Simon Patterson, a 50-year-old man, stepped into the witness box to spill the tea on his ex-wife Erin, calling her ‘witty and quite intelligent’ as he spilled the beans on their life together. This was the first time Simon had seen his estranged wife in the flesh since she got arrested for allegedly offing his parents in 2023. The accusation on the table? Murdering Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, by serving them some death cap mushrooms in a pastry dish during a family lunch at her Leongatha crib on July 29, 2023. The only survivor of this deadly lunch was Pastor Ian Wilkinson, who also got hit with an attempted murder charge for good measure. Simon, dressed in pink, looked as cool as a cucumber as he locked eyes with Patterson upon entering the witness box. The two shared a moment before Simon spilled all the tea.
Simon was actually supposed to attend that fatal lunch, but he bailed the night before. The jury already heard about the three attempted murder charges against him getting dropped like a hot potato last week. Patterson, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. Simon spent the morning answering questions about his fam and how he and Erin met and eventually split. He praised his ex as ‘witty and quite intelligent’ and mentioned her gig as an air-traffic controller at Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine. He spilled about how she was big on learning, studying pet science, law, and science. When asked if Erin liked having peeps over, Simon said it was ‘very rare’. Things got emotional when he touched on the breakup, asking for tissues and struggling to answer. ‘It’s good to be friends with the person you’re married to… it was really important to me that, sorry can I have some tissues please,’ he said. Even when asked for a break, Simon was all about pushing through.
‘Did you keep caring for her,’ Dr. Rogers asked. ‘Yes,’ he replied. Simon claimed that things took a turn when he decided to change his relationship status on his tax return. He was dropping off the kiddos at Erin’s place in Leongatha when she hopped in his car and found out they were officially separated. She was all bummed out about losing the family tax benefit and having to ask for child support. Simon remembered how she was all upset about it. On July 16, during a church service, Patterson allegedly invited her in-laws over for lunch to talk about ‘medical issues’ and ‘breaking it to the kids’. The kicker? The issues were all about Erin’s fake battle with ovarian cancer. She insisted that everyone attend, including Simon, even though their relationship was on the rocks. The guests were all confused about the invite at first, wondering what the deal was. Simon backed out last minute because he felt iffy about it, which supposedly ticked off Erin big time. She texted him saying she was bummed out because she put in a lot of effort for the ‘special meal’.
In her opening address, Dr. Rogers made it clear that a motive wasn’t necessary for the jury to nail Erin. She painted a picture of Patterson luring her victims to lunch under false pretenses of having cancer, then serving them death cap mushroom-filled mini beef Wellingtons. She made it seem like Erin didn’t touch the poisonous dish, pretended to be sick, and didn’t let her kids near the leftovers with the death cap mushrooms. Patterson’s barrister, Colin Mandy, SC, argued that motive was a key piece of the puzzle. ‘Did she have a motive to off these four family members?’ he questioned. ‘That issue of intention is the real deal in this trial.’ He suggested that what went down was a tragic accident, not some premeditated murder. More deets to come, y’all.
