Erin Patterson has denied main well being officers on a “wild goose chase”, and that she foraged loss of life cap mushrooms two hours sooner than purchasing a meals dehydrator, a Victorian court docket has heard.
Patterson, 50, faces 3 fees of homicide and one price of tried homicide on the subject of poisoning 4 lunch visitors with red meat wellington served at her space in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
Patterson has pleaded no longer responsible to murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s oldsters, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and making an attempt to homicide Ian Wilkinson, Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband.
Lawyers for Patterson say the loss of life cap mushroom poisoning was once a sad and horrible twist of fate.
In her 7th day within the witness field, Patterson was once once more requested time and again via Nanette Rogers SC, for the prosecution, whether or not she agreed with a sequence of tips concerning the lunch, and her behaviour within the weeks sooner than and after it.
Patterson denied that she lied when she informed the jury she had an hobby in foraging wild mushrooms, that she informed that lie to give an explanation for why she put foraged loss of life cap mushrooms within the meal after realising that purchasing loss of life cap mushrooms was once not likely, and that she modified her place, after telling police she by no means foraged for wild mushrooms, when she realised that didn’t “stack up”.
“Foraging for non-toxic mushrooms was not something you did,” Rogers requested her.
“Disagree,” Patterson responded.
Patterson additionally denied that she had made up proof about foraging for mushrooms together with her kids, regardless of them announcing in interviews with police that they may no longer recall having completed so.
“This is a story you have made up for this jury, agree or disagree,” Rogers requested.
“Disagree,” she spoke back.
Patterson additionally denied that she intentionally purchased separate eye fillet steaks as she sought after to make person red meat wellingtons and no longer as a result of she may no longer supply a unmarried better “log” of eye fillet, because the recipe had referred to as for.
She agreed that she won’t have had to put further dried mushrooms within the dish, given she had purchased sufficient mushrooms from the grocery store for the recipe, however denied that the dried mushrooms had been too “overpowering” to be incorporated within the “special” red meat wellingtons.
“I thought it was the perfect dish for them,” Patterson mentioned.
Patterson additionally denied she were incorrect to inform police she were “very helpful” to well being government who had been looking for an Asian grocer she had purchased dried mushrooms from, nor that she lied about purchasing those mushrooms.
Timeline
Erin Patterson: how Australia’s alleged mushroom poisoning case opened up — a timeline
Show
Erin Patterson hosts lunch for estranged husband Simon’s oldsters, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Patterson serves red meat wellington.
All 4 lunch visitors are admitted to sanatorium with gastro-like signs.
Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson die in sanatorium.
Don Patterson dies in sanatorium. Victoria police seek Erin Patterson’s house and interview her.
Ian Wilkinson is discharged from sanatorium after weeks in extensive care.
Police once more seek Erin Patterson’s house, and he or she is arrested and interviewed. She is charged with 3 counts of homicide on the subject of the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the tried homicide of Ian Wilkinson.
Murder trial starts. Jury hears that fees of making an attempt to homicide her estranged husband Simon are dropped.
“You sent them on a wild goose chase, trying to locate this Asian grocer, correct or incorrect?” Rogers requested.
“Incorrect,” Patterson responded.
She additionally mentioned she didn’t know or suspect that Don and Gail had been sick as a result of consuming the meat wellington on the time she made up our minds to feed leftovers of the dish to her kids for dinner the night time after the lunch.
Rogers mentioned it was once alleged Patterson visited Loch in April and Outtrim in May after posts had been made at the website online iNaturalist figuring out sightings of loss of life cap mushrooms within the close by cities.
Rogers mentioned that Patterson picked loss of life cap mushrooms in Loch on 28 April 2023, and inside of two hours of discovering them went and purchased a Sunbeam meals dehydrator to dry them.
Patterson denied that she had observed the iNaturalist posts, or intentionally visited the cities at the dates by which the prosecution alleges her telephone knowledge suggests she did so.
The court docket has prior to now heard that Patterson dumped the meals dehydrator at a neighborhood tip the week after the lunch. It was once later recovered via police and a forensic exam exposed her fingerprints and strains of loss of life cap mushrooms.
Patterson admits she dumped the meals dehydrator, announcing she did so in a panic a couple of seek advice from kid coverage government had been making plans to make, and the truth she says Simon accused her of the use of it to poison his oldsters.
Patterson’s best court docket trial on the Latrobe Valley legislation courts in Morwell will proceed on Thursday, when she is anticipated to offer proof for an 8th day.
It is the 7th week of a tribulation that were estimated to remaining 5 to 6 weeks.