Heavy fog rolled over the Victorian town of Morwell on Friday morning as the jury in the Erin Patterson mushroom murder case entered their fifth day of deliberations.

The fog got heavier the closer you got to town, providing an ironically eerie backdrop to a place that has hosted one of Australia’s most famous murder trials.

It’s been nine weeks since Patterson’s trial began, with multiple key witnesses including Patterson’s estranged husband, doctors, nurses, mushroom experts, the fatal lunch’s sole survivor and even the accused herself taking the stand.

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The case has drawn international media like the BBC to the Gippsland town of 14,000, with documentary makers from Netflix seen filming outside the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court.

Just before 10am on Friday all the major Australian news outlets gathered outside the court, with some erecting small marquees to house all their camera equipment, microphones, autocue and laptops.

Heavy fog loomed over the Gippsland town of Morwell on Friday. Credit: 7NEWS

The Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court. Credit: 7NEWS

Journalists sat on camping chairs, going over notes of the case in the event the jury reached a verdict.

It’s mostly a waiting game, with members of the media making small talk with each other, as well as with the local police that they’ve come to befriend.

The police station is only just next door, so officers walk through the outside court precinct regularly.

Locals also pop by, bringing their friendly dogs for pats — a welcome reprieve for weary journalists.

By mid-morning the fog had all but gone and was replaced with bright blue skies and a pleasantly warm sun, making sitting around and waiting for something to happen a bit easier.

When deliberations broke at 1pm for lunch, the media quickly dispersed, grabbing a bite to eat from one of the many local cafés near the court.

As Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC returned an hour later, she was jovial and friendly as she made a passing comment to waiting journalists about them sitting out of the sun.

Carolyn Rich works at a local florist shop in Morwell and said she went to one day of Erin Patterson’s trial. Credit: 7NEWS

While journalists and members of the media have dedicated a good chunk of their lives to covering the case, by far the biggest impact has been on the locals, whose once relatively unknown town has been transformed into a media circus.

Some locals, like Carolyn Rich, have enjoyed the excitement the trial has brought to the town, even going so far as to nab a seat in the public gallery to watch the proceedings for herself.

The local florist waited for about 45 minutes to get into the court during the first few weeks of the trial in May.

“It was interesting, it is different to when you’re watching it on TV to when you’re actually face to face … and the family (is) right there, so it’s got a different feel about it,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.

“(I’ve) always (been) interested in true crime, even before we had all the streaming services.

“I was only in there for a couple of hours though.”

She said she hadn’t noticed the increased media presence have much of an impact on business, but locals had noticed it had become harder to get car parks in town.

“We probably haven’t seen many of the reporters, only when they’ve wanted to come in and speak to us,” Rich said.

7NEWS camera equipment set up outside the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court. Credit: 7NEWS

Other locals however are more than ready for the trial to finish and for everyone to move on.

“I don’t even read it in the local paper anymore, because it’s just gone on for too long and I’m just not interested in it at all,” Lorraine Dickson, who works at the local Vinnies, said.

“I followed it for a short time but then after that, it’s just gone on too long.”

She also remarked that it had become harder for locals to get car parks in the town.

While a quick verdict is hoped for by members of the media and some locals, 7NEWS Melbourne chief crime reporter Cassie Zervos, who has been covering the trial on and off over the past nine weeks, said it was important to remember the jury were making a life-changing decision.

“It’s someone’s life that has to be determined by these strangers and it’s a huge decision,” she said.

“So yes, I’d love to get home …. but I think as a reporter it feels silly complaining.”

Patterson is accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth at a family lunch by serving up beef wellington with poisonous death cap mushrooms

She has pleaded not guilty to murdering her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, after the trio died days after attending a July 2023 lunch at her Leongatha home.

The 50-year-old has also pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder Heather’s Baptist pastor husband, Ian, 68, who spent months in hospital, but survived.

The jury will continue deliberating on Saturday.