A woman at the centre of a high-profile trial surrounding a fatal family lunch made an unusual gesture before the deadly meal.
Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson by feeding them a meal of beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
She is also accused of murdering Gail’s sister and Simon’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson and attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who also attended the lunch at Erin’s home in Leongatha.
Now, the court has heard Erin had loaned his family members hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase homes in Melbourne suburbs Officer and Blackburn.
Erin Patterson is on trial
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Simon Patterson told the court he was aware of Erin's inheritance before they got married but agreed with her barrister Colin Mandy SC that she was "very generous" with her money.
The jury heard a series of loans were given interest-free but indexed to inflation with a loose agreement to repay the money periodically similar to a regular mortgage was agreed.
However, they squabbled over whose title would be on which home.
The court was told Simon wanted his name on the Nason St title but, in return, Erin kept her name on the Gibson St title.
LATEST IN THE TRIAL OF ERIN PATTERSON
The Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Australia
Reuters
A series of texts between Simon and Erin sent in the hours before the meal at the centre of the trial were shown to the court.
Simon wrote: "Sorry I feel too uncomfortable about coming to lunch with you, mum, dad, Heather and Ian tomorrow but am happy to talk about your health and implications of that at another time."
Erin responded saying: "That's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing and spent a small fortune on beef eye filet to make beef Wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal as I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time.
'It's important to me that you're all there tomorrow, and that I can have the conversations that I need to have."
Simon Patterson also told the court that Erin's "daily life revolved around her kids" while he would spend hours playing video game Minecraft with his children.
However, he said the relationship changed in late 2022 due to issues surrounding tax and child support, which he said "caused friction."
The trial continues.
