Speaker 1: I guess from my point of view, Aaron was being
Speaker 1: extremely aggressive, so I thought a mediator would probably help
Speaker 1: us communicate about it. But I felt like I'd.
Speaker 2: Learn enough and still needed some more information in detail,
Speaker 2: which I thought Aaron probably would be able to provide
Speaker 2: that to me and we'd be able to sort it
Speaker 2: out together.
Speaker 1: What you've just heard is Simon Patterson on the second
Speaker 1: day of his testimony in the trial of Aaron Patterson.
Speaker 1: It's his words, but not his voice. On the last
Speaker 1: day of the first week, he told the court in
Speaker 1: detail of arguments about family and finances. I'm Brook Greenbert Craig,
Speaker 1: and this is the mushroom Coop.
Speaker 2: Laura.
Speaker 1: We've just wrapped up on day four of Aaron Patterson's
Speaker 1: murder trial.
Speaker 2: Yes, we're nearly there for the week one more podcast
Speaker 2: episode ago, let's do it.
Speaker 1: Simon took to the stand today and continued his evidence
Speaker 1: from yesterday where he was being questioned by Colin Mandy.
Speaker 1: Is that right?
Speaker 2: Yes, that's correct. Colin Mandy is Aaron's defense barrister. And
Speaker 2: what our listeners heard at the top of the episode
Speaker 2: was some of Simon's testimony from today.
Speaker 1: To give context to that quote. Simon text Aaron about
Speaker 1: her request to meet with John and Gail about how
Speaker 1: one of their children was coping and child support issues.
Speaker 1: In court, Simon said Aaron became extremely aggressive, so he
Speaker 1: suggested to get a mediator to help the pair communicate
Speaker 1: about certain matters.
Speaker 2: And that exchange was in about November twenty twenty two,
Speaker 2: so around the time these child support issues started cropping up.
Speaker 1: And the jury saw other text messages in court today
Speaker 1: between Simon and Aaron.
Speaker 2: Is that right. One of these exchanges related to Gayl's
Speaker 2: seventieth birthday party, and this was in about October twenty
Speaker 2: twenty two. In the exchange, Simon and Aaron were texting
Speaker 2: about Gayl's seventieth birthday that was going to be held
Speaker 2: at a local pub. But Erin didn't believe she had
Speaker 2: been invited to this event, and she claimed that she
Speaker 2: felt like her invite was an afterthought. She tells Simon
Speaker 2: in this message, what I reckon is that everybody forgot
Speaker 2: to actually invite me to this thing, and I feel very,
Speaker 2: very hurt about that.
Speaker 1: And Simon replied to this text and said, You're as
Speaker 1: far off the mark as you possibly could be on
Speaker 1: this I get you're mad at me, and I get why.
Speaker 1: At this point, I would ask you to consider Mum
Speaker 1: and her feelings as she turned seventy tomorrow and it's
Speaker 1: really important to her. So I think that just goes
Speaker 1: to show the tense exchange between Aaron and Simon at
Speaker 1: this point in time.
Speaker 2: And a few hours later, Aeron did say to Simon
Speaker 2: she would attend the lunch after all, and she apologized
Speaker 2: for how she was reacting. She said she was feeling
Speaker 2: very hurt at the time and she lashed out, but
Speaker 2: said it was no excuse and she would like not
Speaker 2: to do that again.
Speaker 1: The jury also saw a video play at the very
Speaker 1: start of the hearing today.
Speaker 2: Yes, it was the first video the jury have actually
Speaker 2: been shown.
Speaker 1: So it was a short video of Don Pattison and
Speaker 1: his grandson doing a science experiment with a small toy
Speaker 1: rocket car. Outside. Smoke could be seen coming from this
Speaker 1: tiny car, but it did not move. Now in the
Speaker 1: background of the video, the jury could hear Gail Patterson's
Speaker 1: voice and she said it's working, but why isn't it
Speaker 1: going And.
Speaker 2: Her comment actually got a few laughs from the courtroom
Speaker 2: as well. This video was taken on July seventeen, so
Speaker 2: about twelve days before that fateful lunch, and demonstrated the
Speaker 2: relationship Don had with his grandson.
Speaker 1: Since we've touched on the lunch, it was also mentioned
Speaker 1: in today's hearings.
Speaker 2: In cross examination, Simon was asked about the aftermath of
Speaker 2: the lunch, especially around the conversations he had with people
Speaker 2: like his father and Erin while they were in hospital.
Speaker 2: Mister Mandy asked Simon today whether Erin was updated on
Speaker 2: how sick Simon's parents had become once they were admitted
Speaker 2: in Hoss Hospital. Simon paused after he was asked this
Speaker 2: question and then responded saying it intrigued me that she
Speaker 2: never even asked. Mister Manny then pushed a little further,
Speaker 2: asking Simon to answer the question, to which he conceded
Speaker 2: he had never updated Erin on their conditions.
