4 h. ago Australia mushroom trial live: ‘Absurd’ and ‘illogical’ propositions disputed as Erin Patterson’s defence concludes

Accused, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder over a beef wellington lunch she served to in-lawsDefence turns to argument about children being testedMandy turns to the prosecution’s argument about Patterson’s reluctance to have her children medically tested. Continue reading...

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5 h. ago Australia mushroom trial live: ‘Absurd’ and ‘illogical’ propositions refuted as Erin Patterson’s defence concludes

Accused, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder over a beef wellington lunch she served to in-lawsDefence turns to argument about children being testedMandy turns to the prosecution’s argument about Patterson’s reluctance to have her children medically tested. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson would have dumped or reset main phone if she had planned ‘cold, calculated murders’

Accused, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder over a beef wellington lunch she served to in-lawsDefence turns to argument about children being testedMandy turns to the prosecution’s argument about Patterson’s reluctance to have her children medically tested. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago Australia mushroom trial live: defence set to conclude closing address in murder trial of Erin Patterson

Accused, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder over a beef wellington lunch she served to in-lawsMandy says the prosecution argued Patterson’s phone records showed she did not simply go home and then return to the hospital after she discharged herself.Prosecution said the records were consistent with Paterson travelling south-west of Leongatha. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Erin Patterson trial hears of ‘four calculated deceptions’ at heart of mushroom lunch case as closing address begins

Prosecutor also tells court Patterson lied about cancer to lunch guests because she thought ‘her lie would die with them’Erin Patterson trial LIVEWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Four calculated deceptions are at the heart of Erin Patterson’s triple-murder case, the prosecution has claimed in its closing address to the jury, including a lie about cancer the accused hoped would “die with” her lunch guests.On Monday, Nanette Rogers SC spent day 32 of the trial closing the prosecution case, outlining these four deceptions: Patterson’s fabricated cancer claim; the “lethal doses” of death cap mushrooms “secreted” in home-cooked beef wellingtons; Patterson’s attempts to make it seem she also suffered death cap mushroom poisoning; and the “sustained cover-up she embarked upon to conceal the truth”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson intended to kill lunch guests and thought cancer lie ‘would die with them’, prosecution says

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder following a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveTears, disagreements and dried mushrooms: how Erin Patterson responded over eight days in the witness boxWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRogers says Patterson chose the meal for the lunch and was responsible for selecting the ingredients.Rogers says the recipe from the RecipeTin Eats book, which Patterson told police she used for the beef wellington did not call for “multiple individual” pasties. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Tears, disagreements and dried mushrooms: how Erin Patterson responded over eight days in the witness box

Triple murder accused finishes giving evidence in seventh week of mushroom lunch trialWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?It was 12.40pm on Thursday, and Erin Patterson was striding from the witness box to the dock.“Just wait there, Ms Patterson,” Justice Christopher Beale said.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: evidence concludes in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial after weeks of testimony from witnesses

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC turns to evidence about factory resets performed on the mobile referred to as “Phone B”. The court previously heard four resets – one in February 2023 and three in August 2023 – were performed on the phone that Erin Patterson provided to police during the search on 5 August 2023. Rogers says one of these resets were done when she was left alone to call a lawyer while police searched Patterson’s Leongatha home. Patterson rejects this and says she phoned a lawyer at 2pm. Rogers says Patterson performed the three factory resets after the lunch to “conceal” the contents on Phone B. Patterson rejects this. Rogers then turns to her final points in the cross-ex...

Events

8 d. ago ‘The perfect dish for them’: Erin Patterson explains why she included dried mushrooms in fatal lunch

Triple-murder accused also denies foraging death caps hours before buying food dehydrator as trial continuesWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Erin Patterson has denied leading health officials on a “wild goose chase”, and that she foraged death cap mushrooms two hours before buying a food dehydrator, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning four lunch guests with beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Erin Patterson denies foraging death cap mushrooms hours before buying food dehydrator, murder trial hears

Murder accused also tells Victorian supreme court that she thought beef wellingtons were ‘the perfect dish’ for dried mushroomsWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Erin Patterson has denied leading health officials on a “wild goose chase”, and that she foraged death cap mushrooms two hours before buying a food dehydrator, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning four lunch guests with beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies foraging death caps two hours before buying dehydrator

