Mushroom cook’s big move in court

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson will face trial in the Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to all charges.

Ms Patterson is accused of the murders of her ex-husband Simon Patterson’s parents Don and Gail and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, as well as the attempted murder of Ms Wilkinson’s husband Ian, relating to a Beef Wellington lunch in which police allege she served death cap mushrooms.

She is further accused of four separate attempts on her ex-husband’s life.

The 49-year-old mother-of-two returned to the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning as her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, confirmed she was going to use the “fast-track” method to have the case sent to the Supreme Court.

Introduced during Covid-19 backlogs in the court system, the fast track method allows homicide cases to skip a committal hearing where a magistrate hears the evidence and decides if the evidence could support a conviction.

The presiding magistrate, Tim Walsh, noted that under the fast track process he did not have to judge the evidence and could commit Ms Patterson “solely on her election”.

Appearing remotely from a secure wing at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Ms Patterson calmly responded “not guilty, Your Honour”, as each of the eight charges were put to her.

The decision means details of the prosecution case and Ms Patterson’s defence will not be aired publicly until the trial.

Ms Patterson was arrested in November last year and charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.

She is accused of murdering three guests at a fatal lunch three months earlier on July 29; Her ex-husband Simon Patterson’s parents Don and Gail and his aunt Heather Wilkinson.

Two counts of attempted murder related to Ms Wilkinson’s husband, Korumburra pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived after spending close to two months in hospital, and her ex-husband, who did not attend the lunch.

Police previously said the three deaths displayed symptoms of having eaten death cap mushrooms.

The last three counts of attempted murder relate to alleged attempts on Simon’s life between 2021 and 2022.

In court, prosecutor Sarah Lenthall asked for three of the attempted murder charges relating to Simon Patterson be amended to include the locations where they allegedly occurred.

These are; Korumburra between November 16 and 17, 2021, Howqua between May 25 and 27, 2022, and Wilsons Promontory on September 6, 2022.

Ms Patterson has repeatedly denied the allegations, releasing a statement in August last year before she was charged, to say she “had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved”.

The move to fast-track the case came just two weeks after Mr Mandy told an earlier court hearing her legal team “haven’t considered” the process.

At the earlier hearing on April 22, Magistrate Walsh was told Ms Patterson wanted to have the case heard in her local community even if it delayed the hearing until next year.

“If it has to be next year, Ms Patterson is content to wait for that,” Mr Mandy said.

“It’s the proper venue … It’s not only a matter of principle and there are powerful reasons for the committal having to take place in the local community.”

Mr Walsh raised his concern the delay could mean she spent at least 15 months on remand despite Ms Patterson’s wishes, as the case could not be heard until 2025.

“It won’t be in her local community, it will be in Morwell,” he said.

Mr Mandy responded that Morwell was close to his client’s Leongatha home “in the context of regional Victoria”.

At the time, Ms Lenthall told the court it was the Crown’s position that the hearing “should proceed as soon as possible”.

On Tuesday, Mr Walsh sought to clarify his April 22 comments about the delay, saying the court could have accommodated the committal hearing this year.

“What was not said but was known to the parties was that the court was advised on April 11 that his (Mr Mandy’s) availability for hearing this year was limited to between August 19 and September 13,” he said.

“There is no criticism of anybody, this matter demands Senior Counsel … I just wanted to make that quite clear.”

Ms Patterson was committed to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court and will next appear for a direction hearing later this month.