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

[NeverPersonal]

I'm always interested in hearing about Erin's possible motivation for this crime (if she is found guilty).

IMO it could have been about child custody and the four guests had dirt on Erin that they were going to reveal in court.

Also I have often wondered whether Erin is mentally ill.

Totally MOO but I get a vibe of vindictiveness and resentment and bitter, bitter anger from this woman.

 

[CityKid]

The way she said she plated it up and let them pick their own plate seemed potentially like, "if they choose the plate then they choose their own fate" to me. I could be reading far too much into that, but psychologically I think it's a method to distance oneself from the consequences.

That's why I never believed she let them pick their own plates. I think she made it up for the reason you stated.

 

[CityKid]

I'd love to know if it was brought to the table to be sliced up or served before being brought to the table. MOO

If the police have spoken with the survivor, and I assume they have, then the police know how it was served. I'm eager to hear the evidence.

 

[RickshawFan]

I don't think he ever expected she'd harm his parents. I think he assumed she was after him, not his family. He apparently underestimated her level of cruelty.

Erin delighted in deceiving him about herself IMO.

 

[ch_13]

That's why I never believed she let them pick their own plates. I think she made it up for the reason you stated.

Or it was something like four plates grouped together on the counter next to one another. And a fifth plate set slightly farther away in a location that was not as easily accessible by the guests. Most people would probably just grab the plate closest to them and not really think twice about it.

And it would give herself plausible deniability if it was brought up later.

 

[RickshawFan]

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

IMO Erin's mom might have had cancer, but it wouldn't surprise me if Erin hastened her death.

 

[MsMarple]

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

Who knows but I do believe Erin was claiming the duxelles was poisonous. It could have been smoke and mirrors in an attempt to divert attention to the Wellington itself - which she herself claimed to have also eaten and then fed it to her kids the next day. And also claimed she got sick too and had to go to hospital for an IV "liver protection" drug.

IMO she thought she had a perfect story; she supposedly ate the mushrooms too and got sick, claimed the mushrooms came from a supermarket and a mysterious anonymous Asian market that she couldn't identify. Gee, she even fed leftovers to her kids whom she would never put in harm's way.
All JMO

Edit: Oops, to clarify, I think Erin was implying the death caps were in the duxelles, the ground up mushrooms that surround the beef. They go on top of a layer of prosciutto which is then wrapped around the meat. So no, she wasn't claiming the death caps were in a side dish but rather in the Wellington itself.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

So the crux of her 'cover story' was that she genuinely thought everyone would be convinced of a one off batch of poisonous mushrooms from 'an asian store' were the cause and no questions would be asked and that would be that and everyone would just believe it and move on?

I'll be interested for verification of whether she took the dehydrator to the dump on the morning before the meal because if so, that means she did likely dehydrate the mushrooms only just before serving them up and knew they were poisonous and that the dehydrator would be evidence. If she'd have had a stash of powdered DC mushrooms pre-prepared and stored, she wouldn't have needed to dump the dehydrator on the actual day. Also, if she innocently used locally picked mushrooms in error she wouldn't have had any reason to dump it as she wouldn't know there's anything wrong at that point. I do suspect she dumped it after the ex/husband made the accusation.

 

[Amalgam]

All BBM.

I agree 100% and I believe that the Police will seek to prosecute and convict for each and every charge. The DPP has decided that there is sufficient evidence to have a reasonable chance of securing a conviction on every matter.

 

[k-mac]

I will say, I think too much has been made of the "death wall".

To me it looks like something that the kids drew. EP probably knew she would soon be selling the house and they would have to spruce the place up before putting it on the market. So, she may have just told her kids they could draw on the walls since they'd have to repaint.

There's also been a lot of speculation about the imagery and words relating to death. One tradesperson said “You’d think they’d be drawing flowers and unicorns, not gravestones and death”. But, IMO, that's ridiculous. Whoever said that knows nothing about childhood development. EP's children were right around the age where many kids become interested in the macabre. When I was that age, some kids would litter their notebooks with drawings of skeletons, gravestones, coffins, blood, etc. Some were obsessed with horror movies, death metal or other pop culture with gruesome imagery. There's a whole "goth" subculture that's a reflection of this interest. For most kids it's just a phase that they eventually grow out of. Despite all the speculation, I don't think it's an indication that there was anything wrong in EP's household.

Under the circumstances to me it isn't reaching at all.

Kids make ghoulish stuff fun.
there isn't anything fun in those scribbles if you study them.

If she is found of sound mind I will be blown away.

 

[Salah11]

So the crux of her 'cover story' was that she genuinely thought everyone would be convinced of a one off batch of poisonous mushrooms from 'an asian store' were the cause and no questions would be asked and that would be that and everyone would just believe it and move on?

I'll be interested for verification of whether she took the dehydrator to the dump on the morning before the meal because if so, that means she did likely dehydrate the mushrooms only just before serving them up and knew they were poisonous and that the dehydrator would be evidence. If she'd have had a stash of powdered DC mushrooms pre-prepared and stored, she wouldn't have needed to dump the dehydrator on the actual day. Also, if she innocently used locally picked mushrooms in error she wouldn't have had any reason to dump it as she wouldn't know there's anything wrong at that point. I do suspect she dumped it after the ex/husband made the accusation.

