Black plastic sheets have been erected around Erin Patterson’s home as the jury in her murder trial goes into deliberations. In the weeks leading up to the jury’s deliberations, Patterson’s supporters erected the tarps. This made for a compelling visual around the very visible site of this high-profile case. The trial focuses on shockingly egregious allegations against Patterson. In this fictional setup, she casually poisoned the steak Wellington with toxic death cap mushrooms, killing three dinner guests.
The lunch guests included Patterson’s former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister, Heather, and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. On July 29, 2023, Don, Gail, and Heather shared one of their last meals together. Sadly, they eventually succumbed to the disease, but Ian Wilkinson was fortunate enough to survive. Erin Patterson has consistently denied poisoning her guests on purpose and has entered a not guilty plea to the four counts of murder advanced against her.
This case started with 12 jurors who had the duty of looking at all of the evidence that’s been presented over the last couple of days. One focus of the prosecution’s argument is Erin Patterson’s alleged intent. Jurors will have to decide if she intended to kill or seriously injure her ex-in-laws and their family. Justice Christopher Beale, presiding over the case, provided a comprehensive five-day charge that outlined the evidence and arguments from both sides.
Justice Beale indicated that prosecutors do not need to establish a motive to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. He argued there was ample room for jurors to weigh Patterson’s absence of motive in her favor when judging her intent. Such nuance might make all the difference when it comes to what the jury ultimately decides.
As jurors began deliberating on Monday, supporters and media waited outside Patterson’s home. This created a bottleneck in the number of available parking spaces, with just one remaining open stall in the immediate vicinity. The black tarps have gone up, marking one of the most emotional and heinous cases we have covered. They impact their neighbors as well as their constituents.
