Mushroom trial LIVE updates: Estranged husband reveals why he feared Erin Patterson was 'using' him - as he details the accused mushroom lunch killer's VERY generous gesture to his family

Simon Patterson said he was aware of Erin's inheritance before they got married but agreed with her barrister Colin Mandy SC that she was 'very generous' with her money.

Mr Patterson confirmed Erin had loaned his family members hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase homes in Melbourne suburbs Officer and Blackburn.

The jury heard the loans were given interest-free but indexed to inflation, and a loose agreement to repay the money periodically similar to a regular mortgage was agreed.

He said Erin lent his brother '$250,000 or $300,000' to purchase a home in Officer and 'several hundred thousand' to buy the Blackburn property.

The couple also bought a property in Nason St, Korumburra, along with the property at Gibson St, Leongatha, where the fatal lunch was held.

However, they squabbled over whose title would be on which home.

The court was told Simon wanted his name on the Nason St title but, in return, Erin kept her name on the Gibson St title.

Mr Patterson said he also feared Erin was using his expertise and background to help get the Gibson St house (pictured below) built.

Simon Patterson said while he would spend hours playing video game Minecraft with his children, their mother Erin's 'daily life revolved around her kids'.

'Yeah, she seemed like a devoted mother most of the time,' he told the jury.

However, he said the relationship changed in late 2022 due to issues surrounding tax and child support, which he said 'caused friction'.

The jury was shown two Signal messages between Erin and Simon sent in November 2022.

Erin wrote to Simon: 'FYI I put in child support application so that I can also apply for family tax benefit, as I said I was going to do a few weeks back.

'The procedure is to try to contact you by phone or letter, idk which, to confirm basic details such as you accept you're the father of the children and agree we're separated etc.

'They asked for a date of separation. It's kind of moot because the assessment doesn’t begin until the date I applied, which is November 18th.

'But I said September 14th for the sake of having a date. They'll probably ask you to confirm that so our information lines up. Just FYI.'

Simon responded: 'Thanks for the heads up.'

Erin Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy SC suggested his client had 'put on a lot of weight over the years', which her estranged husband Simon agreed was true.

Mr Patterson said he believed she was embarrassed about it.

'Erin is not particularly happy with how she is,' he said.

'I don't think she has high self-esteem.'

Mr Patterson also said his daughter made a 'colourful plate' for he and Erin that he claimed could have been the plate the accused ate from.

'She (Erin) had a bunch of ceramic plates generally that weren't all the same,' he said.

'(She had) multiple small uniform sets.'

Mr Patterson also said Erin became a regular churchgoer who attended weekly Bible classes.

He said Erin and his parents seemed to love each other but she rarely hosted family get-togethers.

Most family gatherings took place Mr Patterson's father Don's house, the park and another family member's house.

'I don't think we hosted any (family functions),' he said.

Mr Patterson also confirmed when Erin moved into the Gibson St home in mid-2022, she brought belongings from her previous house including a 'mixture of plates'.

Simon Patterson is in the process of being cross-examined by his estranged wife's barrister Colin Mandy SC.

Mr Patterson told the jury he knew Erin was an Atheist when they met but she became religious after they married.

She attended services at the Korumburra Baptist Church (pictured below) and sometimes accompanied Simon on religious getaways with other members of the church.

The court heard Erin Patterson always had a love of animals and enjoyed travel, as did Simon, and they enjoyed family holidays together after their separation in 2015.

The estranged couple travelled to South Africa, Botswana, Darwin, Adelaide, New Zealand, and South Australia on family holidays following their split.

Simon agreed he had a 'strong friendship' with Erin 'until 2015 when it changed'.

The family went on holiday together to South Africa in 2018 but Patterson's mum died the following year and she and her sister split the estate which was finalised in 2020.

Mr Patterson told the jury some of the money from Erin's mother's estate was used to design and build the house at Gibson St, Leongatha, where the fatal lunch was held.

