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

[MsMarple]

Regarding the 'liver protection drug' (which some people have speculated was Milk Thistle - something relatively harmless), would the doctors have performed a liver function test to check her liver was functioning normal and therefore could withstand the 'liver protection drug' -or- would they have needed to see there was a problem with her liver in order to justify giving her the 'liver protection drug'?

IMO they’d check to see if her liver was compromised before giving her any medication to treat it. It likely would have been normal that early.

IMO if doctors were concerned that she was at risk of liver failure they wouldn’t have released her, instead they would have kept her for observation for at least a couple days. They would have repeated the tests and also kept an eye on her kidneys.

OTOH I don’t know anything about milk thistle so if it’s something innocuous that doesn’t have serious side effects maybe they just gave her some as a routine precaution, symptoms or not.

In any case once they inserted an IV blood draws would routinely be ordered and anything out of the ordinary would have been flagged.
MOO

 

[Ellery84]

Article credit: The Daily Mail
“A person claiming to be a former friend of the 46-year old spilled the beans on the Leongatha stay-at-home mum on a true crime online forum.”

Mushroom chef's Facebook messages leak

“The poster claimed Erin had previously worked as an accountant and with the Department of Defence.

'She's meticulous and very smart,' the person stated. 'Her whole family are extremely smart people.'

The former friend posted several messages they had saved from the true crime group before Erin deactivated her account in August.”


<modsnip>

 

[Oona]

Regarding the 'liver protection drug' (which some people have speculated was Milk Thistle - something relatively harmless), would the doctors have performed a liver function test to check her liver was functioning normal and therefore could withstand the 'liver protection drug' -or- would they have needed to see there was a problem with her liver in order to justify giving her the 'liver protection drug'?

I found this hypothetical mushroom poisoning case study exercise from The Alfred Hospital Intensive Care Unit. It includes treatment guidelines for suspected Amanita phalloides, it is aimed at med students I think.

Something she ate? - INTENSIVE

A case-based Q&A concerning a patient with gastrointestinal symptoms and progressive drowsiness. What it something she ate?

intensiveblog.com

Austin Hospital guidelines for suspected death cap exposure:

https://www.austin.org.au/Assets/Files/Amanita%20Guideline_SG%20Final.pdf

Silibinin guidelines:

https://www.austin.org.au/Assets/Files/Silibinin_2021_Final.pdf

Treatment:

Mushroom Toxicity

Severe toxicity from mushrooms is rare in humans; most symptomatic presentations are a self-limiting gastroenteritis requiring supportive care only; lethal hepatotoxicity from Amanita mushrooms must be excluded

litfl.com

 

[jjenny]

Well that, if it happened, would be incredibly incriminating.

Sure would be.

 

[jjenny]

Regarding the 'liver protection drug' (which some people have speculated was Milk Thistle - something relatively harmless), would the doctors have performed a liver function test to check her liver was functioning normal and therefore could withstand the 'liver protection drug' -or- would they have needed to see there was a problem with her liver in order to justify giving her the 'liver protection drug'?

I would be surprised if doctors didn't perform liver enzyme tests on her. I am assuming protection drug can be given if the enzymes were normal-after all it's a protection drug, not treatment drug.

 

[ch_13]

Not if some crazy person only put one packet of poison mushrooms in the shop and EP was the unlucky one who bought it.

It's not like something like this has never happened before.

I can't recall a product tampering case where just a single item was adulterated. They usually do quite a few, don't they? And whatever drives a person do this usually causes them to repeat their crime, just like say an arsonist. But I'm certainly not aware of all such cases. Maybe there was a one-off product tampering.

In any case, this may be the world's most lucky poisoner:

• The buyer can't remember where she purchased the mushrooms.
• The buyer apparently used up the whole packet so there is nothing remaining nor any packaging that can be used to trace the mushrooms.
• The buyer has a history of foraging mushrooms.
• The buyer was also the cook and was the sole person unaffected, so naturally suspicion fall on her. The way the dish is prepared means that every diner should have received a significant dose of the toxin, but she somehow avoided it.
• The buyer attempted to destroy evidence which would have been exculpatory.
• The buyer told lies to the police when questioned.
• The poisoning happens at a 'contentious' lunch where important issues were to be discussed. If the poisoning had happened at a family dinner or an amicable meal amongst friends, it would be much less suspicious.

Everything happened to line up just right so that the poisoner's involvement is invisible. What are the chances of things working out so perfectly? It's got to be one in a million.

 

[al66pine]

Coffee, They Said.
@thunderwombat "access excellent coffee at any time in any place."
@sapphire blue "more than 10 coffee shops in Leongatha"
@TootsieFootsie "We love our coffee shops in Australia"
____________________________________

10 coffee shops in community of 5800+ people?
One coffee shop for every 580 people?
Sounds like my kind of place <3 .

So are those whispered rumors true?
Has "Big-Coffee" somehow prevented home coffee makers from being sold in OZ?
Everybody has to go to out to caffeinate?
J/K.

 

[Charlot123]

I guess they would have had their own lives looked into and scrutinised for if they could have unwittingly been the source of the toxin / mushroom. As all these people live in nature and are fit and healthy, there's a possibility that all of them go foraging on a regular basis.

You know, people who are experienced foragers either know amanita phalloides, or have apps that warn them about a. phalloides, or can post question about unknown mushroom on a Facebook. Pay attention, EP did not say she either fouraged or bought fresh mushrooms in a store.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

You know, people who are experienced foragers either know amanita phalloides, or have apps that warn them about a. phalloides, or can post question about unknown mushroom on a Facebook. Pay attention, EP did not say she either fouraged or bought fresh mushrooms in a store.

