June 22, 2025
Toxic Tests? Erin Patterson: School Fees and Signal Messages Centre Stage
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The Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast provides updates on the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial as it potentially enters its final week, with the judge set to give jury instructions on Tuesday. This episode features a detailed reading of Friday's court transcript, including critical cross-examination about Signal messages between Patterson and her former in-laws.
• Court proceedings could conclude this week depending on how long jury deliberations take
• Erin Patterson faced questioning about messages to her ex-husband's parents regarding school fees
• Prosecution suggested Patterson was angry when her in-laws declined to get involved in fee dispute
• Conflicting testimony emerged about whether Patterson consulted her ex-husband before changing their children's schools
• The case is formally titled "The King versus Erin Patterson" following the monarchy change
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Here it is in summary.
WEBVTT
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Hi and welcome to the Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast.
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My name is Lisa and this could maybe be the final week of the Erin Patterson murder trial.
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We'll just have to see how things go this week the jury and the judge.
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Of course they'll be in court tomorrow, tuesday, and he'll be giving his instructions to the jury.
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So it depends how long he takes and also it depends how long the jury takes getting to a verdict.
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So let's see what happens.
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It'll be very interesting.
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But I've decided to this morning read you transcript of proceedings from the Supreme Court from Friday, the 6th of June.
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So that was the 28th day of hearing and it's before the Honourable Justice Beale and a jury of 14, and it's the King versus Erin Paterson.
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Isn't that weird?
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We say the King, we were so used to saying the Queen.
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I just I always have taken aback when I see that.
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But let's move on.
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And we've got Miss Patterson.
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She's been cross-examined by the prosecution, dr Rogers.
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So his honour says good morning ladies and gentlemen.
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Jury.
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Good morning.
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Erin Trudy Patterson is recalled.
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Dr Rogers, I want to take you back to Exhibit F, which is what I was asking you some questions about yesterday.
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Yesterday afternoon I asked about Exhibit F generally and the signal messages between you, don, gail and Simon, and I asked you this question, quote, and you essentially my word, asking them to get Simon to pay half the school fees.
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Is that fair?
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Transcript 242.
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And you said, quote no, I wasn't asking them to get him to do that, dr Rogers agree.
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Agree, you agreed.
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In one of those messages you said you wanted Don and Gail to encourage Simon to do the right thing by his children.
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Agree, erin's agree.
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But you said I don't understand how that phrase, that is, do the right thing by his children, could be about school fees.
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That was your evidence yesterday.
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Yes, I want to take you to page three of Exhibit F.
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And you agreed yesterday that this was a message that you had sent to Don and Gail and Simon on the signal chat.
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Erin, yes, yes, I want you to read it out, please, starting at thanks Don, please, starting at thanks Don.
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Okay, erin starts thanks Don.
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I understand your position and that you and Gail don't want to be involved in certain aspects of these difficulties, as it's very uncomfortable and awkward.
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That's unfortunate, but it's just a fact in situations like this.
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I respect your position, but I will continue to put messages in here on matters which I think are significant and for which I think Simon needs accountability for the difficulty he is causing me.
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I would hope that you, as his parents, would be concerned that he is making the decisions that are in the best interests of his children and not just operating from a place of being angry with me.
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To that end, I will relay here further communication about the children's schooling, as that is a very big issue.
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I've had a number of conversations with a school, centrelink and the Child Support Agency about this and would like to report back.
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Simon seems to be under the misapprehension that a child support assessment covers every expense for the children under the sun.
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That's just not the case.
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It covers basic care and basic schooling, son, that's just not the case.
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It covers basic care and basic schooling, including a public school education.
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If both parents want their children to attend a private school education, then they must make a private agreement between them.
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One parent cannot force the other parent to cover the cost 100% if they both want the children to attend the school.
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So our choice is we either tell the school we will each be responsible for 50% of the account or, if Simon doesn't want to do that and wants me to be responsible for 100%, then my options are to either take the children out of the school or seek a court order requesting Simon pay 50%, which is likely to be successful as long as there's a long history and evidence he wanted the children to go to that school and has been supportive of their enrolment for years.
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Finance Department has sent an email today asking us to agree on a percentage between us so they can split the accounts.
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We need to give them an agreed decision.
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You can end there.
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That's, dr Rogers, because it seems to trail off.
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Do you agree that the schooling was a significant matter and a big issue in this message that you sent?
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Erin?
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I do, and that's why you sent this message to Don and Gail, erin.
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Well, I did send them in message and I was concerned about the schooling yes, and you were clearly concerned about the school fees.
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Yes, that was one thing I was concerned about.
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Yes, and the payment yes, dr Rogers, of the school fees.
