Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #5 *Arrest*

[katydid23]

A police officer investigating with a dog at the property of Erin Patterson in Leongatha, Australia, on Thursday

Woman Charged With Murder in Suspected Mushroom Poisoning Case

In a case that has gripped Australia, three people fell ill and died soon after eating lunch at the home of a relative.

www.nytimes.com

“Today’s charges are just the next step in what has been an incredibly complex, methodical and thorough investigation by homicide squad detectives,” said Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, from the homicide squad.

Patterson, 49, was remanded in custody to appear at Morwell Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning.

Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning.

An armchair on the back deck and bushes close to the house received particularly close attention from the canines

Erin Patterson charged with three murders, five attempted murders in mushroom death probe

Patterson was at the centre of an investigation into the mushroom meal that is suspected to have killed three people in Victoria’s south-east.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

"Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning."

Five hours? So they were serious and going at her. I am surprised her attorney let them question her for so long.

 

[katydid23]

I don't think he would have gone to the police even before the lunch but he certainly had made the connection before he went to the hospital but possibly as soon as he knew his parents were ill.

But I can't help wondering about why he didn't share his suspicions about Erin to his parents and warn them not to have lunch at Erin's that day. .

I don't think he believed she was after his parents or his aunt and uncle. He probably assumed she was just after him, as they were divorcing. It probably never occurred to him that she would try to poison his family.

 

[Officer Dibble]

In her statement she said she fed the kids leftovers the next evening but scraped the mushrooms off because they didn’t like them.

Alibi building IMO.

So is saying the mushrooms were a side dish and not a sauce?

 

[Officer Dibble]

Allowing writing on the wall, in the family/public areas of the house (and not on poster paper or butcher paper taped up) IS an indication of something wrong with mum …IMO

But there's permitting and then there is not knowing it has already happened. MOO

 

[katydid23]

So, she plates 4 servings, and then asks each person to pick one....

I think she either had two Beef Wellingtons---one tainted and one not----

OR she had some toxic mushroom sauce/gravy. So people picked their own plate but she was in charge of what was on the plates. Very EASY to serve yourself from the toxic free platter once the others 'choose' their own serving.

 

[Salah11]

How long before her first court date?

I have little knowledge on Australia law and how it works.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

If SP’s illness really wasn’t able to be diagnosed then IMO it would be likely that the hospital retained at least one specimen for possible future testing. If so then LE probably asked for further tests.

In one of the early msm articles it was suggested that his illness could have been caused by something in the nightshade family. So I wonder if he was ever exposed to solanine poisoning?

Edited to add a link.

Inside the mushroom-lunch death mystery that’s gripping Australia

An alleged poisoning is captivating Australia, where authorities suspect Erin Patterson intentionally laced a lunch of mushrooms and beef Wellington for her former in-laws, killing three and sicken…

nypost.com

Didn't he have surgery to have part of his intestines removed if I recall correctly?

If so, that would have been sent for biopsy / histology and they will have recorded the scanning, testing, and imagery. This could now be reviewed in terms of intentional poisoning, I reckon.

 

[katydid23]

There are two aspects since the beginning of this case that I am mystified about:

1. On what basis were the Pattersons and Wilkinsons invited to the lunch?

2. What was Erin's motive for murdering them?

Originally it was said that the 4 guests were supposed to 'mediate' for SP and EP. And the subject of mediation was the children.

Then after SP cancelled, it was said they were going to 'negotiate' with EP about the children. So I think it was about custody arrangements after the upcoming divorce. And possibly also about child rearing advice---wanting the kids to have more tie with the grandparents and more time at church, and with their father, etc

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

"Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning."

Five hours? So they were serious and going at her. I am surprised her attorney let them question her for so long.

That is a long time. I wonder if she talked or stayed 'no comment' or 'don't know'. I wonder how far down the line they were before she realised she wasn't going back home.

 

[Neet_Mc]

"Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning."

Five hours? So they were serious and going at her. I am surprised her attorney let them question her for so long.

Hmmm 7.20pm. That suggests some overtime for the lawyer - EP’s financial situation becoming more precarious by the hour!

 

[Neet_Mc]

How long before her first court date?

