<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mushroom cook Erin Patterson deliberately sourced death cap mushrooms, blitzed them into a powder and concealed them in beef Wellingtons to poison her lunch guests, a jury has been told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC laid out the allegations in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday as she began her closing address in Patterson's triple-murder trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty, denying she intentionally served the poisoned lunch to her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister Heather and her husband Ian Wilkinson.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/tasmania-news-police-officer-hurt-reported-shooting-north-motton/8f60ae28-e15e-442f-9756-171f22b7d1bc" target="_blank"><strong><span>Police officer killed in shooting at rural Tasmania property</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Don, Gail and Heather all died after the July 2023 lunch at Patterson's home in regional Victoria, while Ian survived.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson has also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Wilkinson.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rogers opened her final address to the jury by claiming Patterson had carried out "four calculated deceptions".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/erin-patterson-mushroom-cook-accused-of-four-calculated-deceptions/2b4ec9d2-a05f-436c-a9a4-4199480b2bdc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The first was fabricating a cancer diagnosis so there would be a reason to have the four guests over for lunch, the prosecutor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rogers alleged Patterson "planted the seed" of the fake cancer claim at least a month earlier when she told Gail she was undergoing medical tests for a lump on her elbow.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson told Gail she needed to have an MRI after a successful biopsy but there were no records of any tests or diagnosis, the prosecutor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She never thought she would have to account for this lie," Rogers told the jury.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She did not think her lunch guests would live to reveal it. Her lie would die with them."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The prosecutor alleged Patterson's second deception was the lunch itself and her decision to source the death cap mushrooms and conceal the poison in individual beef Wellingtons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rogers pointed to iNaturalist website posts detailing death cap mushroom sites in Victoria's Gippsland region and phone-tower data that showed Patterson's mobile in those locations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/israel-iran-conflict-iran-claims-more-than-200-dead-since-friday/9e1adb88-d06f-4ddc-a672-a94efcebdfae" target="_blank"><strong><span>Iran renews missile attacks on Israel, hitting buildings and wounding dozens</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The prosecutor said the jury could safely infer Patterson had found and collected death cap mushrooms from those sites in April and May 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson then bought a dehydrator and dehydrated those mushrooms, before blitzing them into a powder to use in the individually portioned beef Wellingtons, Rogers alleged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The prosecutor told the jury Patterson chose to serve the beef Wellingtons as small parcels instead of the recipe-mandated log form so she could avoid eating the death caps.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson also served her own meal on a different coloured plate for the same reason, Rogers said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The lunch cook denied using a different plate but the prosecutor told the jurors they should instead believe Mr Wilkinson's evidence as he was a reliable witness with a clear memory.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rogers alleged Patterson's third deception was feigning illness after the lunch, adding Patterson falsely claimed she had continuous "explosive diarrhoea".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She noted Patterson was able to drive her son's friend home and go for a two-hour-long round trip the day after the lunch without needing a bathroom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You might think a person who genuinely fears pooing her pants ... would not take such a risk," the prosecutor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Patterson presented to the Leongatha Hospital emergency department two days after the lunch, complaining of diarrhoea and pain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She left within a few minutes against the doctor's advice because she knew she had not consumed the death cap mushrooms, Rogers alleged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She realised what she had done was going to be uncovered," the prosecutor told the jury.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She fled back to her house to try and figure out how to manage the situation."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The trial continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LISTEN NOW: The Mushroom Trial</span></strong><span> </span><strong><span>Say Grace</span></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>is the latest podcast from Nine and The Age. Join journalists Penelope Liersch and Erin Pearson as they take listeners inside the case that's grabbed global headlines. You can listen on</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mushroom-trial-say-grace/id1809649583" target="_blank" title="Apple here"><strong><em><span>Apple here</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0HxEeYr0iKfTZitni3vjy7?si=30120f7d424741e5" target="_blank" title="Spotify here."><strong><em><span>Spotify here.</span></em></strong></a></div></div>