What police found on Erin Patterson’s computer and text messages with mother-in-law revealed

Electronic records taken from a computer seized by police from Erin Patterson’s house indicated that it had been used to visit webpages listing sightings of death cap mushrooms, a Victorian court has heard.

The court also heard on Wednesday that Patterson sent multiple text messages to her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, about health issues and medical appointments that police found no record of having ever occurred.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning her four lunch guests – relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with a beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha on 29 July 2023.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband.

Lawyers for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident.

Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall, the informant or officer in charge of the investigation, continued giving evidence on Wednesday. He is the last prosecution witness in the trial.

Eppingstall was asked about text messages sent by Patterson, and telephone records which he said indicated that the phone she primarily used in the months before the lunch was never found by police.

He was also asked about searches he conducted using URLs taken from a computer seized from Patterson’s home. Data extracted from the computer revealed a series of URLs visited in May 2022.

It showed a series of visits to posts on iNaturalist, a website the court has previously heard is used by citizen scientists to list environmental observations, including of wild mushrooms.

In December 2024, Eppingstall used the URL addresses uncovered during the extraction to visit the websites they related to.

The court was shown screenshots Eppingstall took during this process, which included an iNaturalist observation including photos of death cap mushrooms that were reportedly uncovered at a reserve in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin on 18 May 2022.

Eppingstall was also asked about URLs visited immediately afterwards on the same computer, which appeared to show an order for food had been placed at the Korumburra Middle Hotel.

Eppingstall said the pub later confirmed a food order had been placed that day which included a phone number used by Patterson, and was delivered to her address at the time.

Jane Warren, for the prosecution, also asked Eppingstall about mobile phones police believe Patterson had used.

He said that there were three phones, two Samsungs and a Nokia, and that one of the Samsungs, referred to as phone A, had never been recovered.

Phone records indicated that phone A was the device primarily used by Patterson, Eppingstall said.

Eppingstall said phone records appeared to indicate that a sim card was switched between devices while police searched Patterson’s home on 5 August 2023.

The phone that was provided by Patterson to police at the end of that search – phone B – was subject to a remote factory reset after it had been seized and taken into storage by Eppingstall, he confirmed.

Det Leading Sen Const Stephen Eppingstall at the Latrobe Valley courts in Morwell, Victoria. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Earlier in his evidence, Eppingstall was asked about messages exchanged by Patterson and Gail in June and July 2023.

He was also asked about extracts from Gail’s diary, which included the note: “Erin St Vincents arm lung” on 28 June 2023.

She messaged Patterson that evening saying “just wondering how you got on at your appointment today? Love Gail and Don.”

Patterson wrote back the next morning that the appointment “went OK”, that she had a needle biopsy taken of a lump, and would have an MRI the following week.

“That’s a test of patience isn’t it!? Praying you’ll know God’s peace,” Gail responded.

On 6 July 2023, Gail asked Patterson how she went with her test.

Patterson responded there was “a bit to digest” but that she would talk to her and Don when she saw them in person.

Eppingstall said that checks of Patterson’s Medicare records found there had been no tests of that nature, and St Vincent’s hospital also confirmed it had no record of treating Patterson.

Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, started his cross-examination of Eppingstall on Wednesday afternoon.

Mandy started his cross-examination with asking Eppingstall to confirm that Patterson did not have a criminal record.

He then asked Eppingstall to confirm that Patterson directed police to the leftovers of the meal, provided them with an access code for the gate to enter her property, retained the fruit platter and gravy from the beef wellington lunch in the fridge, and had given police permission to break into the house if they had to in order to find the leftovers.

Mandy took Eppingstall to health records, and Signal message exchanges between her and Simon, to demonstrate she also had concerns about ovarian cancer, and a history of researching her symptoms, dating back to 2021.

She also had a family history of cancer, including ovarian cancer.

The trial continues.