By Kristian Silva, ABC
Erin Patterson, who said she was also hospitalised after eating the meal, has maintained her innocence. Photo: Screenshot / ABC
Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has faced court for the first time in five months over the alleged mushroom poisonings of her relatives last year.
Patterson, 49, fronted the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court via video link, charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Most of the charges relate to a lunch Patterson hosted at her home in the Victorian town of Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, last July, where attendees were served beef Wellington with mushrooms.
Her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Ian and Heather Wilkinson, fell gravely ill after eating the meal, with police saying their symptoms were consistent with having ingested poisonous death cap mushrooms.
Wilkinson was the only guest at the lunch to survive after enduring a long stint in hospital.
Magistrate questions impact of delayed hearings on Erin Patterson
In court on Monday, Patterson's lawyers said they were prepared to wait until next year for the case to progress to a committal hearing in a regional magistrates' court, despite an offer from Magistrate Tim Walsh to have the matter fast-tracked to a Supreme Court trial.
Patterson joined the hearing from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, a women's prison on the outskirts of Melbourne.
She was not required to speak, other than to confirm she could see and hear what was unfolding in the courtroom.
She remained seated to watch proceedings, and wore a blue zip-up jumper and thin-rimmed glasses.
Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy SC said his client wanted the case to progress to a committal held at the regional court instead of it being transferred to Melbourne.
Shifting the case to a better-resourced Melbourne court would mean the case would progress faster than it would in Morwell.
"Does she understand it won't be this year?" Magistrate Tim Walsh asked.
"If it has to be next year, Patterson is happy to wait for that," Mandy replied.
Magistrate Walsh questioned whether the delay in the case would be fair on Patterson, who has been held on remand since her arrest in November last year.
He said he had read a "quite voluminous" brief of evidence compiled by police, although the contents of the material were not disclosed to the court.
Mandy said the upcoming committal hearing - where police evidence would need to be tested in the courtroom - could take three weeks.
Prosecutors seek committal hearing 'as soon as possible'
Several witnesses from the Leongatha area are expected to testify at the committal, which will also provide Patterson with a formal opportunity to enter a "not guilty" or "guilty" plea to the charges against her.
If a magistrate is satisfied there is enough evidence for a jury to potentially return a guilty verdict, the case will progress to the Supreme Court.
Sarah Lenthall, from the Office of Public Prosecutions, told the court the Crown's position was that "a committal should proceed as soon as possible".
The court was told Patterson's legal representation had changed from barrister Philip Dunn KC to Mandy, who is also experienced in dealing with complex criminal cases.
The case will return to the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court on 7 May for a further committal mention.
Patterson, who said she was also hospitalised after eating the meal, has maintained her innocence and said she was "devastated" by what happened to her relatives.
Police laid murder charges against Patterson in relation to the trio's death, while the attempted murder charges related to Wilkinson and Patterson's estranged husband, Simon.
Simon Patterson was not at the lunch, but police allege he was an intended poisoning target. Homicide detectives also allege Patterson attempted to murder him on previous occasions.
At a November court hearing, police requested a longer-than-normal 20 weeks to prepare a brief of evidence for the case, saying it would take months to analyse computer equipment seized from Patterson's home.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw later told a senate estimates hearing that detector dogs had located five iPads, a mobile phone, and memory cards during a search of Patterson's home.
- ABC