After a brief morning break, Erin Patterson’s defence lawyer Colin Mandy, SC, continues his cross-examination of Eppingstall.
Erin Patterson, 50, is dressed in a paisley print shirt today. More than a dozen members of the Patterson and Wilkinson family are seated across two rows, sitting shoulder to shoulder with members of the homicide squad, some of whom worked on this case.
Mandy starts by asking Eppingstall about Erin’s purchases on the online site Booktopia. Eppingstall says that receipts showed a large number of the books she had purchased related to diets.
Barrister Sophie Stafford and Colin Mandy, SC, arrive at court.Credit: Jason South
Mandy then asks Eppinstall about the way Victoria Police handled the media interest in the case.
Eppingstall agrees he was aware from early on that there was a significant interest in the case. The jury heard that by August 1, 2023, Victoria Police had provided holding lines for the media. “They are the short blurbs that go to out to media to let them know the basic details of an incident,” Eppingstall said.
By August 4, 2023, Eppingstall was updating the media unit on the progress of the investigation.
Reporting by the media started the following day, August 5, 2023, the court heard.
The jury heard that Victoria Police put out a media release the following day, August 6, 2023, that confirmed to the media that the homicide squad was involved in investigating the deaths.
The following day, there was a press conference involving Victoria Police’s Dean Thomas. By that time, the court heard that the media was already camped out at Erin’s address, including inside her property.
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