Key events
Mandy asks Eppingstall about Patterson’s Bendigo Bank records he obtained during the investigation.
He shows one record for purchase in Glen Waverley.
Mandy says:
These are examples of the sorts of information available from the bank records.
Eppingstall says:
Yes, sir.
He confirms no bank records were obtained for the time period prior to 1 July 2023.
He says he does not recall seeing records from other banks.
Mandy asks if Eppingstall obtained a “large number of receipts” from Booktopia as part of the investigation.
Eppingstall agrees he did find a large number of books related to diets.
Mandy turns to the “significant media interest” in the case. He says from 1 August 2023, the police media unit were “briefed and holding lines were prepared”.
Eppingstall says holding lines are “short blurbs that go out to [the] media” to let the public know basic details of an incident. He says:
It’s a very generic statement.
The jurors have entered the courtroom in Morwell.
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, is continuing to cross-examine Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall, the officer in charge of the investigation into the lethal lunch.
We’re waiting for the jury to enter the courtroom in Morwell.
Here’s a report from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, on what the jury heard on Wednesday:
What the jury heard on day 21 of trial
We’re waiting for today’s proceedings to get underway.
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Wednesday:
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Electronic records taken from a computer seized by police from Erin Patterson’s house indicated it had been used to visit webpages listing sightings of death cap mushrooms, the court heard.
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Jurors were shown Patterson’s Woolworths purchase history which included two items of 500g sliced mushrooms purchased on 23 July 2023 in Leongatha.
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The jury was shown text messages between Patterson and her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, where the pair discussed medical appointments for the accused including a needle biopsy on 28 June 2023. Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall said obtained medical records found no appointment matching this.
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Eppingstall said no cancer diagnosis for Patterson was found on the Victorian cancer registry database.
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Police never located a phone connected to Patterson that the prosecution labelled “Phone A”, the court heard.
Welcome
Welcome to day 22 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin shortly once the jurors enter the courtroom.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent”, but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
