ERIN Patterson, the 49-year-old Leongatha woman charged with killing three family members after a lunch at Leongatha in July 2023, will stand trial at the regional court closest to where the crime was allegedly committed.

It will not be the first time the Latrobe Valley Court complex at Morwell has hosted a murder trial but given the level of media interest the case has already attracted, both here and overseas, it could become the biggest.

Ms Patterson appeared by video link in the Melbourne Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 21 where it was decided that the trial will be held in Morwell, likely to commence on April 28.

As well as three counts of murder, following the deaths of her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, allegedly as a result of eating a meal of Beef Wellington laced with Death Cap mushrooms, Ms Patterson has also been charged with five counts of attempted murder.

These charges relate to allegedly attempting to poison Heather’s husband, Reverend Ian Wilkinson, the pastor of the Korumburra Baptist Church, who also attended the family lunch at Erin Patterson’s Leongatha house on Saturday, July 29, 2023, and her estranged husband Simon Patterson, whom she is charged with trying to kill on four separate occasions.

Ms Patterson has always maintained her innocence.

Although there are restrictions on what can be reported in the media, limited to publishing the basic details of what is said in court before a jury is empanelled, the fact that the case will be held in Morwell is notable as Ms Patterson’s legal team had been pushing for the trial to be held locally.