We've now had the opening of the much-anticipated trial of Erin Patterson, the 50-year-old Australian woman accused of cooking a fatal mushroom meal for her relatives in July 2023.

Ms Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over a beef wellington lunch at her house in July 2023.

Prosecutors say Ms Patterson deliberately poisoned her guests to kill them. The defence told the jury the meal was a "tragedy, a terrible accident" and she did not mean to hurt anyone.

The defence team say the prosecution are trying to cast her behaviour in the days after the lunch as "incriminating", but that she "panicked because she was overwhelmed".

Three people died in hospital days after the meal, including Ms Patterson's former in-laws, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.

A single lunch guest - local pastor Ian Wilkinson - survived, after weeks of intensive treatment in hospital.

We're closing our live coverage now. The trial continues tomorrow.

Helen Sullivan
Live reporter

The prosecution and defence have finished their opening statements on the first day of Erin Patterson's trial. Here's what they told the court:

• Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband Simon Patterson, his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle, Ian and Heather Wilkinson, to lunch to discuss "some medical issues that she had", prosecutors said, and at lunch she told them she had cancer
• All attended except her husband Simon, who pulled out the day before. Three of the guests at the lunch later died from death cap mushroom poisoning
• Prosecutors alleged that Ms Patterson lied about having cancer, using it as a pretence to have the adults at lunch without Ms Patterson's children present - the defence denied this and said Ms Patterson did have cancer
• Ms Patterson served individual beef wellington portions – a dish of beef, mushroom paste, and pastry – to her guests on grey plates, while she ate off a smaller, orange plate, according to guest Ian Wilkinson, who became seriously ill after the lunch, but survived
• The prosecution said Ms Patterson had posted online about using a food dehydrator to cook mushrooms, and wrote she had been "hiding powdered mushrooms in everything", the prosecution said

• The prosecution also said Ms Patterson's fingerprints were found on a food dehydrator she was seen on CCTV dumping after the lunch. The dehydrator tested positive for death cap mushrooms, the jury was told
• The prosecution alleged Ms Patterson lied about buying the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store, and that mobile phone data suggests she travelled to where death cap mushrooms grew
• The defence argued that "what happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident" and Ms Patterson did not intend to hurt anyone
• Ms Patterson's behaviour is being portrayed as "incriminating" by the prosecution, the defence said - but she "panicked" after her guests became ill: "Might people say or do things that are not well thought out... and might make them look bad?"
• The defence said Ms Patterson was "generous and kind" to her family

Helen Sullivan
Live reporter

Image source, Supplied

Three people died in hospital in the days after the lunch - Ms Patterson's former in-laws, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Heather's husband, 71-year-old Baptist pastor Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks of treatment in hospital.

The prosecution said today that Ian and Heather Wilkinson each ate all of the portions of beef wellington Ms Patterson served them.

Gail Patterson ate half and gave the rest to her husband Donald, the prosecution said - he ate his portion and the rest of Gail's. He later vomited 30 times in the space of a few hours, he had told medical staff.

Ms Patterson invited her estranged husband Simon to the lunch, but he did not attend, the court heard.

Image source, Supplied

Helen Sullivan
Live reporter

At the opening of the trial on Tuesday, Justice Christopher Beale explained that when the jurors start their deliberations, they will be sequestered.

What does this mean? It means that once the jury has heard all the evidence, closing speeches, and final directions from Justice Beale, they "will be bussed to a hotel at an undisclosed location, where they will stay overnight and be bussed back to the court the next morning to continue their deliberations," he said.

In the meantime, they will be able to go home at the end of each day in court.

The sequestering measure was, Justice Beale explained, to protect the jury "from any interference or outside pressure" and to "safeguard the integrity of their verdicts".

As the defence finishes up, Judge Christopher Beale recaps the thrust of the trial for the jury as he sends them home for the day:

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

"The prosecution says, ‘well she got rid of the dehydrator and that makes her look guilty’. She admits that,” defence lawyer Colin Mandy says.

"She lied about getting rid of the dehydrator. She admits that."

"But consider why she would lie about that when she’d posted photographs of mushrooms in the dehydrator."

Ms Patterson also admits that she lied to police about having never foraged for mushrooms.

"She did forage for mushrooms... She denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms."

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

The court is being told a bit more about Erin Patterson

"She was comfortable financially," Mr Mandy said.

"She was generous and kind to the wider Patterson family including being generous with her money."

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

Defence barrister Colin Mandy says while the prosecution will try to cast Erin Patterson's behaviour in the days after the lunch as "incriminating", jurors should consider how someone might react in that situation.

"Might people say or do things that are not well thought out... and might make them look bad."

"The defence case is that she panicked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food she had served them. Three people died."