Speaker 1: And now, two days after the lunch, Aaron messaged Simon
Speaker 1: from the hospital and said that she was upset that
Speaker 1: they were talking of transferring her to Dandy Long Hospital.
Speaker 1: Now keep in mind, at this point in time, Aaron
Speaker 1: was at lean Gatha Hospital.
Speaker 2: And just to remind our listeners, Erin had gone to
Speaker 2: lean Gatha Hospital on the Monday the doctors there realized
Speaker 2: that she was the fifth person at this lunch and
Speaker 2: told her that they were worried for her health, given
Speaker 2: the other guests had arrived and were starting to show
Speaker 2: signs of deathcap mushroom poisoning. At the time, Aaron said
Speaker 2: she was not prepared to stay at hospital and really
Speaker 2: wanted to leave.
Speaker 1: Ultimately, Aaron stayed in hospital, but later that day she
Speaker 1: messaged Simon and she said that she had stomach paints.
Speaker 2: She did, and she described some of the drugs they
Speaker 2: were beginning to give her at hospital. And I'm definitely
Speaker 2: going to butcher the pronunciation here, but I think it's
Speaker 2: under nestron.
Speaker 1: I think it's odesterotron.
Speaker 2: Oh, there we go.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's not right either.
Speaker 2: No, you're I think you're I think you're more correct
Speaker 2: than I am. But she was also given saline and fentanyl.
Speaker 1: Ultimately, Aaron discharged herself against medical advice. Okay, now let's
Speaker 1: go back in time and touch on Aaron's medical history.
Speaker 2: Simon was asked today a number of questions about this topic.
Speaker 2: Mister Mandy put to Simon that Aaron often complained about
Speaker 2: medical issues over the years, and that she believed she
Speaker 2: was unwell for various reasons. Some of the things Simon
Speaker 2: touched upon was heart arrhythmia that affected Erin's sleeping. He
Speaker 2: also mentioned that she suffered from postnatal depression after the
Speaker 2: birth of their son.
Speaker 1: Simon also said that Aaron hated hospitals and she had
Speaker 1: a history of leaving them before she actually could. We
Speaker 1: touched upon yesterday about Aaron lying about having overian cancer,
Speaker 1: and cancer was also mentioned today. What did Simon have
Speaker 1: to say about that? Did he actually know that Aaron
Speaker 1: had put this out there to his family?
Speaker 2: He told the court that Aaron had never told him
Speaker 2: she was concerned about having ovarian cancer. Simon then recounted
Speaker 2: a conversation he had with his father Don while he
Speaker 2: was in hospital following the lunch. It was at this
Speaker 2: lunch that the prosecution says Erin told the guests that
Speaker 2: she had over in cancer, that she had been diagnosed
Speaker 2: after a lump was tested on her elbow. Simon said
Speaker 2: that he came out of that conversation with his father
Speaker 2: believing that Aaron had cancer, or at least she had
Speaker 2: told the lunch guests that that was the case. So
Speaker 2: we would love to bring you more of the evidence today,
Speaker 2: but on Friday afternoons, the court won't be sitting, so
Speaker 2: at about one o'clock the jury are allowed to go
Speaker 2: home and start their weekends before they return on Monday
Speaker 2: to continue hearing evidence.
Speaker 1: So today was really a short day, Laura.
Speaker 2: A very short day. At the end of court today,
Speaker 2: just as Christopher Biale, the judge presiding over this trial,
Speaker 2: he turned to the jurors and just reminded them that
Speaker 2: they might see friends and family this weekend that know
Speaker 2: they're sitting on the trial, but they really shouldn't be
Speaker 2: talking about it. He really encouraged them to switch off
Speaker 2: from the case on the weekends and said the best
Speaker 2: way for them to prepare for the next week of
Speaker 2: evidence was to have a good weekend so they could
Speaker 2: come back refreshed.
Speaker 1: But before we switch off, we're going to hear from
Speaker 1: veteran crime reporter Anthony Dowsley. He's been with the Mushroom
Speaker 1: Cook team the entire time and he has a few
Speaker 1: words to say. This has been an extraordinary week.
Speaker 2: And while you're switching off, I think I'll be switching on.
Speaker 1: Anthony will be with us for a special subscriber episode
Speaker 1: on Sunday morning. So If you're a Crime ex subscriber,
Speaker 1: you'll see that in your podcast feed. If you're a
Speaker 1: website subscriber, go to the app and you'll be able
Speaker 1: WoT to listen to it there