Beale has given the jurors an 86 page chronology of exhibits and evidence presented in the trial.He says it is”not homework” but a document the jury can dip into it during their deliberations.“It’s probably best to leave it in the jury room to consult,” he says.The document contains evidence that dates back to 2007.
Beale says his charge will include three sections – the principles of the law, issues to consider and the procedure they must follow.
He says jurors are the “judges of the facts.” Beale says this means if he omits evidence in his summary it does not mean it is not important.
The jurors can determine which arguments have merit regardless of if he mentions it, Beale says.
He reminds the 14-person jury that only 12 will determine the verdicts in Patterson’s trial. A balloting off process will determine which jurors deliberate.
The jurors have entered the court room in Morwell.
Beale is delivering his instructions to the jury, which is called the judge’s charge.
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard when the court last sat on Thursday:
Patterson’s defence lawyer,Colin Mandy SC,outlined the prosecution’s topfour “convoluted” and “absurd” propositions. Mandy said these were Patterson committing murder without a motive, lying about cancer to entice her lunch guests over, expecting her lunch guests to take her medical issues claim to their graves and thinking she could pass off the lethal meal as a “strange case of gastro”.
Patterson’sestranged husband, Simon, accusing her of using a dehydrator to poison his parents on 1 August 2023 – three days after the lunch – was a “turning point” for the accused, Mandy said. He said this was when his client began to panic and lie.Simon denied saying this to Patterson when he testified.
Mandy refuted the prosecution’s phone argument. He said Patterson would have either disposed of or reset her original mobile – Phone A – if she had planned the“cold, calculated murders”claimed by the prosecution, but instead she continued using it after the lunch.
Mandy pointed to Patterson’smedical tests resultsfrom two days after the lunch as evidence she became unwell from the beef wellington meal. He pointed to her low potassium, elevated hemoglobin level and elevated fibrinogen, which he said did not rely on self-reports.
Welcome to day 36 ofErin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting the trial to resume from 10.30am.
Justice Christopher Beale will begin instructing the jurors this morning before they begin their deliberations. The jury will not retire to consider its verdict until Wednesday at the earliest.
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 regionalVictoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws,DonandGail 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.