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 live
Here’s a recap of the what jury heard on Monday:
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC told the jury Erin Patterson made “four calculated deceptions”. She said these were fabricating a cancer claim as a reason to host the lunch, secreting a lethal dose of poison in the beef wellingtons, her attempts to pretend she was also sick, and a sustained cover-up to “conceal the truth” after the lunch.
Patterson did not think she would be questioned about her cancer claim because she believed her “lie would die with them [her lunch guests]”, Rogers said.
Rogers told the jury to reject Patterson’s evidence that there were no grey plates she served the beef wellingtons on. She said Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving lunch guest, was a “compelling witness” and recalled four grey plates. He said Patterson ate off an orange-tan coloured plate.
Not one medical professional who saw Patterson said she looked unwell, Rogers told the jury.
Patterson’s initial reluctance to have her children medically tested, after she told medical staff she fed them leftovers of the fatal meal, was because she knew they had not consumed death cap mushrooms, Rogers said.