She said she bought the fresh mushrooms - button mushrooms - in a store and the dried mushrooms at an earlier time from an asian store didn't she?

 

[Neet_Mc]

Has it been posted here before about the the Under Investigation episode (at 31.29 on You Tube "Deadly Mushroom Lunch") where it's intimated in discussion that the dehydrator was dropped off at the Koonwarra Transfer Station Saturday morning before the lunch? I can post the link but wasn't sure if ok to do.

That was also my understanding - dehydrator dropped to tip before the lunch.
I theorised that EP may have dropped it off to the tip en route to taking the kids to the cinemas, either before while they were in the car, or after on her way home to the lunch.
I haven't seen her account for the day and who took kids to cinema, so I am making an assumptions. However, given that the dehydrator supposedly came up as a topic of conversation between her and the children at the hospital, a scenario of kids knowing about it because dehydrator was potentially in the car with them (or EP made mention of it). I don’t necessarily trust that she was spurred to dump it after the hospital visit and Sp’s remarks - as this is reliant on trusting something EP has said and she has already told multiple lies.
Cctv at the tip, and en route to the tip, will either be able to confirm this or not thankfully.

 

[Seni]

Coffee, They Said.
@thunderwombat "access excellent coffee at any time in any place."
@sapphire blue "more than 10 coffee shops in Leongatha"
@TootsieFootsie "We love our coffee shops in Australia"
____________________________________

10 coffee shops in community of 5800+ people?
One coffee shop for every 580 people?
Sounds like my kind of place <3 .

So are those whispered rumors true?
Has "Big-Coffee" somehow prevented home coffee makers from being sold in OZ?
Everybody has to go to out to caffeinate?
J/K.

You know Al66pine after so many years and different cases I follow you with great appreciation! May be not so obvious here for the moment but you have a great nose for fishy things! Suerte!

 

[kittythehare]

Coffee, They Said.
@thunderwombat "access excellent coffee at any time in any place."
@sapphire blue "more than 10 coffee shops in Leongatha"
@TootsieFootsie "We love our coffee shops in Australia"
____________________________________

10 coffee shops in community of 5800+ people?
One coffee shop for every 580 people?
Sounds like my kind of place <3 .

So are those whispered rumors true?
Has "Big-Coffee" somehow prevented home coffee makers from being sold in OZ?
Everybody has to go to out to caffeinate?
J/K.

ACTUALLY there are more than 10 in Leongatha!
I'm off to apply for a visa, my kind of place,
here's a link

how many coffee shops in leongatha - Google Search

www.google.com

Edit to add
I don't believe they were poisoned in a coffee shop.

But they were close, related by marriage and likely shared all kinds of events and places.

I imagine their homes were fully searched to eliminate them as a source of poisoning.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

It's not just the coffee, otherwise so many coffee shops would only have takeaway coffee.

It's the coffee culture that was brought here by immigrants.

A place to sit down and enjoy being with friends while having good coffee.

But coffee machines of all kinds are huge at home also.

I don't think they became ill through a coffee shop either.

But I don't think it's out of the question that they may have wanted to discuss what happened at the lunch, maybe at someone's home.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I imagine their homes were fully searched to eliminate them as a source of poisoning.

I wouldn't be surprised if no other homes apart from EPs was searched.

 

[kittythehare]

I wouldn't be surprised if no other homes apart from EPs was searched.

They would have to investigate every victim fully.. surely?

 

[kittythehare]

It's not just the coffee, otherwise so many coffee shops would only have takeaway coffee.

It's the coffee culture that was brought here by immigrants.

A place to sit down and enjoy being with friends while having good coffee.

But coffee machines of all kinds are huge at home also.

I don't think they became ill through a coffee shop either.

But I don't think it's out of the question that they may have wanted to discuss what happened at the lunch, maybe at someone's home.

I'm really not buying into the suggestions on MSM that the purpose of the lunch was to have a meeting about any party.
I think it was just a shared lunch.

For one thing how would she have had an opportunity to poison them after an unpleasant meeting had the beef welly been still cooking in the oven?

A Normal friendly social gathering.

Then , people started to die...

 

[Ellery84]

That was also my understanding - dehydrator dropped to tip before the lunch.

Well now, that would appear to be highly suspicious, now, wouldn’t it.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

They would have to investigate every victim fully.. surely?

You'd think so.

I'm not so sure in this case.

In so many cases they fixate on one person of interest and that's it.

 

[sapphire blue]

Coffee, They Said.
@thunderwombat "access excellent coffee at any time in any place."
@sapphire blue "more than 10 coffee shops in Leongatha"
@TootsieFootsie "We love our coffee shops in Australia"
____________________________________

10 coffee shops in community of 5800+ people?
One coffee shop for every 580 people?
Sounds like my kind of place <3 .

So are those whispered rumors true?
Has "Big-Coffee" somehow prevented home coffee makers from being sold in OZ?
Everybody has to go to out to caffeinate?
J/K.

We love our coffe, good coffee, we also love our cafe culture.
people here often Have a coffee machine at home too, but going out for coffee is a social thing.

 

[MissTwiddle]

It’s all so confusing!

I actually thought/assumed the dehydrator was tipped the Saturday after the meal.

Saturday 29th July - meal
Friday 4th August - Gail and Heather pass away
Saturday 5th August - Don passes

I had assumed that with EP saying she dumped it after her husband had said ‘is that what you used to poison them’ whilst they were visiting in hospital … that this meant she dumped it Saturday 5th August.

Question now is, has someone got mixed up and reported the wrong Saturday or has EP provided another porky pie?

If the latter, I’d advise not to eat it. MOO