The jury heard Mr Patterson remained hopeful the 'family unit had a future' while the massive five-bedroom home was being built as he and his estranged wife were both involved in its building and design.

'It was a very children focused house,' Mr Mandy suggested.

'It was a big place, lots of room for everyone plus the kids,' Mr Patterson said.

Mr Patterson also accepted his friendship with Erin had remained 'strong' following their separation.

'Our relationship went up and down over the time,' he said.

Simon Patterson told the court he collected his two children from school and drove them to Monash Children’s Hospital in Melbourne's southeast because he learned they had eaten leftovers from the fatal beef Wellington lunch.

'I told the kids they needed to be checked out at the hospital because they had the leftovers at the lunch,' Mr Patterson said from the witness stand.

'They said they had a steak, they had mash potato, and, I remember, beans. They may have mentioned another vegetable.

'They didn't have mushrooms because (one of the children) didn't like mushrooms and its well known in our family that a (child) doesn’t like mushrooms.'

Mr Patterson said he and the children encountered Erin Patterson as they arrived at the hospital.

He said one of the children spotted Erin entering on a trolley as they were being admitted at triage.

'They interacted with Erin then,' Mr Patterson told the jury.

Both Erin and her children were kept overnight for observation, but in different areas of the Monash centre.

'(It was) maybe a five-minute walk, I think there was locked doors, we could through easy,' Mr Patterson said.

Mr Patterson also recalled he visited Erin in her room but told the court she didn't appear urgently sick.

'I guess there was no sign to me of diarrhea and vomiting, she went to the toilet once, not all the time. I didn't see an urgency, I suppose,' he said.

Mr Patterson also recalled that Erin told him about the time she sercretly added dehydrated mushrooms to a muffin she fed to one of their children as a taste test.

He said this was the first time he had been told Erin (pictured below) had secretly fed the child mushrooms.

Simon Patterson told the jury he went home to sleep after he took Ian and Heather Wilkinson to hospital and visited his parents before all four were transferred to the intensive care unit at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne.

Mr Patterson said Erin phoned him and asked if he could drive her to hospital.

He said Erin told him she felt sick and was worried she might have an ‘accident’ if she drove herself to hospital.

‘She feared she'll poo her pants,’ Mr Patterson told the jury.

‘(I) suggested she get an ambulance and go to hospital.’

Mr Patterson also said Erin told him she had fed leftovers of the mushroom-laden beef Wellington lunch to thier children.

He suggested that the children also be taken to hospital.

'We were trying to solve the problem of getting Erin and the kids into the same hospital,' Mr Patterson told the court.

'She's had a bit of barney with the staff, the medical people at Leongatha Hospital, she also told me when she admitted herself to Leongatha Hospital, they told her they wanted her to stay, they wanted to admit her as a patient - she wasn't happy or prepared to do that so she left.

'She went home, she said she lay down on the floor and fell asleep for 45 minutes.'

The trial will resume at 2.15pm.

Erin Patterson first mentioned the lunch which ultimately turned fatal about July 16, the jury has been told.

'She (Erin) was keen for it (the lunch) to be without the kids,' her estranged husband Simon Patterson said on the witness stand.

'It was about this "serious matter"; I was a bit reluctant.'

However, Mr Patterson said it 'sounded OK, though'.

He said Erin asked him: 'Are you going to put that in your diary in your phone?'

Mr Patterson said he discussed the lunch with his parents and Ian and Heather Wilkinson.

'They (Heather and Ian) were intrigued about why they were invited,' Mr Patterson told the jury.

He said he and his father discussed the lunch and the mystery cancer lump Erin claimed she had.

He later called his parents to say he would not be attending before telling Erin in a text message (pictured below).

'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,' Mr Patterson wrote.

'If you'd like to discuss on the phone just let me know.'

Erin responded: 'That's really disappointing. 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 some time.

'It's important to me that you're all there tomorrow, and that I can have the conversations that I need to have.

'I hope you'll change your mind. Your parents, Heather and Ian, are coming at 12.30, and I hope to see you there.'

