

Erin: Thanks for your kind message

Gail: Wondering how you’re feeling today, love Gail and Don

Gail: Could you please tell [her son] we’re all praying [his surgery went well], he will know God’s peace

Simon: Good news about the surgery, interesting about the bumps [and where they were located]

Gail: Thank you God and the doctors

Erin: I’m in the recovering room with him now, he’s sleeping

The jury has been told about a series of messages about Erin Patterson’s son being offered help with his schoolwork by her father-in-law, Don Patterson.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC is continuing his cross-examination of Homicide Squad detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall.

Patterson, wearing a long-sleeved, navy coloured top with white spots, listened as Mr Mandy took Sen-Constable Eppingstall through the Signal messages between Erin, Don and Gail in February 2022.

Don: ‘[I’m happy to help] in any subject I might have some competence in, I’m happy to provide it, probably using [web videoconferencing app] Jitsi’

Erin: ‘Thank you so much I’ve been in contact with his year-level coordinator who confirmed that half of [her son’s] books were forgotten today.

‘Also, [her daughter’s] teacher is putting together a bundle of books for her, which she said would be ready to collect from the front desk by 3pm tomorrow.

‘It would be safe for you to go, as no kids appear out of the classrooms until 3.15.

‘But if you wanted to wait to be safe, they’re basically all gone with only a few stragglers wheeling about at 3.30pm. Thank you.’

Don responded: ‘Unfortunately we’ll be at Heaher’s tomorrow at 3 to have afternoon tea with [a person] and then we can go early Thursday morning if you like. I’m happy to help [your son] with algebra, but please send the PDF of the chapter tomorrow around 11, be okay?’

Erin later spoke about possibly having Covid and thanked Don and Gail for the ‘loan of your blood-oxygen thing’.

‘That’s no good, hope and pray you don’t get worse,’ Don replied.

Don later praised Patterson’s son for his keenness to study.

‘A class full of [her son’s name] will be fun,’ Don wrote.

Patterson responded her son enjoyed the sessions which were ‘great’.

Erin messaged that her son said Don was good at explaining maths and ‘thank you Papa [with a love heart emoji].’