Simon Patterson had told his father Don and other relatives that he believed his estranged wife Erin had tried to poison him before she invited his parents and aunt and uncle to the deadly beef Wellington lunch, according to evidence revealed in a pre-trial hearing.
One argument presented in court—but kept from jurors in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial—involved police suspicions that she may have previously used rat poison in an alleged attempt to kill Simon.
On July 7, Patterson was convicted of murdering Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, as well as attempting to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.
An interim suppression order preventing Australian media from reporting on pre-trial and trial evidence rulings was lifted on Friday after a coalition of media organizations, including Guardian Australia, successfully challenged it.
The order, imposed immediately after the guilty verdict by Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale, had barred the publication of material jurors were not allowed to hear.
Patterson, 50, appeared via video link on Friday morning. Justice Beale scheduled her plea hearing—where prosecution and defense will argue for her sentence—for August 25 and 26.
When asked how many victim impact statements were expected, prosecutor Jane Warren replied, “All I can say is a lot, Your Honor.”
Beale ruled on what evidence could now be published, including a redacted version of Patterson’s August 2023 police interview, which was played during the trial. Other material from pre-trial hearings was excluded from the jury as it was deemed unfairly prejudicial.
Patterson remained silent during the brief hearing, only confirming she could see and hear the court. Her lawyers must submit sentencing arguments by August 18, with prosecution filings—including victim statements—due four days later.
Pre-trial hearings allow defendants to challenge evidence before trial. In Patterson’s case, these hearings involved dozens of witnesses over several months in 2024, with her lawyers questioning their police statements.
Some excluded evidence related to dropped charges alleging Patterson had tried to kill Simon in 2021 and 2022. Justice Beale ruled this evidence inadmissible to avoid unfair prejudice.
Prosecutors had sought to combine these earlier attempted murder charges with the lunch-related charges, but Beale ruled on March 14, 2025, that they must be tried separately. The DPP’s appeal failed.
Reporting on inadmissible evidence is prohibited until after a verdict.Here’s a rewritten version of the text in fluent, natural English while preserving the original meaning:
—
### Court of Appeal and Dropped Charges
Before the trial began in March, Judge Beale made six key rulings. These decisions included:
– Excluding most computer records found at Patterson’s home about poison research, except for one document.
– Allowing cell tower evidence showing Patterson’s alleged visits to Loch and Outtrim.
– Rejecting “tendency evidence” (past behavior suggesting guilt) as not strong enough.
– Admitting most evidence about alleged incriminating actions.
– Allowing some hearsay evidence.
– Excluding “coincidence evidence” (linking unrelated events).
As a result, Beale ordered that the charges be split into two separate trials:
1. Charges 1–3: Attempted murder of Simon Patterson.
2. Charges 4–7: Attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson and the murder of three other guests.
The reasons behind these rulings, as well as the prosecution and defense arguments about what evidence should be allowed, remain confidential. Since the charges related to Simon were later dropped, the evidence against Patterson in those cases was never tested in court.
### Simon Patterson’s Suspicions
During an April 2024 appeal hearing, prosecutor Nanette Rogers revealed that police found digital evidence on Patterson’s computer about barium carbonate—a common rat poison. A medical expert, Prof. Andrew Burston, reviewed Simon’s hospital records and noted that one of his illnesses was “consistent” with barium carbonate poisoning. However, Rogers clarified that this evidence wasn’t presented in the earlier Supreme Court hearings.
Burston couldn’t confirm the exact cause of Simon’s stomach and bowel issues.
### The Attempted Murder Charges
The three attempted murder charges against Patterson related to the only times she allegedly traveled alone with Simon (without their children) after their 2015 separation. Police also investigated a fourth incident where Simon fell ill, but no charges were filed.
The prosecution argued that these three incidents, along with the fatal July 2023 lunch, showed a pattern: Patterson allegedly poisoned people she cooked for. However, they never claimed she used death cap mushrooms in Simon’s food—only pasta, curry, and a wrap.
### Defense Arguments
Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy, argued that the prosecution’s “coincidences” weren’t strong enough to link the Simon charges with the lunch case. He pointed out that:
– Patterson had cooked for Simon many times without him getting sick.
– In one case, Simon may have been ill before eating her food.
– Simon might have initiated some of the trips himself, rather than Patterson arranging them.
Mandy urged the court to consider how different the two cases really were.
—
This version keeps the original meaning while improving clarity and flow. Let me know if you’d like any further refinements!The prosecution acknowledged that there was less evidence supporting the “Simon charges” compared to the “lunch charges,” which had a more substantial body of evidence.
During pre-trial hearings, Simon explained that after his repeated hospitalizations, extended family members had raised concerns, asking if Erin might have been poisoning him. He came to the same conclusion after consulting his GP, who asked him to summarize the events leading up to his hospital visits. Simon told the court that the common factor was consuming food prepared by Patterson—food no one else had eaten—just before falling ill.
In October 2024, Mandy asked Simon during a hearing whether he believed his illnesses were caused by food Erin had prepared for him. He replied, “Yes.” When asked if he agreed that before the end of 2022, there had been nothing unusual in his relationship with Erin, Simon responded, “If by ‘nothing unusual,’ you mean nothing that would make me think she’d try to kill me, then yes.”
### Doctor Testified He Found Poisoning Theory “Feasible”
Much of the discussion about Simon’s suspicions took place in an August 2024 pre-trial hearing. His GP, Dr. Christopher Ford, testified that during a 55-minute consultation on February 21, 2023, he and Simon discussed the poisoning concerns. Ford, who attended the same church as the Pattersons, had become friends with Simon.
