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The ex-husband of Erin Patterson, a woman who served a poisonous mushroom lunch to her family which killed three, has revealed why he did not attend the meal despite being invited.
Simon Patterson had been invited by Erin, his ex wife, but decided not to attend at the last minute.
He is the first person to give evidence at Patterson's trial, who is charged with murder of three of her relatives and attempted murder of one other in Australia.
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Mr Patterson said it was 'very rare' for her to host at her home.
In July 2023, she invited family around and served a beef wellington, however she says the deaths were accidental and that she 'panicked' when she unintentionally poisoned them.
Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty.
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The dead include her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, survived after spending weeks in hospital.
The jury has been shown text messages exchanged between Erin and Simon the day before the fateful meal.
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Mr Patterson said he felt 'too uncomfortable' to attend.
He 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.
"If you’d like to discuss on the phone just let me know."
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Erin replied: "That's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow... It's important to me that you're all there tomorrow and that I can have the conversations that I need to have."
Prosecutors claim Ms Patterson invited them around 'on the pretence she'd been diagnosed with cancer'.
The couple met in 2002 at work, and married in 2007 before separating in 2015.
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The court in Australia heard that there was several periods of separation and reconciliation.
At one time, Erin left her husband and baby son in the middle of a road trip, leaving Simon to drive 3,100 miles alone with the child.
He told the court: "Erin is very intelligent. Some of the things that attracted me to her in the first place is definitely her intelligence. She's quite witty and can be quite funny."
Reflecting on her relationship with his parents, he said: "She especially got on with dad. They shared a love of knowledge and learning in the world."
He added, with his voice cracking: "I think she loved his gentle nature."
He became emotional and asked for tissues.
Simon said that despite their separation, initially there was a lot of text communication with banter and politics chat, but that changed in 2022 when Erin became upset when he listed himself as 'separated' on his tax return.
The 'chatty nature' of their relationship 'pretty much stopped' from then, according to Simon.
The fatal lunch consisted of beef wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans.
Unbeknown to the guests, the wellington contained death cap mushrooms.
The jury is being asked to decide whether Erin Patterson intended to kill or cause very serious injury.
Lead barrister Nanette Rogers said Ms Patterson had travelled close to her home in Leongatha to a site where where death cap mushrooms had been reported on a naturalist website.
They allege she attempted to 'conceal' what she had done.
She claimed to have purchased the mushrooms from an Asian grocery in Melbourne and denied having foraged wild ones.
She also disposed of a food dehydrator prosecutors claim was used to prepare the meal.
Ms Patterson's barrister insists it was accidental: "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."
The Pattersons has been up all night with vomiting and upset stomach and called an ambulance.
Simon Patterson then contacted his aunt and uncle, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, before going to their home.
"Ian answered the door. He looked grey and spooked," Mr Patterson recalled. "Yeah, he was struggling.
"I said 'How are you?' He said 'Not good'."
He said Heather Wilkinson also looked ill.
"She looked pretty crook. She had a container as a spew bucket," he said.
"We didn't have much conversation, but she was puzzled and she said 'I noticed Erin served herself her food on a coloured plate which was different to the rest'."
"I acknowledged I'd heard her, but did not progress it as a conversation," he added.
"She mentioned the coloured plate again, She asked me 'Is Erin short of crockery? Is that why she would have this different coloured plate that she served herself with?" Patterson said.
"I can't remember the exact phrase but it was something like that."
The defence team insist it was a 'tragedy' and a 'terrible accident'.
