Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #4

[jjenny]

SBM
Part of the suspicion was that although the others faced rapid organ failure, death, and emergency transplants, EP and her children were released, and only treated in a precautionary manner. This alone aroused suspicion on the part of law enforcement.

I haven't seen any claims that her children even had any symptoms, even though she supposedly fed them her beef wellington with mushrooms scrapped off. And she is obviously fine while her guests are either dead or awaiting a liver transplant.

 

[jjenny]

There is a huge financial motive in all this and it is only for that reason I question that maybe something more complex has occurred.

Notwithstanding, EP herself would be financially hit if her husband wanted a formal divorce, no doubt he would be entitled to a generous settlement.

She got a large inheritance from her mother, who died in 2019. Sounds like EP and SP were still together at that point. He could be entitled to a part of that inheritance if they officially divorce.

 

[Elley Mae]

Not exactly scot free, according to her.

..

She said she was also hospitalised after eating the meal and that her children had gone to the movies and were not at the lunch, contrary to previous reports.

Victorian woman at centre of suspected mushroom poisoning says she also went to hospital after eating meal

Erin Patterson tells police she bought the fungi from a supermarket chain and an Asian grocery store

www.theguardian.com

From the link.

Patterson said her children had attended the movies prior to the lunch and were not in attendance, the ABC reports. She said the children ate the leftovers the following night but because they didn’t like mushrooms she had scraped them off the meal.

After the onset of symptoms, Patterson said she was contacted by the Department of Health and gave what was left of the lunch to hospital toxicologists for examination. She said she told investigators where she bought the mushrooms, but she was unable to identify the specific shop in Melbourne.

…

Kids at leftovers the next nite, scraping mushrooms off, yet she still had leftovers to give to department of health.
???

Leftover’s and more leftover’s.

 

[jjenny]

Or, maybe she did feed the kids the meal knowing that it was poisoned. There are parents, usually men, who kill their children to punish their escaped spouse.

Women do that too, just read of a case when that happened. But in EP's case, the kids didn't get sick. So I don't think they ate any of the poisonous food.

 

[SMK777]

I haven't seen any claims that her children even had any symptoms, even though she supposedly fed them her beef wellington with mushrooms scrapped off. And she is obviously fine while her guests are either dead or awaiting a liver transplant.

All too true. Which is at least partly why she hasn’t been cleared.

 

[Salah11]

Not exactly scot free, according to her.

..

She said she was also hospitalised after eating the meal and that her children had gone to the movies and were not at the lunch, contrary to previous reports.

Victorian woman at centre of suspected mushroom poisoning says she also went to hospital after eating meal

Erin Patterson tells police she bought the fungi from a supermarket chain and an Asian grocery store

www.theguardian.com

Is she in need of a kidney transplant or dead?

I stand by my comment!!

 

[SMK777]

Women do that too, just read of a case when that happened. But in EP's case, the kids didn't get sick. So I don't think they ate any of the poisonous food.

I’ve seen quite a few cases over the years where it’s the wife/mother who kills the children to punish the spouse who is leaving. I can think of at least 4 I’ve read about in the past 5 years.

 

[Elley Mae]

I have no knowledge of Australia law on divorce and property rights.

I do know that if my hubby didn’t want me I sure don’t want him.

 

[Salah11]

Mushroom expert explodes myth about beef Wellington victims

A world expert on Death Cap mushroom poisoning says claims in Australia that Erin Patterson's lunch guests would have no residue left of the toxin that killed them is nonsense.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Has this been posted yet?



He rejected claims by Australian toxicologists that there would be no residue of the toxin for forensic police to examine.

One Melbourne toxicologist said that 'the toxin found in death cap mushrooms are only detectable for about 48 hours after ingestion'.

 

[jjenny]

Mushroom expert explodes myth about beef Wellington victims

A world expert on Death Cap mushroom poisoning says claims in Australia that Erin Patterson's lunch guests would have no residue left of the toxin that killed them is nonsense.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Has this been posted yet?



He rejected claims by Australian toxicologists that there would be no residue of the toxin for forensic police to examine.

One Melbourne toxicologist said that 'the toxin found in death cap mushrooms are only detectable for about 48 hours after ingestion'.

Well that's good to know for sure.

