Erin Patterson 'venting' to friends on husband's family

Mushroom navigator Erin Patterson's defence squad has publication to a assemblage what they described arsenic missing discourse from disappointment messages astir her erstwhile in-laws and claimed she was "venting" to online friends astir her life.

The 50-year-old connected Thursday faced nan Supreme Court successful location Victoria, arsenic she nears nan extremity of a 5th week connected proceedings accused of 3 murders and 1 attempted murder.

She is accused of deliberately poisoning her estranged hubby Simon's parents, aunt and uncle by serving them a beef Wellington laced pinch decease headdress mushrooms.

Patterson's erstwhile in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, each died successful infirmary days aft eating nan repast astatine her Leongatha location successful July 2023.

The only subsister of nan repast was Heather's hubby Ian Wilkinson, who has attended nan tribunal successful Morwell for overmuch of nan proceedings since he gave grounds successful week two.

The prosecution's last witness, Detective Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall, spent a 3rd time giving grounds connected Thursday arsenic defence lawyers continued to mobility him connected grounds successful nan case.

Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy SC took nan assemblage of 14 backmost to messages they'd been shown previously, betwixt Patterson and immoderate of her Facebook friends successful December 2022.

He presented jurors pinch what was described arsenic "context" astir nan messages, which he said went for 186 pages, and said immoderate replies from friends had been near retired by nan prosecution.

"So he said each that he tin inquire is that Simon and I get together to believe for nan children ... this family I committedness to f***ing god," 1 of Patterson's Facebook messages said.

Her friend replied to this "what morons!" and past said "anyway you weren't asking them to adjudicate you conscionable wanted them to perceive your story".

"I said to him astir 50 times yesterday that I didn't want them to adjudicate, cipher bloody listens to me. At slightest I cognize they're a mislaid cause," Patterson responded.

"You haven't heard from Simon?" her friend said.

Patterson replied that she wondered if "they've sewage capacity for self-reflection astatine all?" and past described really Simon "refuses to talk astir individual issues" which she said stemmed from behaviour of his parents.

Her friend said "it's pathetic" and that moreover if Simon did not want to talk astir their matrimony "they could astatine slightest request to cognize really he is financially supporting nan kids".

"Well you person tried. I would swipe them excessively now," different connection from a friend said.

"I fishy nan champion point I tin do is conscionable to hide astir each of them and unrecorded my life. Simon is astir apt loving really upset I americium astir each this," Patterson said.

Her friend said Patterson had "every correct to beryllium upset and angry" and if Simon was "loving that past it makes him moreover worse".

"Hopefully he will person to salary up soon," nan friend said.

After reference nan messages, Mandy asked Det Eppingstall if they appeared to beryllium sent successful nan discourse of "venting to each different astir their lives", which nan detective agreed.

Earlier connected Thursday, Det Eppingstall was questioned connected Patterson's slope statements and telephone complaint records and taken done photos of devices seized from her location during 2 hunt warrants successful 2023.

Mandy said constabulary obtained receipts for a "large number of books" that Patterson had purchased from Booktopia which related to diets.

He besides took nan detective done nan important media liking successful nan lawsuit and he confirmed "passwords" had been put successful spot astatine hospitals because of this.

Det Eppingstall said he was updating Victoria Police's media portion complete nan people of his investigation and that media had been camped extracurricular Patterson's location successful nan weeks aft nan meal.

He will return to nan witnesser container connected Friday, arsenic nan proceedings earlier Justice Christopher Beale continues.

LISTEN NOW: The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace is nan latest podcast from Nine and The Age. Join journalists Penelope Liersch and Erin Pearson arsenic they return listeners wrong nan lawsuit that's grabbed world headlines. You tin perceive on Apple here and Spotify here.