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

"You would be aware that the media is fascinated by this case," says Mr Mandy, reminding the jurors that their judgement can’t be influenced by anything they’ve heard outside of the courtroom - in the news, or from family and friends.

"Lots of people might have opinions or theories, but they aren’t based on the evidence... none of that should have any bearing on your decision."

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

Mr Mandy says the defence accepts that the three alleged victims died, and the fourth became seriously unwell, because of death cap mushrooms in the meal Ms Patterson served them.

But he says Ms Patterson is innocent.

"This case is all about Erin Patterson’s intention," he says.

"The defence case it that Erin Patterson did not deliberately serve poisoned food to her guests.

"She didn’t intend to cause anyone any harm on that day... what happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident."

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

The prosecution's opening statement has finished and the defence is beginning theirs.

Colin Mandy, acting for Ms Patterson, tells the jury: "That address was detailed because it has to be, but it was not actual evidence."

"It is the way the prosecution expects the evidence will unfold. The actual evidence is what you’ll hear through the trial."

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

“You might be wondering, ‘What is the motive?" Nanette Rogers says.

“You might still be wondering this at the end of this trial.”

She explains that the prosecution will not be suggesting a particular motive for Ms Patterson's alleged actions.

"Motive is not something that has to be proven by the prosecution... you do not have to be satisfied what the motive was, or even that there was one."

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

As she begins to close her remarks, prosecutor Nanette Rogers says: "It is the prosecution's case that the accused deliberately poisoned, with murderous intent, Gail Patterson, Don Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson... after inviting them for lunch on the pretence she’d been diagnosed with cancer."

Dr Rogers also says Erin Patterson lied about her children eating leftovers from the meal, lied about buying the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store, and dumped the food dehydrator she used to make the meal to hide the evidence.

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

Earlier, the prosecution said Erin Patterson asked her relatives to the lunch because she had medical condition to discuss - and claimed at the lunch that she had cancer.

Nanette Rogers says it is the prosecution's case that Erin Patterson did not ingest toxic mushrooms, and that she was never diagnosed with cancer.

"It is the prosecution case that the accused used the false claim... to ensure and explain why the children would not be present at the lunch."

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

The jury is being shown a CCTV photo showing Erin Patterson at her local tip on 2 August. Bank transactions show she paid $13.50 to dump some items, the prosecutor says.

Among the things she was seen disposing of was a large black box. When inspected a couple of days later, a staff member found a black Sunbeam dehydrator, Nanette Rogers says.

Fingerprints were found on the dehydrator and compared to Ms Patterson's, Dr Rogers says - and they matched.

It also tested positive for death cap mushrooms, the jury is told.

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers tells the jury Ms Patterson had posted in Facebook groups about using a food dehydrator to reduce the size of mushrooms to use in cooking.

She said online she had been “hiding powdered mushrooms in everything", the prosecutor says, including chocolate brownies fed to her children.

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

The court is being told about a website where concerned local people had been posting pictures and warnings about death cap mushrooms, geotagged to towns near Leongatha, where Ms Patterson lives.

The prosecutor says mobile phone transmission data suggested Patterson travelled to one of the nearby towns.

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

The jury's now being given a little overview of where poisonous death cap mushrooms grow.

They're reliant on tree hosts for nutrition, the prosecutor explains, so are only found amongst or very near to the roots of certain trees. In Australia, that's oak trees.

Around Victoria, the mushrooms are most commonly observed in the month of May, prosecutor Nanette Rogers says.

They live for about one to two weeks, or once picked survive a few weeks if refrigerated, she adds.

Tiffanie Turnbull
Live reporter

We're just back from the lunch break and the prosecution is explaining that authorities in Victoria were concerned about the public health risk after Ms Patterson said she'd brought the mushrooms - not foraged them.

The court heard the 50-year-old said some were bought fresh from her local Woolworths, but the rest were brought dried from an Asian grocery in a Melbourne suburb - though she couldn't remember exactly which one.

The prosecutors say health investigators set out to visit any Asian groceries or fruit and veg sellers in the suburbs Ms Patterson suggested.

The accused had said they had been in clear packaging, and were unbranded with a white handwritten label. She could not find any evidence on her bank statement for the purchase and told officials she had probably used cash, the court hears.

The prosecution tells the jury that, after visiting more than a dozen stores, the health investigator was not able to find any product fitting the description Ms Patterson had provided, and they received no other reports of people falling ill in the same way as the lunch guests.

No products were recalled.

Simon Atkinson
Australia producer, reporting from court

Court 4 - where the trial is being held - is smaller than would usually be used for major trials.

For example there are only six seats allocated each day for the media - and these are being allocated by ballot.

The rest of us are sitting in an overflow courtroom where we can see the barristers and judge on a TV screen - and hear all of the proceedings.