Simon Patterson has entered the witness box to give evidence against his former wife Erin.

It is the first time Simon has laid eyes on his estranged wife in person since her arrest over the alleged murder of his parents in 2023.

Patterson, 50, is accused of killing her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, with death cap mushrooms served in a pastry dish during a lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.

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Erin Patterson's estranged husband comes face-to-face with ex in court

Simon Patterson has entered the witness box to give evidence against his former wife Erin. 

Simon Patterson told the court he noticed a change in his relationship with Erin in 2022, after she moved to the Gibson Street home.

Mr Patterson told the jury an issue between the pair arose when Erin found a tax return which noted they were separated.

He said he was dropping off their children when Erin sat in his car and requested a chat.

'She discovered that my tax return for the previous year for the first time noted we were separated,' he told the court.

Mr Patterson said Erin told him she was obliged to now claim child support.

'She was upset about it,' he told the jury.

He offered to change his tax return but she declined.

'It was resolved by us agreeing she would apply for child support,' he said.

Mr Patterson said he contacted a child support agency who advised him not to pay for his children's medical bills.

'I've been advised (by the child support agency) not to pay things like that,' he said.

'I think the arrangement before that is I would pay their school fees.'

The relationship blew up after Mr Patterson told Erin he would not pay for a medical procedure given to one of their children.

'She was very upset, I was sure she was very upset about that,' Mr Patterson said.

Ms Patterson's legal team is pictured below heading into court.

Simon Patterson told the jury his wife Erin Patterson received a $2million slice of her deceased grandmother’s estate a year before they were married.

Mr Patterson said the money was 'dispersed very gradually over eight years' before Erin initiated a 'permanent separation'.

The jury heard the pair had bought a house together in Erin's name only, but she later bought herself a house in nearby Korumburra which she moved into by herself.

Mr Patterson said it was hard put into words how Erin would come and go during their marriage.

'She would leave each time, it's a hard thing to word,' he said.

'When we lived together it was always her leaving me.'

Simon said their relationship was friendly 'most of the time'.

'It's good to be friends with the person you're married to,' he said before almost breaking down in tears.

'It was really important to me that... sorry can I have some tissues please,' he said.

Prosecutor Rogers asked if Simon wanted a break, which he resisted.

'Did you continue to care for her,' Dr Rogers asked.

'Yes, very much so,' Mr Patterson said.

Mr Patterson also revealed the couple jointly owned a unit in Syndal, a suburb in Melbourne's outer east.

He said the couple jointly owned the Gibson St, Leongatha, home where the deadly lunch was held until Erin Patterson owned it outright in 2021.

Simon Patterson has called his estranged wife 'witty and quite intelligent' before telling the court she previously held a position as an air-traffic controller at Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine.

Mr Patterson (pictured entering court with his media cohort Jessica O'Donnell) said Erin had a business and accountancy degree.

He revealed he and Erin are still married after forming a romantic relationship while working together at Monash Council.

Mr Patterson said he was a civil engineer and Erin worked in animal management.

They were part of an eclectic friendship group.

'We had a romantic relationship then got married,' Mr Patterson told the jury.

He told the jury the pair travelled around Australia camping in tents.

Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and a charge of attempted murder following a fateful death cap mushroom-laden lunch at her home at Leongatha, in south-western Victoria, on July 23, 2023.

Her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson all died after eating beef Wellington prepared by Patterson.

Ian Wilkinson, a pastor and Heather's husband, survived the lunch after spending several months in hospital.

The jury heard Patterson feigned having cancer to get her relatives together for lunch.

Her estranged husband Simon Patterson was invited, but did not attend.

Before she died, Heather claimed Erin Patterson ate her own beef Wellington off a different coloured and shaped plate.

Patterson also told doctors she became sick but attempted to stop medical professionals treating her children after it was feared they also ingested poisonous mushrooms.

Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers SC and lead defence barrister Colin Mandy SC will continue their roles in the trial today which is before Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale.

READ MORE: Full recap of day two