An analysis of Erin Patterson's cell phone records showed that she may have visited two locations shortly after the reported mushroom sightings, the court heard.
Patterson, 50, pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of murder, in connection with lunch she delivered at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, about 135 km southeast of Melbourne.
She is accused of murdering her estranged husband, Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt, Heather Wilkinson. She is also accused of attempting to murder Simon's uncle and Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson.
Erin Patterson hosts lunch for the parents of Don and Gail Patterson of her estranged husband Simon, as well as his aunt and Uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Patterson serves Beef Wellington.
All four lunch guests were taken to the hospital with stomach-like symptoms.
Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died in the hospital.
Don Patterson died in hospital. Victoria police searched Erin Patterson's home and interviewed her.
Ian Wilkinson was taken to the hospital a few weeks after intensive care.
Police searched Erin Patterson's home again, and she was arrested and interviewed. She is charged with three counts of murder with Don, Gale Patterson and Heather Wilkinson's death and Ian Wilkinson's attempted murder.
The murder trial begins. The jury learned that the allegations of attempting to murder her estranged husband Simon were discarded.
The Victorian Supreme Court sat in Morwell. Previously, guests died of death cap mushroom poisoning. Prosecutors accused Patterson of intentionally poisoning her lunch guests with “murder intentions,” but her lawyers said the poisoning was accidental.
Nanette Rogers SC said in the prosecution of the case that Patterson's phone records indicated that she visited Loch and Outtrim in the months before lunch.
The court had previously heard that two articles were published on the Citizen Science website about the death cap mushroom sightings at these locations in 2023.
On Monday, digital forensics science expert Dr. Matthew Sorell analyzed Patterson's police cell phone records and provided evidence at her trial.
His analysis is based on a timetable, where Patterson's phones are connected to base stations in the region, and how long they are connected to base stations in these or within the same region, indicating that the phone remains relatively fixed for a specified time.
He said records provided to him by police from 2019 to August 2023 indicate that Patterson has the potential to visit and stay at Outtrim between 11.24 and 11.49am on May 22, 2023.
Fungal expert Dr. Thomas May told the court last week that he uploaded a post about Inturalist on May 21, 2023, identifying death cap mushrooms in Outtrim, including photos and specific coordinates that were found on Nelson Street.
Sorell agreed that Neilson Street was within the area specified in his analysis.
He also agreed that based on his analysis, the phone could be stationary, consistent with Rocky's visit, about 45 minutes on the morning of April 28, 2023.
He said a similar visit could be made on the morning of May 22, 2023, although it was not recorded tomorrow morning.
Earlier Monday, the court heard Christine McKenzie, a retired pharmacist at the Victorian Poison Information Center and a former poison information expert who said she found the death cap mushroom in a lake on April 18, 2023.
When she found them under the oak, she kept walking around the local oval with her grandson and dog, carefully pulling out two mushrooms to shoot the naturalist, and then deleted using as many dog bags as possible.
She did this because she knew the area was popular among dog walkers and was a local kindergarten that was frequently visited by local kindergartens.
"You're worried because you don't want anyone to mistake a species for edible mushrooms," asked Patterson's attorney Christine Stafford.
"Yes," Mackenzie replied.
McKenzie posted on the inaturalist at about 1pm that day using her username Chrismck.
Judge Christopher Beale's trial continues.