From the charges it seems like she maybe got to confident as she had been poisoning her husband for awhile without any repercussions.

ETA - or maybe just plain out hatred and bitterness meant she just didn’t logically think it all though.

Moo

 

[MrJ]

Good morning all. I wonder if EP will be granted or refused bail today at the magistrates’ court. ETA I think it’s very unlikely she will be granted bail MOO

 

[Amalgam]

This is incorrect info. Many people argue there's no such thing as 'personality disorders' and that all of them are explained by developmental trauma. Most especially, many people believe that women diagnosed with BPD are really just people with many incidents of trauma, ie C-PTSD.

However, this has not filtered through the medical community and although some psychologists will 'diagnose' C-PTSD it is not yet included in any formal medical diagnostic manuals and cannot be diagnosed in the medical sense by any Psychiatrist.

Every review of the DSM, people lobby for C-PTSD to be a new category however, it is rejected every single time.

BPD is named EUPD (Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder) in the ICD however it is still BPD in the DSM. Many people believe EUPD is a 'kinder' and more accurate way to describe BPD, however the diagnostic criteria remain the same.

Yes, I clarified this just a few posts later when I was queried on it.

The information I gave is considered inaccurate in 2023. I based my initial post upon expert and witness evidence given by two prominent Melbourne based professors of psychiatry (one a forensic psychiatrist) in 2014, who both told the court in evidence that cPTSD is the newer less stigmatising name for BPD.

Clearly the two terms are not considered to be congruent today.

 

[k-mac]

Good morning all. I wonder if EP will be granted or refused bail today at the magistrates’ court.

surely she is an enormous threat to society as an accused serial killer?

Refused 100% IMO

 

[Salah11]

Good morning all. I wonder if EP will be granted or refused bail today at the magistrates’ court. ETA I think it’s very unlikely she will be granted bail MOO

Surely she can’t be allowed to be out when she is a danger to society?!

She has been charged with murdering 3 people and multiple counts of attempted murder.

 

[Amonet]

Oh now that is something else to consider - good thoughts here. Wonder if she knew the kids didn't like mushroom sauce and would find it yukky? JMO

She has said the kids don't like mushrooms and that, due to their dislike, she scraped the mushrooms off the leftovers that she gave the kids. Just like the mushrooms coming in an unmarked/discarded bag from a forgotten store, it's a bit convenient.

 

[nightrider17]

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

Interesting comment from EP's friend.

"I reckon you particularly deserve it from some of the family stories you've told"​

Maybe EP's childhood was challenging for her- so when she inherited the funds she immediately built a place in "the forest" recreating a fantasy like from the stories she read as a child to escape the difficult position she was in. JMO

So if the parents of her ex were indeed coming to her house to have a difficult conversation pertaining to the children. Then her resentment of having this new lifestyle in jeopardy - particularly after she had created a new home in the bush spilt over. IMO

I'm also interested about those police dogs for technology - not sure if they routinely use them - but if they don't normally.

Maybe it suggests that EP in particular (compared to other POI) they thought would have more likely to have books bought from Amazon, or on a kindle about these kind of scenarios (eg:murder mysteries) or internet searches on dehydrating methods with poisonous substances considering what had occurred earlier to her ex-husband. JMO

 

[Baby baby Jane]

Who knows but I do believe Erin was claiming the duxelles was poisonous. It could have been smoke and mirrors in an attempt to divert attention to the Wellington itself - which she herself claimed to have also eaten and then fed it to her kids the next day. And also claimed she got sick too and had to go to hospital for an IV "liver protection" drug.

IMO she thought she had a perfect story; she supposedly ate the mushrooms too and got sick, claimed the mushrooms came from a supermarket and a mysterious anonymous Asian market that she couldn't identify. Gee, she even fed leftovers to her kids whom she would never put in harm's way.
All JMO

Edit: Oops, to clarify, I think Erin was implying the death caps were in the duxelles, the ground up mushrooms that surround the beef. They go on top of a layer of prosciutto which is then wrapped around the meat. So no, she wasn't claiming the death caps were in a side dish but rather in the Wellington itself.

Like maybe she implying only the “elderly” had the lethal effects of toxins but the young people were able to fight the toxin ….

 

[Karin1974]

It’s been suggested before maybe it wasn’t in the Beef Wellington. Maybe it was in some type of Gravy as that would be a lot easier to control on who took some.

Moo

IMO - I’m not sure about this, how can you control who wants gravy or not & wouldn’t it be odd if you’re offering around a gravy boat that then you yourself don’t even have any of? I think the only way to have done this was with 2 x Beef Wellington’s & I don’t think anyone else at the lunch knew that there were 2 cooked. MOO

 

[SouthAussie]

It sounds to me that EP was ramping up ... escalating.

First SP felt a bit off after two occasions with her, then he was hospitalised and severely ill, again after being with EP.

Then this fatal (and near fatal) mushroom poisoning.

Whatever her grievances are against SP, they have been going on for a while.

imo