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The final text messages sent by Erin Patterson to her ex-husband before she allegedly poisoned his family with a deadly meal have been revealed.
Erin Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after her estranged husband’s family died after eating death cap mushrooms, which can be fatal even when consumed in small amounts.
Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died in hospital after eating beef wellington cooked by Patterson at her home in Leongatha, Australia on 29 July, 2023.
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Reverend Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, was also invited and survived after weeks of treatment and a liver transplant in hospital.
Patterson has denied all the charges against her.
According to prosecutors, Ms Patterson wanted to discuss ‘some medical issues that she had’ at the lunch, and she later told the guests that she had cancer.
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However, she did not have the illness, her defence lawyer, Colin Mandy, later confirmed to the jury.
The court heard that the lunch had been arranged in an attempt to 'get advice about how to break it to the kids', who weren't present for the meal.
After initially agreeing to attend, Patterson’s ex-husband, Simon Patterson, sent a text message to his ex-wife, where he said he 'felt too uncomfortable' about coming to lunch.
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He said: "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."
Ms Patterson replied and said his decision was ‘very disappointing’ and in a lengthy follow-up message, she complained about how much time and effort she put into making the dish.
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She said: “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 sometime [sic].
"It’s important to me you’re all here tomorrow and that I can have a conversation that I need to have.”
In another follow-up message, she wrote: “‘I hope you’ll change your mind. Your parents, Heather and Ian, are coming at 12.30, and I hope to see you there.”
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Elsewhere in the trial, prosecutors also alleged that Patterson had eaten from a different coloured plate compared to her guests, who all had grey plates.
A friend of Simon also claimed that he had suspected that Patterson had attempted to poison him before when he allegedly fell sick and 'collapsed at home', before being placed in an 'an induced coma for 16 days' and receiving surgery.
Mandy argued that ‘what happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident’ and that Ms Patterson did not intend to hurt anyone.
The trial continues.
Topics: World News, Crime, Australia
Gregory Robinson