I have little knowledge on Australia law and how it works.

Article on ABC said she will be in Leongatha magistrates court Friday. But major action
won’t be till next year given Christmas and summer holidays etc. Court date of something else recently on the news here and they were already talking 2024, so I’m betting on like Feb or March at earliest.

 

[Neet_Mc]

Her text exchange doesn’t really given me vibes of suffering a mental disorder. Planned and calculated.

Erin Patterson's secret text messages leaked as mushroom chef charged

Text messages sent by Erin Patterson to a friend have been leaked after the Leongatha mushroom chef was charged with murder and attempted murder .

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[katydid23]

Great post, @imstilla.grandma

So if convicted, that’s potentially 25 years multiplied by 3, so that’s 75 years max plus the 5 attempted murder charges added into the mix, if she gets convicted on those charges. But as you said, 25 years per murder conviction is a maximum sentence, and it’s not a minimum sentence.

I think there may be a possibility that police have already thought this sentencing mathematical equation through, and potentially they’ve laid all of the 8 charges to attempt to put her away for life because, possibly she’s a risk to community safety and to her loved ones. Allegedly. And of course, because it’s their job and the courts job to uphold the laws of the land.

All imho

Erin has always claimed her innocence of any wrongdoing.

If she was out on bail, I'd be very worried for her children. EP seems like someone who might go the murder/suicide route. JMO

 

[Salah11]

If she was out on bail, I'd be very worried for her children. EP seems like someone who might go the murder/suicide route. JMO

I certainly wouldn’t trust her near any food. At this stage I wouldn’t even let her feed my animals.

 

[dalsglen]

It's hard to believe this only happened 3 months ago, feels like much longer.

 

[RickshawFan]

She was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to Wonthaggi Police Station for questioning in the afternoon after police searched her Leongatha home, where the family lunch was served.

Patterson was ushered into the back of a police vehicle and driven away through a roller door on one side of the police station about 8.15pm.

Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning. Hollway refused to comment as she rushed past journalists, TV cameras and photographers to get to her car.

That’s a biiiggggg day for Ophelia!

Erin Patterson charged with murder over Leongatha mushroom deaths

Imagine having a name like Ophelia in this mess: Hamlet, "something rotten in Denmark". Death, poison, intrigue, graveyard, madness....

 

[NeverPersonal]

i knew she did it from this video onward

the eyes squeezed shut and wiping away tears that aren't there...

 

[RickshawFan]

I think she made two Beef Wellington meals.

One for her and her kids, and one for the other people.

IMO

It would be really sick if she made two wholly different meals, and decided which to serve on the fly: Batch X if the guests "behaved" and played nice, Batch Y if they didn't.

 

[NeverPersonal]

It's hard to believe this only happened 3 months ago, feels like much longer.

i agree, idk why but it seems like it was forever ago. maybe bc we have read and heard so many other stories since then

 

[NeverPersonal]

*Oh my. I’m so surprised. I was not expecting this!

“A 49-year-old Leongatha woman was arrested at her home address shortly after 8am on 2 November,” police said.

“A search warrant has been executed at the Gibson Street address, with assistance from the AFP’s [Australian federal police’s] technology detector dogs.

“The woman will now be interviewed by police and the investigation remains ongoing.”

Erin Patterson charged with murder over suspected mushroom poisoning deaths

Patterson, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested on Thursday over the family lunch in the rural town of Leongatha

www.theguardian.com

Wild that she poisoned her husband too, and got away with it til now...

Is there a FBI criminal psychological profile out there of these women who poison family members? I feel like we see more and more of it.

Australian Woman Charged With Murder After In-Laws’ Suspected Mushroom Poisoning

Erin Patterson's two in-laws, and one of their relatives, died after eating a meal Patterson made them in July, police said.

www.huffpost.com

Police said the attempted murder charges are related to three separate incidents that took place in Victoria in 2021 and 2022.

“It’s alleged a 48-year-old Korumburra man became ill following meals on these dates,” police said.

Patterson’s husband, Simon Patterson, posted on social media last year that he was in an induced coma for 16 days and required three emergency operations on his small intestine after falling ill and nearly dying.