 

[sapphire blue]

Mediation lunch regarding marriage/separation - kids should not be there. Smart to send to cinema.
Husband should be there unless his view is: it’s over, I want divorce. And, because he is so tired of EP and talking about divorce that he refuses to go the lunch couple of days before. He has no interest in seeing her at all.
He leaves it to his his parents and Pastor to “be there” for EP and maybe reassure her.
EP on the other hand, now understands it’s not a reconciliation lunch she is preparing which will help her win back husband and help the others see that he should get back with her because she has nice new house, makes nice lunch and of course marriage is forever.
Now it’s sympathy lunch with her in-laws, and SP won’t attend. Big insult and very upsetting to realise it’s over and she still expected to be nice and make this meal when she just wants to explode with anger at the rejection.
Rage feelings and she gathers a few extra special mushrooms and dries them to reduce their size and make easier to handle puts a heavy dose of rage and spite into the sauce/gravy.
She will let the guests choose and serve themselves, so they are making the life /death decision themselves. Choose gravy, you have sealed your own fate. Not EP choice or action, they did it themselves, it’s in God’s hands. Etc.
Further,
I have noticed that she is 49, and quite possibly suffering from hormone related mental health symptoms at this age. Some very few women suffer from severe symptoms of rage, depression & psychosis. I lost a dear friend at 50 taking her own life after some months of very dark moods and odd behavior. It not an excuse, but could be a factor.

yet EP had reportedly previously told her ex she didn’t want a reconciliation, after she had reluctantly nursed him after his illness.

‘Ms Patterson said she had previously told her ex that she did not want to reconcile with him.
This conversation happened after she "reluctantly" agreed to nurse Mr Patterson for three weeks when he was discharged from hospital in May 2022 following a severe stomach illness, she said.‘

Leongatha mushroom death suspect Erin Patterson tells her side of the story

Ms Patterson said beef Wellington was the served at the fatal lunch.

www.canberratimes.com.au

 

[Baby baby Jane]

Pondering how I would react if I served lunch and next day or so I find out guests were desperately ill in hospital.
You can guarantee I would be very very worried about everything in the house to the point of panic. I would not want to stay in house, never mind eating anything or feeding my kids. I would insist kids get stomach pump and stay in hospital because I would be insane with worry.
I Would be seeking professional help to make sure my house was safe and probably boxing up everything, including rubbish from the meal to find out what ingredient was contaminated. I would want to know who to blame, because I would know that I was not to blame. I would be listing the shops that sold every ingredient for possibly source of toxin - the contaminated meat, the water from my taps, the tea, the salad, the roasting dish, everything! I would be 100% making sure the media knew I was going to find out which shop sold me the poison!!

Watching the eyes-closed blubbering interview by the red car, I was puzzled because of what she didn’t say. She didn’t really express worry about possibly something wrong at her house, the ingredients or any worry about finding the cause of illness.

 

[RickshawFan]

Yes, of course most people would go to the hospital if they experienced severe GI distress. But I was responding to the post about someone avoiding medical care during the initial phase.

And, I'm not sure what you mean about the 'rest happening silently'. Once your organs start failing you will almost certainly feel that there is something wrong with you. I mentioned jaundice and seizures, but there are many other symptoms as well:
Acute Kidney Failure
Acute Liver Failure

It seems with amanita poisoning, there is indeed a silent phase. After the initial GI distress, you can feel “all better” for a few days. Then, all of a sudden, your liver crashes.

Interesting that the hospital kept the 4 patients during the “all better” stage rather than sending them home. They must have had a clue this wasn’t standard GI food-poisoning stuff. Maybe all 4 were alert enough to speak during that phase, too.

 

[SMK777]

Watching the eyes-closed blubbering interview by the red car, I was puzzled because of what she didn’t say. She didn’t really express worry about possibly something wrong at her house, the ingredients or any worry about finding the cause of illness.

Good observation.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Yes, it would likely test even the most passive among us.

He may well have been the intended target who pulled out, and the parents assumed that they themselves would never be targeted.

She may have acted in a blind rage. It’s difficult to ascertain due to LE not giving information on this yet.

I have this awful idea that S may have said he's scared to eat with her as he keeps getting poorly and has started to suspect foul play. And the elders saying well come on now S, she's hardly going to poison ALL of us is she?

 

[SMK777]

I have this awful idea that S may have said he's scared to eat with her as he keeps getting poorly and has started to suspect foul play. And the elders saying well come on now S, she's hardly going to poison ALL of us is she?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[jjenny]

It seems with amanita poisoning, there is indeed a silent phase. After the initial GI distress, you can feel “all better” for a few days. Then, all of a sudden, your liver crashes.

