By Kristian Silva, ABC court reporter
Erin Patterson Photo: ABC News
Victorian prosecutors have dropped some of the charges against alleged triple-murderer Erin Patterson, as her Supreme Court trial gets under way.
Three of Patterson's relatives died and one suffered a severe illness after eating a beef Wellington lunch that was allegedly laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder in relation to the lunch, and those charges are still going ahead as part of her trial.
However, the ABC can now report that the Director of Public Prosecutions has dropped three other attempted murder charges against Patterson.
Those charges related to alleged attempts to kill Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson.
The jury has been picked and is receiving instructions from the trial judge on Tuesday afternoon.
Justice Christopher Beale told the jury that most, if not all of them, would probably have been aware that Patterson was previously charged with three counts of attempted murder in relation to her husband.
"Those charges have been discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions. In other words those charges have been dropped and you must put them out of your mind," he said.
Justice Beale urged the jury to "dispassionately weigh the evidence" in the case.
"Use your head, not your heart," he said.
"You are the only ones in this court who can make a decision about the facts.
"You must completely ignore anything you have seen or heard in the media, including social media, or anything you've seen or heard online about this case or the people in it."
Trial set to run for six weeks
It is nearly two years since three people died after eating the beef Wellington dish. Prosecutors allege it was deliberately laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Don and Gail Patterson, the parents of Patterson's estranged husband, fell ill and never recovered after attending the gathering at a home in Leongatha, about 135 kilometres from Melbourne.
Gail Patterson's sister Heather Wilkinson also died, although her husband Ian Wilkinson pulled through after a long stint in hospital.
Patterson, 50, sat in the court dock on Tuesday afternoon dressed in a striped pink and white shirt as she listened to proceedings.
Opening addresses from the prosecution and defence legal teams are expected to take place later this week.
At the end of weeks of evidence, 12 jury members will deliver the verdicts on the charges of murder and attempted murder.
The jury were told they would be sequestered - or kept isolated from others - while conducting their jury deliberations.
Patterson has always maintained her innocence.
The case, which has attracted global media attention, is set to run for up to six weeks.
- ABC