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Erin answers that's true.
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So do you still seriously dispute that you were essentially asking Don and Gail to get Simon to pay half of the school fees?
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Erin, I don't think that's what I'm.
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If that's what I've been communicating to you, then I'm communicating the wrong thing to you and I need to be clearer, dr Rogers.
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Okay, let me go back to your evidence.
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Yesterday I asked you in cross-examination quote and you were essentially my word asking them to get Simon to pay half the school fees.
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Is that fair?
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And your answer was no.
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I wasn't asking them to get Simon to pay half the school fees.
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Is that fair?
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And your answer was no.
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I wasn't asking them to get him to do that, erin, that's correct.
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After reading this page three, is it still your evidence this, dr Rogers, that you weren't trying to get Don and Gail to get Simon to pay half the school fees?
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That's correct.
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I was not trying to get them to do that.
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I wanted them to help us communicate and mediate the issue.
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Don declined to get involved, correct that's, dr Rogers?
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He declined to get involved in the way I asked.
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Yes, and the way you asked was that I wanted them to help mediate the communication between us.
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Wherein go back to page three, in Exhibit F, is there you saying that you wanted them to assist in communication?
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Erin, I don't think there is in that message no, or mediation.
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That's Dr Rogers.
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Erin, I don't think there is in that message?
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No, or mediation.
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That's, dr Rogers.
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Erin, I don't think there is in that message.
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No, dr Rogers, I suggest to you that you were seeking to get Don and Gail to influence Simon to pay half the school fees, agree or disagree, erin, I was trying to ask Don and Gail to help Simon and I communicate about this better.
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That's not my question, dr Rogers.
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My question is we have versions of the transcript that haven't been edited, so sometimes there's things missing.
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So there's something missing in my question.
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Is Okay then the answer to your question is no and Don declined to get involved, correct?
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To your question is no and Don declined to get involved, correct?
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Erin?
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I don't agree with that.
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No, I think he I need you to be more precise about what you're saying he declined to do.
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That's Dr Rogers.
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Erin, sorry, I missed it, dr Rogers, about what you say he declined to do.
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Because, dr Rogers, about what?
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Sorry, I missed it.
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About what you said he declined to do, because it seems you and I have a different interpretation of what I was asking him to do Overall with these.
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Do you want?
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Okay, so this is, Dr Rogers.
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Do you want to have a chance to read these signal messages in Exhibit F, erin?
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No, I don't need to read them.
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I've read them.
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Signal messages in Exhibit F, erin.
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No, I don't need to read them.
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I've read them.
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Dr Rogers, overall, is it the position that Don declined to get involved?
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I can take you to specific messages, but isn't that the flavour of Exhibit F, erin?
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He said he didn't want to adjudicate.
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Is my understanding?
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Yes, yes, but I'm not asking him to adjudicate, dr Rogers, he declined to get involved, correct, erin?
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Sure, okay.
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And Dr Rogers, and I suggested you were angry with Don and Gail's response.
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Erin, I wasn't angry with them.
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At the start of term three, 2023,.
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You moved the children to another school, correct, erin?
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I did.
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You didn't consult Simon beforehand, correct, erin?
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What do you mean by consult?
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You didn't ask him or tell him that you were moving them to the new school, correct, erin?
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That's not true.
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No, when do you say you told him?
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That's, dr Rogers, erin, the end of March, the kids and I told him at the end of March In what circumstances?
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Aaron, in my house, he was dropping one of the kids off after an evening they'd spent together and we invited him into the house and told him and his response Aaron, okay, erin, okay, simon Patterson.
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So this is Dr Rogers.
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Simon Patterson's evidence was transcript 332.
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I don't think we had any serious conversation about this child moving school.
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Did you hear him give that evidence, erin?
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I did hear him give that evidence.
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Yes, dr Rogers, I suggest that you didn't have a serious conversation about that child moving schools, correct or incorrect, erin?
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Well, firstly, my memory is the context of his.
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What he said there was that he will discuss about.
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It was about whether we were discussing it in 21 or 22.
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I could be wrong on that, but that's my memory of the context of that 22.
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I could be wrong on that, but that's my memory of the context of that.
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So, thank you for your time this morning.
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I will be back tomorrow with updates on what happens in court on Tuesday.
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Thank you so much for your time.
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Make sure you join the newsletter mushroommurdertrialcom and, if you would like, you could buy me a coffee for $5.
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That would be great.
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Links for everything are in the show notes.
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But thank you so much for your time.
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I really appreciate it.
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Let's see what happens this week.
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Hey, mmm, we shall see.
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Okay, thank you so so much.
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Bye.
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