During a recent court hearing, it was revealed that Erin Patterson’s children consumed leftovers from a beef Wellington lunch, which was served the day before their mother and other relatives fell ill after eating the same meal.
A video interview with the brothers, conducted separately on August 16, 2023, was presented to the judge overseeing Patterson’s trial for triple murder.
Patterson, who is 50 years old, faces three murder charges and one attempted murder charge stemming from a lunch gathering at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, on July 29, 2023.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges involving her estranged husband, Simon Patterson.
In addition, Patterson is accused of attempting to kill Simon’s parents, Don and Gale Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather Wilkinson and uncle Ian Wilkinson.
The initial video evidence from Patterson’s daughter was shown in court, with recordings completed shortly after.
During her interview, the daughter mentioned that her mother had told her that dinner on July 30, 2023, consisted of leftovers from lunch the previous day. She recalled asking about what they would have for dinner and her mother confirming the leftovers.
When an officer inquired about Patterson’s cooking skills, her daughter affirmed, “Yes, very good.”
The daughter expressed that she wasn’t fond of mushrooms and had never foraged for them.
Her brother recounted that police notified him about five people who had lunch and ended up in the hospital, three of whom ultimately died.
He confirmed, “Three of them died,” when pressed about it during the interview.
He described the meat they had as “eye fillet” beef, which he claimed was cooked previously by their mother a day earlier.
The son noted that the meal, which also included potatoes and beans, was “very tender… some of the best meats I’ve ever had.” Interestingly, he mentioned that although he had leftovers prepared for himself, he felt unwell and decided to eat what his mother had made instead.
According to him, they finished all the leftovers.
The court previously learned that police recovered a beef Wellington and another portion of beef from Patterson’s home the following day.
Patterson’s son described the relationship between Patterson and Simon as “very negative,” suggesting that Simon didn’t make much effort to harm their mother.
He explained that Simon was still privy to his child’s activities and school records, managing this without directly communicating with Patterson.
A suppression order remains in place to keep the identities of Patterson’s children confidential.
The recorded interviews took place at the Morwell Police Station.
The trial is set to continue next week, though no evidence is expected to be presented on Monday.
