June 24, 2025
Did Erin Patterson Intentionally Poison Gail Patterson? Justice Christopher Beale Guides Jury in Mushroom Murder Trial
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Justice Christopher Beale has delivered his initial phase of instructions to the jury in the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial, emphasising they alone must determine if the prosecution has proven her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The case centres on whether Ms Patterson deliberately laced a beef wellington with death cap mushrooms, killing her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, while severely poisoning Heather's husband Ian.
• Trial now in its ninth week with intense media scrutiny
• Ms Patterson pled not guilty to all charges and testified for eight days
• Justice Beale warned jurors to base verdict solely on evidence presented
• Key issue is whether Ms Patterson bears criminal responsibility, not whether the meal caused deaths
• Jury expected to retire later this week to deliberate
• Case has attracted "unprecedented media attention" according to Justice Beale
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Here it is in summary.
00:00 - Welcome to Mushroom Murder Trial
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This is the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast.
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My name is Lisa and welcome to my show.
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We're now in the ninth week of one of the most closely watched criminal trials in recent Australian history the case of Erin Patterson.
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Yesterday, justice Christopher Beale delivered his instructions to the jury inside the Supreme Court sitting at Morwell, a regional town in Victoria's Latrobe Valley.
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Erin Patterson, age 50, is standing trial for the alleged murders of her former parents-in-law, don and Gail Patterson, both age 70, and Gail's sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson.
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She's also accused of attempting to murder Heather's husband, ian Wilkinson, a 68-year-old Baptist pastor.
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The prosecution alleges Ms Patterson served the four a homemade beef wellington deliberately laced with death cat mushrooms during a family lunch at her home in Leongatha in July 2023.
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Ms Patterson has pled not guilty to all charges.
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As he began his summing up, justice Beale reminded the jury of their role.
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He said, and I quote you are the only ones in this court who can make a decision about these facts.
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Justice Beale was clear.
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The jury must base their verdict solely on the evidence presented during the trial, including testimony exhibits and agreed facts.
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Comments made by himself all the lawyers during the proceedings were not to be treated as evidence.
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He also emphasized that the jury must assess Ms Patterson's evidence in the same way as they would with any other witness.
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The mother of two was the final witness to take to the stand.
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She gave evidence over an exhaustive eight days.
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Justice Beale urged the jurors to put aside all external influence and emotion.
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He said quote the fact Ms Patterson told lies must not cause you to be prejudiced against her.
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He went on.
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Any reasonable person would feel great sympathy for the Patterson and Wilkinson's families but reminded the jury they must not be swayed by emotion.
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The key issue, justice Beale said, is not whether the meal was served by Patterson caused the fatal consequences that is not in dispute but whether the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Aaron Patterson is criminally responsible for those consequences.
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I apologise about the expression of that word, I always have trouble saying it, but I'm sure you know what I meant.
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He acknowledged the intense public scrutiny surrounding the case.
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Quote the case has attracted unprecedented media attention and excited much public comment.
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This is my comment here.
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I bet you they're not thrilled with that.
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If any of that has reached your ears or eyes or does so in the coming days, you must be particularly careful not to let it influence you in any way.
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He added, you and you alone are best placed to determine whether the prosecution have proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.
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The jury is expected to retire later this week to deliberate the weight of the three deaths and one near fatal poisoning resting squarely on their decision.
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We'll continue to follow the Erin Patterson trial as it unfolds.
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So thank you so much for listening to me today.
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This short update.
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For more information, visit the website.
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Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter.
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I just put it out today mushroommurdertrialcom.
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That's where you sign up.
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It's Jan Patrick News about the trial.
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Also, please message me via the website's Contact Us tab if you'd like me to send you your free thank you gift, which is a mushroom sticker that bears witness to this journey we've taken together.
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So if you'd like that, I'm more than happy to send it to you.
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Plus, my social media is in the show notes and if you're feeling like rewarding me for the 1 million hours I've spent on this work a lot of it this week actually is me being complaining about how tired I am Again.
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It's a bit pathetic.
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I need a new line, but anyway, I have a Buy Me A Coffee membership which allows you to pay $5 as a thanks and I get a coffee, but only if you can afford it, only if you want to.
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But I would suggest you get on the newsletter at mushroommurdertrialcom.
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It's free and I'm going to be releasing quite a lot of new things as soon as we have a verdict.
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So get ready for that, if we do indeed have a verdict.
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You never know.
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Now, the $5 goes towards my editing studio, high liability insurance equipment, you name it, and there's exclusive membership material on the Buy Me A Coffee site just for you.
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So it's thank you from me in the land of the never-ending trial, and this is the Mushroom Murder Trial podcast.
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Thank you so much, have a wonderful day and I will speak to you very, very soon.
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Thanks, bye.
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