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow live‘You knew how suspicious it would look’: Erin Patterson makes series of denials in tense cross-examinationErin Patterson questioned over what her children ate the day after fatal lunchProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC begins to ask Erin Patterson about evidence regarding what her children ate the day after the lunch. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson tells court she thought beef wellington recipe was ‘the perfect dish’ for dried mushrooms

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow live‘You knew how suspicious it would look’: Erin Patterson makes series of denials in tense cross-examinationErin Patterson questioned over what her children ate the day after fatal lunchProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC begins to ask Erin Patterson about evidence regarding what her children ate the day after the lunch. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago ‘You knew how suspicious it would look’: Erin Patterson makes series of denials in tense cross

Patterson also tells triple murder trial she’s ‘puzzled’ clinic she says she had an appointment for a gastric bypass with offers no such surgeryWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Erin Patterson says she is “puzzled” that a clinic in which she said she had an appointment for a gastric bypass offers no such surgery, and denies lying about making herself vomit in the hours immediately after the beef wellington lunch, a court has heard.In her sixth day in the witness box, Patterson was repeatedly asked under cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC whether she was lying about the deadly lunch and other parts of her evidence before her triple-murder trial. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies she was using time between hospital visits to ‘cover her tracks’

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder following a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC says Erin Patterson’s son gave evidence that she did not tell him she was sick on the day of the lunch.“I don’t know if I did or I didn’t,” Patterson says.The first thing he said to me was something like: I’ve got a sore tummy.How could I? It’s vomit. Unless you can see a bean or a piece of corn. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson says she felt anxious at hospital that doctors suspected death cap mushroom poisoning

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder following a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC says Erin Patterson’s son gave evidence that she did not tell him she was sick on the day of the lunch.“I don’t know if I did or I didn’t,” Patterson says.The first thing he said to me was something like: I’ve got a sore tummy.How could I? It’s vomit. Unless you can see a bean or a piece of corn. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson repeatedly accused of lying about beef wellington lunch in tense cross examination

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder following a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC says Erin Patterson’s son gave evidence that she did not tell him she was sick on the day of the lunch.“I don’t know if I did or I didn’t,” Patterson says.The first thing he said to me was something like: I’ve got a sore tummy.How could I? It’s vomit. Unless you can see a bean or a piece of corn. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson did not tell anyone about realisation foraged mushrooms may have been in lunch meal, court hears

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow livePatterson denies telling ex-partner she had important medical news she wanted advice onRogers says Simon gave evidence that on 16 July 2023 – two weeks prior to the lunch – Patterson approached him after a church service and said she had some important medical news she wanted advice on and how to break it to the children. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Admitted lies, emojis and a dehydrator: Erin Patterson spars with prosecutor as fatal mushroom lunch deconstructed

Murder accused cross-examined in Victorian supreme court trial over beef wellington lunch that left three in-laws deadWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?There were times in Erin Patterson’s fourth day in the witness box where it seemed as if her lies she has admitted in her testimony, like the mushrooms she prepared for the beef wellington, were being cooked down as much as possible.Had she pretended to have cancer at the fateful lunch or had she not? What, exactly, were the reasons for her repeated lies to Gail Patterson about a lump in her elbow? How about the lies she told to police? Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson ‘lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible’, court hears

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder over a fatal 2023 beef wellington lunch. Follow live updatesPatterson is shown a photo of the dehydrator at the tip and asked if this is the one she owned.“I presume so,” Patterson says.This post was amended on 5 June 2025 to correct the location of the police search, which was at Patterson’s Leongatha home and not at Leongatha hospital as previously stated. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies intentionally dehydrating death caps

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder over a fatal 2023 beef wellington lunch. Follow live updatesPatterson is shown a photo of the dehydrator at the tip and asked if this is the one she owned.“I presume so,” Patterson says.This post was amended on 5 June 2025 to correct the location of the police search, which was at Patterson’s Leongatha home and not at Leongatha hospital as previously stated. Continue reading...

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