Interesting that the hospital kept the 4 patients during the “all better” stage rather than sending them home. They must have had a clue this wasn’t standard GI food-poisoning stuff. Maybe all 4 were alert enough to speak during that phase, too.

Well they might feel better but tests presumably would show that their organs are not doing well. Probably liver enzymes were off the chart and so on.

 

[RickshawFan]

I'm seeing the construction "prior to" a lot.

Contrary to initial reports from police, who said Ms Patterson's children were present but did not eat the meal, Ms Patterson said the children had actually gone to the movies prior to lunch.
. . .
Ms Patterson said her estranged husband intended joining the fatal lunch but told her "prior to the day" that he would not be attending.

Woman who cooked suspected poisoned meal details where she bought mushrooms

The woman who cooked a meal that is believed to have contained poisonous mushrooms and led to the deaths of three people gives a lengthy written statement to police detailing her account of what happened, and revealing she was hospitalised after the incident.

www.abc.net.au

Why so vague? It might have been a 10:15am movie start and the kids were back before lunch.

I took this writer to be a US government functionary prior to his media job. Government-speak has wordy words, such as “prior to” instead of the simple “before”.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Pondering how I would react if I served lunch and next day or so I find out guests were desperately ill in hospital.
You can guarantee I would be very very worried about everything in the house to the point of panic. I would not want to stay in house, never mind eating anything or feeding my kids. I would insist kids get stomach pump and stay in hospital because I would be insane with worry.
I Would be seeking professional help to make sure my house was safe and probably boxing up everything, including rubbish from the meal to find out what ingredient was contaminated. I would want to know who to blame, because I would know that I was not to blame. I would be listing the shops that sold every ingredient for possibly source of toxin - the contaminated meat, the water from my taps, the tea, the salad, the roasting dish, everything! I would be 100% making sure the media knew I was going to find out which shop sold me the poison!!

Watching the eyes-closed blubbering interview by the red car, I was puzzled because of what she didn’t say. She didn’t really express worry about possibly something wrong at her house, the ingredients or any worry about finding the cause of illness.

100% I'd be going out of my mind, in fact I'd probably need putting in hospital and medication because I'd be fearing everything from pollution, gases, something in the water, malicious toxins on anything that could be touched... I'd be screaming off the rooftops and terrified that someone was trying to take all mine and my family's lives. I'd be coming up with conspiracy theories and all sorts.

I do feel that none of E's statements conflict with the fact that she may well have murdered them. For example she says she loved them very much, they were like her own family, etc. Well, indeed, all of those things can be true at the same time. Ditto she hopes Don will pull through when in fact he has already passed, it's Ian who is the survivor, and if she's guilty she sure as heck won't be wanting Ian to be pull through. Some people aren't able to lie and maybe she's one of them.

 

[RickshawFan]

Patterson recently spoke out to deny leaking her earlier statement to police and hit out at media coverage of the case.

“I lost my parents-in-law, my children lost their grandparents. And I’ve been painted as an evil witch,” Patterson told the Australian.

“And the media is making it impossible for me to live in this town. I can’t have friends over.

“The media is at the house where my children are at. The media are at my sister’s house, so I can’t go there. This is unfair.”


She said she did not leak her police statement. “I didn’t put any statement out,” she told the Australian.

“I have no idea how it got out. I made a statement to the police.”

Forensic psychologist highlights major 'red flags' in deadly mushroom case

A forensic psychologist details concerns about woman's behaviour after mushroom deaths.

www.nzherald.co.nz

The pressure is obviously getting to her. But it does seem like she is playing the victim a bit. Not a good look, IMO.

Might have served her better to focus on the victims and their grieving loved ones, instead of herself, at this point?

"It's so unfair, I can't have friends over." ...that is not good PR....

But LE says this “statement” she’s referring to was not strictly “a statement made to police”: she wrote it with her lawyers, evidently, and it got leaked in some unknown fashion. But it wasn’t a statement under police auspices. I am speculating this means no oath and no detectives present. Did LE even see it before it was in the media?

IMO EP is sneaky with words. Very manipulative.

LE wording about this statement here:

Erin Patterson: Cops break silence on mushroom chef leaked statement

Victoria's second highest ranking police officer has said the leaking of a statement from Erin Patterson about a mushroom meal thought to be linked to the deaths of three people is 'unhelpful'.

www.dailymail.co.uk