Mushroom cook crying, emotional in hospital after lunch, court hears
Share this @internewscast.com

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson “became emotional” and cried about her children after taking herself to hospital two days after serving a poisonous beef Wellington, a jury has been told.

Nurse Mairim Cespon today took the jury in Patterson’s trial back to her interactions with the mushroom cook at hospital on July 31, 2023.

Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges and one attempted murder over a lunch she cooked at her home two days earlier, on July 29.

Erin Patterson. (Jason South)

Three of her lunch guests – Patterson’s former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66 – died in hospital days after consuming the meal.

The mother-of-two claims it was a terrible accident and she did not intentionally poison any of her guests, including Heather’s husband Ian who survived the meal.

The jury has been told Patterson suffered diarrhoea after eating the beef Wellington and took herself to her local hospital at Leongatha in regional Victoria on July 31, where she initially appeared for a few minutes before discharging herself.

Cespon, who had also treated Heather and Ian, said she let Patterson back into the hospital when she returned less than two hours later.

“She was nauseated, she had diarrhoea, but she wasn’t vomiting,” the nurse told the jury of 14.

Cespon said she was settling Patterson into a cubicle in the hospital’s urgent care section when doctor Chris Webster came in and had a conversation about her two children.

Webster told Patterson the kids needed to be medically reviewed as they might have ingested toxins since they ate leftovers from the meal, Cespon said.

Nurse Mairim Cespon today took the jury in Patterson’s trial back to her interactions with the mushroom cook at hospital on July 31, 2023. (Nine)

“Erin became emotional, she was crying, she was saying is it necessary if her kids didn’t eat the mushrooms, they didn’t have any symptoms,” Cespon said.

“She didn’t want them to be stressed or panicked … for the kids to be pulled out of school to be assessed.”

The nurse said she helped Patterson go to the toilet several times and asked her to use a pan that looked like a “witch’s hat” to catch her bowel movements.

“When I was about to collect it she did mention ‘it does look like it’s wee but it was a bowel motion’,” Cespon said.

“I told her that every time she goes to the toilet just let me know, so I can have a look.”

After her first bowel movement, Patterson told the nurse her pain was “seven out of 10” and she felt cramping before she opened her bowels each time.

Ian Wilkinson outside court on May 16. (The Age)

Under questioning by defence barrister Colin Mandy SC, Cespon agreed it was not unusual for a bowel movement to look like that in a patient who had been suffering diarrhoea for some time.

Cespon also said she handed Patterson the phone when police called after arriving at her home for a welfare check, and Patterson told officers they could break into her home to retrieve leftovers from the meal.

“She mentioned that it would be in a bin, it was food scraps from the meal, it would be inside a Woolies paper bag in the bin,” she said.

“She mentioned the food scraps was the meal that she scraped from the kids’, because the kids don’t eat mushrooms.”

The trial before Justice Christopher Beale continues.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Man Arrested After US Council Member Is Set Ablaze Over ‘Personal Dispute’

A suspect is in custody after a US city council member was…

Deputies: Woman Fatally Attacked Grandmother with Mallet

Background: A woman thought to be Jailen Lupton seen on Vivint security…

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Petitions for Dismissal or Retrial Ahead of Sentencing

On Wednesday, Sean “Diddy” Combs requested that a New York federal court…

Husband Who Buried Wife in Concrete Learns His Sentence

Top inset: Elsie Mae Wiggington (GoFundMe). Bottom inset: Frederick Lewis Wiggington (Middle…

How Leaking Fluid from a Suitcase Led Police to a Secret Discovery

A 47-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle heroin…

Mother Allegedly Involves Children in Scheme Leading to In-Law’s Allergic Reaction: Police Report

Inset: Tiffany Gregory (Louisville Metro Detention Center). Background: Louisville Metro Detention Center…

‘CHOIR BOY’ DIDDY REQUESTS BAIL, CLAIMS PROVOCATION BY WOMEN

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asks the judge to free him on $50m bond…

Father sentenced in the tragic case of 7-year-old son found in washer

Left inset: Jemaine Thomas (Harris County Sheriff”s Office). Right inset: Troy Koehler…

14-year-old boy found to weigh only 49 pounds; mother is arrested, say police.

Inset: Hashabah Yehudah (Hall County Jail). Background: The apartment complex in Oakwood,…

Police: Iowa Resident Attacks Grandfather With Golf Clubs, Uses Wasp Spray on Injuries

An Iowa man is facing several charges after reportedly assaulting his grandfather…

Father and Daughter Attacked During North Georgia Mountains Camping Trip

Four people have been arrested in North Georgia after they allegedly attacked…

Defense Lawyers Criticize DOJ’s ‘Extreme’ Support for Alina Habba

Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, addresses the media outside the New York…