Ford explained that in an earlier appointment, he had asked Simon to document what happened before his hospital admissions. Simon concluded that Patterson was poisoning him through food. Ford told the court, “I asked him to do that because I couldn’t understand why he kept having these near-death experiences. It didn’t fit any medical explanation I knew. There was no other reason that could account for all his hospitalizations, so poisoning seemed feasible.”
Simon had been so severely ill that part of his bowel had to be removed.
During the consultation, Simon also expressed concerns about cookies his daughter had given him, which were made by Patterson. He told Ford that Patterson had called multiple times to ask if he’d eaten them, leading him to suspect antifreeze might have been used. Simon said he kept a sample for testing, though Ford couldn’t recall whether it was ever tested.
Simon also updated his advanced care directives during the consultation, naming his father, Don Patterson, as his medical power of attorney instead of his estranged wife. Ford later had a “coded conversation” with Don at church, where he believed they both understood the reason for the change.
Ford said… (text continues)Here’s a more natural and fluent version of the text while preserving its original meaning:
During pre-trial testimony, Ford stated that shortly after a church service, he was standing with Simon when Patterson approached. Patterson confirmed an appointment time with Ford regarding their daughter, then turned to Simon and invited him to lunch. After Patterson left, Simon told Ford, “He will politely decline her invitation.” The court later heard that Simon canceled the lunch the night before, which upset Patterson.
The Vomit Jar Incident
On July 30, 2023—the morning after the planned lunch—Ford testified that Simon called to report Patterson’s guests had fallen ill. Ford contacted Dr. Chris Webster, who was treating some guests, expressing his suspicion of deliberate poisoning. He then visited the hospital to inform another doctor, where he encountered Don and Gail Patterson. Don was holding a jar of vomit.
Ford, who did not testify during the trial but spoke at the pre-trial hearing, believed Don kept the jar as potential evidence, though Don never explicitly said so. Ford recalled Don asking, “I’ve got this sample—what should I do with it, Chris?” to which Ford replied, “Hold onto it; it might be useful later.” He noted there was implied meaning but nothing stated outright.
Family Awareness of Simon’s Suspicions
Pre-trial evidence revealed Simon had shared his poisoning suspicions with some family members before the lunch. On August 2, 2023, he gathered the broader family, including the Wilkinsons’ children, at Austin Hospital’s chapel to discuss his concerns.
Ruth Dubois, the Wilkinsons’ daughter, testified on August 21, 2024, that this was when she learned of Simon’s suspicions. “Simon came to us one night to talk,” she said. “He believed his illnesses were deliberate and had stopped eating food Erin prepared. He suspected she had been tampering with it and apologized for not warning us sooner, thinking he was the only target.”
Attendees included David Wilkinson (who had walked Patterson down the aisle at her wedding) and Simon’s siblings. The next day, Simon emailed his relatives about the meeting, attaching his medical records. Dubois said she hadn’t discussed his claims with him since. Heather Wilkinson and Gail died the following day; Don passed on August 5.
Further Allegations
In October 2024 hearings, evidence showed Simon had also told health official Sally Ann Atkinson and child protection workers that he believed Patterson had tried poisoning him multiple times before.
In a March 2025 ruling, Beale addressed the charges related to the lunch and Simon’s allegations.
(Note: The last sentence was incomplete in the original, so I preserved its structure without adding speculation.)Here’s a rewritten version of the text in fluent, natural English while preserving the original meaning:
—
The judge ruled that certain records from computers seized at Erin Patterson’s home—specifically those related to “access or possible access to information on poisons”—should be excluded from evidence.
In the same ruling, Justice Beale also deemed a Facebook post Patterson made in a group called “Poisons Help; Emergency Identification For Mushrooms & Plants” inadmissible. The reasons for this decision, along with submissions from both the prosecution and defense regarding evidence admissibility, have not been made public.
During the trial (but outside the jury’s presence), the post was discussed in legal arguments over whether to reintroduce tendency evidence about Patterson, following an application by her lawyers. While it was undisputed that Patterson had written the post, it was ultimately not admitted as evidence.
The court heard that Patterson had posted in the Facebook group, under the name “Erin Erin,” claiming her cat had eaten a mushroom growing under a tree and was vomiting. However, prosecutor Jane Warren told the court that Patterson had never owned a cat.
### Other Pre-Trial Evidence Not Presented to the Jury
Additional details from pre-trial hearings—which were not heard during the trial—included that Simon (the surviving victim) had considered writing a book or doing a TV interview and was paying a PR expert. However, he denied that money was his sole motivation.
“I think there are several reasons why it would be a good idea,” Simon said during cross-examination by Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy, in October 2024. “The community is grieving and wants answers—sharing what happened might help. Another reason is that I believe you’re being paid by Erin to damage my reputation. You’re her mouthpiece, and that could shape the media narrative in a way that harms me after the trial.”
When Mandy asked if financial gain was a factor, Simon replied, “Potentially, yes.”
Other pre-trial testimony came from members of a Facebook group called “Keep Keli Lane Behind Bars,” where Patterson had connected with some individuals. One of them, Daniela Barkley—who was writing a book about the case titled What Tore Us Apart—recalled Patterson being upset that Simon had given her a shovel for her birthday in 2022.
—
This version maintains the original facts while improving readability and flow. Let me know if you’d like any further refinements!
