Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #2

[kittythehare]

I work in a very "agricultural" area on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne and I have heard "on the grapevine" that sales of mushrooms are suffering and stores are having whole shelves of mushrooms untouched when other produce is sold out by the end of the day.

Echoes of the "needles in strawberries" crisis from a few years ago. A lot of strawberry farmers were hit hard by that.

The public is easily spooked, and react with (sometimes extreme) caution when there is any kind of poisoning in the news.

I'm sure they are!
I wouldn't be surprised if International sales of mushrooms are also affected..
It's quite terrifying because they look so innocent.

 

[silvercrown]

They are innocent. When was the last case of poisonous mushrooms sold at an Australian retailer?

It’s the inexperienced foragers that need to be careful. No reason for an extreme public response in boycotting mushrooms.

Even though I personally boycott them because they’re vile moo imo

 

[Friday Fan]

I'm sure they are!
I wouldn't be surprised if International sales of mushrooms are also affected..
It's quite terrifying because they look so innocent.

I bet the demand for beef wellington has also gone down.
I never had it. Always wanted to try, but it's too expensive.
Oh well, I'm not gonna go out of my way!

 

[OrangeCash]

Intentionally poisoning 4 people and believing you can avoid suspicion suggests to me that the person is either delusional and detached from reality, or they feel very self-assured they'll be able to fool everyone. Confidence like that might come from having done it before, maybe on a smaller scale. Just some thoughts, MOO

 

[silvercrown]

Intentionally poisoning 4 people and believing you can avoid suspicion suggests to me that the person is either delusional and detached from reality, or they feel very self-assured they'll be able to fool everyone. Confidence like that might come from having done it before, maybe on a smaller scale. Just some thoughts, MOO

I’m not saying this is EP but what you describe is a trait of narcissism. The belief you’re smarter than everyone else and nobody would question what you say

 

[silvercrown]

I wonder if it’s stated anywhere what she actually died from.

Not that I’ve seen reported.
A few people have speculated but I won’t be doing that without further info.

 

[LacieL]

I wonder if it’s stated anywhere what she actually died from.

Her academic work is most of the information about her online. I couldn’t find any reference to her passing, or Erin’s fathers either for that matter. Though it’s not clear if they all shared the same surname.

Also from the DM article that names her parents, it mentions Erin and her family lived in Quinninup in Western Australia which is very close to Manjimup where most of Australia’s truffles are produced.

Going on a Truffle Hunt Manjimup WA

Our experience on a Truffle Hunt Manjimup WA. Information for Truffle Kerfuffle and Truffle hunting with kids tips!

westernaustraliantravel.com

Truffles are very different to death cap mushrooms but I’d be surprised if she didn’t do some mushroom foraging when they lived there. Truffles are so well known in that area. Manjimup has a whole truffle festival.

 

[Ellery84]

I doubt if laxatives would should up in blood tests.

I guess there might be a test out there somewhere, but .........I never heard of it

Neither have I.

 

[Ellery84]

Not that I’ve seen reported.
A few people have speculated but I won’t be doing that without further info.

I agree, let’s just watch this space.

 

[Reneemaree88]

It wouldn't be the first time that someone had tampered with food or medicine in a shop.

Just because no one else has become ill, doesn't mean that someone couldn't possibly have tampered with one packet of mushrooms and she was the unlucky one who bought them.

It may have been the button mushrooms and some now serial killer may be enjoying seeing his or her results.

The rest, the dehydrator could just have been panic on her part after the ex husband frightened her.your comment the strawberries with needles incident.

Speaking of tampering with food, remember the strawberries filled with sewing needles incident.

2018 Australian strawberry contamination - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[jjleroche]

I wonder if the statement from dying victim was about how Erin was acting around the meal .. perhaps eating something entirely different, or being very particular about plates.

God .. it really does seem deliberate. I don't think 'friends' would dare visit her even if there were no press, and are likely using that as an excuse .. I wouldn't even take a cup of tea with her, too risky!

He may have commented on Erin's manner, but until there is further information, who knows.

He may have said something about a completely different aspect of the meal.
Off the top of my head - "I hope it wasn't caused by the pavlova my wife made. She was a bit worried
about the cream's 'use by' date." (Just a random example - I'm not suggesting that a pavlova even existed.)
All JMO

 

[Corina]

Not sure how it is in Vicco, but where I’m from, most of the Asian community don’t shop at supermarkets. They shop at their Asian grocers.
If there was a batch of bad mushrooms, a whole community would have been affected. IMOO

What is Vicco?

 

[Amalgam]

What is Vicco?

Victoria, Australia, I think.

 

[MadDoc]

Speaking of tampering with food, remember the strawberries filled with sewing needles incident.

2018 Australian strawberry contamination - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Note that there were public warnings and product recalls. Affected stores cleared strawberries off their shelves, people were asked to return strawberries to the store or dispose of them if they had purchased affected brands, and if they had purchased other brands, to cut them up before eating as a precaution. The Queensland chief health officer made public announcements. The Queensland and WA premiers offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible, and financial assistance was offered to the strawberry industry.

None of these things have happened in this case.

 

[jepop]

EP’s mother, Dr Heather Scutter, was only 72 when she died. Unless she was battling a disease, or in an accident, IMO this is quite young to pass from natural causes.

Link?

 

[LacieL]

How does everyone feel about how quiet LE has been recently. No arrests, no statements saying that Erin is no longer a suspect.

Is it possible that she has managed to muddy the evidence and stories enough that a conviction on what they have is unlikely?

If there are no mushroom spores on the dehydrator, where does that leave police?

Could there be another suspect?

 

[Ellery84]

How does everyone feel about how quiet LE has been recently. No arrests, no statements saying that Erin is no longer a suspect.

Is it possible that she has managed to muddy the evidence and stories enough that a conviction on what they have is unlikely?

If there are no mushroom spores on the dehydrator, where does that leave police?

Could there be another suspect?

You know what they say about the “quiet before the storm”….
IMO

 

[bearbear]

Death Cap mushroom cook and her multi-million dollar property portfolio: Erin Patterson inherited luxury oceanfront house after her mother's death - as she returns to scene of fatal lunch​

Fatal mushroom cook's multimillion property portfolio

The woman who cooked the beef wellington pie with Death Cap mushrooms has a multimillion dollar property portfolio funded by an oceanfront property inherited from her mother.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[silvercrown]

Fatal mushroom cook's multimillion property portfolio

The woman who cooked the beef wellington pie with Death Cap mushrooms has a multimillion dollar property portfolio funded by an oceanfront property inherited from her mother.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Link?

 

[jepop]

Fatal mushroom cook's multimillion property portfolio

The woman who cooked the beef wellington pie with Death Cap mushrooms has a multimillion dollar property portfolio funded by an oceanfront property inherited from her mother.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Thank you! I just found it and was coming back to delete my post.