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

[Neet_Mc]

I've been trying to figure out how the dehydrator came up in conversation ,with the children, while their grandparents are deathly ill.

I keep thinking that the family would have been discussing the possible source of the illness with the doctors at that time. The family would be asked about what was eaten, etc.

Here is ONE possibility that comes to mind:

A poison expert is asking the family about possible food poisoning and asks about mushrooms. The kids say " Mom, weren't you drying mushrooms in the dehydrator ?"

Dad jumps in with his accusation and Mom panics and dumps it? [unless sweet already dumped it]

That is plausible.
Dependent on the timeframe of the dehydrator being dumped (I take EP’s word for it with a grain of salt - I will rely on cctv when it’s revealed), I had also surmised that she may have had the dehydrator in the car with her when kids when she took them to the movies on the Saturday (or had mentioned to them that she had gone to the tip or something). In my mind this would give give rise to the kids knowing about the dehydrator and potentially for it coming up in the conversation.

 

[LadyL]

Maybe she was reluctant to admit to foraging because of the stigma. There's a minority who think its insanitary and some who feel its only for the poor.

one would think she would be more worried about murder charges than the 'stigma'

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“The Patterson family (including Erin and estranged husband Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,” the friend said.

She now claims she was at the hospital with her children “discussing the food hydrator” when her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, asked: “Is that what you used to poison them?”

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.”

Deadly mushroom twist: Chef an 'experienced' fungi forager, says friend

A family friend has revealed more about the woman who fatally fed her former in-laws.

www.nzherald.co.nz

*Who overheard SP say the bolded? How did this get reported?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

TF:
I get it, you empathise with the person you think she is.

No I think you missed my point.

It's because it was said she came across as confident and angry and I was saying that I don't see that in her.

It's nothing to do with empathy. It's that I see someone different to how some are portraying her.

 

[LadyL]

That was posted in a previous thread but it was awhile ago and I'm sure some people missed it, can't hurt posting it again it was very interesting.

"I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved"

Just such weird phrasing to me from EP, people do terrible things for no reason all the time, why not categorically deny involvement instead of making an appeal to emotion like that.

if she has a personality disorder or is a psychopath, there might not be a reason/motive that everyone is looking for JMO

 

[Oona]

“The Patterson family (including Erin and estranged husband Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,” the friend said.

She now claims she was at the hospital with her children “discussing the food hydrator” when her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, asked: “Is that what you used to poison them?”

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.”

Deadly mushroom twist: Chef an 'experienced' fungi forager, says friend

A family friend has revealed more about the woman who fatally fed her former in-laws.

www.nzherald.co.nz

*Who overheard SP say the bolded? How did this get reported?

I believe that EP herself referred to SP asking “is that what you used to poison them?” in her leaked statement.
It was not necessarily overheard but allegedly said to her. In her statement it is used to justify her act of dumping the dehydrator in a panic as she said she was worried about losing custody of the children.
It has not been publicly confirmed or denied by SP, or others, that he actually did ask “is that what you used to poison them?”

 

[Lady Bug]

“The Patterson family (including Erin and estranged husband Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,” the friend said.

She now claims she was at the hospital with her children “discussing the food hydrator” when her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, asked: “Is that what you used to poison them?”

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.”

Deadly mushroom twist: Chef an 'experienced' fungi forager, says friend

A family friend has revealed more about the woman who fatally fed her former in-laws.

www.nzherald.co.nz

*Who overheard SP say the bolded? How did this get reported?

It was in the statement she wrote. The statement was sent to the Homocide Investigators by her barrister and also to Dan Oakes at the ABC.

"In a written statement sent to Victoria Police on Friday – and obtained exclusively by the ABC – Gippsland woman Erin Patterson has given her first detailed account of what transpired before and after the fatal lunch."

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

From John Silvester's article in The Age

"Much later, her lawyer prepared a statement for police that – much to the frustration of investigators – was shared with the media."

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Police will be “very keen” to talk to Wilkinson now that he has been discharged, says forensic criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallet.

“He’s the only one who attended that lunch to survive besides Erin, and he is going to be giving a full account to police as to what happened at that lunch,” she told Sunrise.

“Who ate what, the demeanours and conversations.”

“It’s that dehydrator that potentially cooked the death cap mushrooms that they need to get tested,” she said.

“That’s going to be critical in this case and really the crux is were the death cap mushrooms in that dehydrator or not?”

Watch: Deadly mushroom chef hits out - the key update that could unlock mystery

A critical update has emerged that could blow the case wide open.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Ellery84]

“It’s that dehydrator that potentially cooked the death cap mushrooms that they need to get tested,” she said.

“That’s going to be critical in this case and really the crux is were the death cap mushrooms in that dehydrator or not?”

Ha ha, oh Xanthe. She’s been so circumspect when it came to the William Tyrrell case and the current person of interest there, and with Erin’s case (or the Leongatha case, I might say) she just jumps right in to say that the dehydrator might have cooked the death cap mushrooms.

Wow.

Btw: Dehydrators don’t cook food, Xanthe. They dehydrate. Gawd.

 

[Ellery84]

“He’s the only one who attended that lunch to survive besides Erin, and he is going to be giving a full account to police as to what happened at that lunch,” she told Sunrise.

What about the black lab (or ABL, adorable black lab) Xanthe?

He survived the lunch. Will the police be wanting to speak to him to? Perhaps collect some stool samples? Hmmm??

 

[Sjöberg]

I see what you see TootsieFootsie, it's there

I have to say that I have not made up my mind in any way whatsoever - to me, pretty much all options are still on the table. I stand firmly by the statement that there are not enough facts for me at the moment to draw a conclusion - and even emotionally speaking, I don't really feel more certain about one theory than the other.

But it is interesting to me, that from the very limited information we have, so many people who are familiar with some toxic patterns in relationships and how they can affect people are somehow sensing the same thing. It might be personal cognitive bias, of course it might. But it might also be bias behind the most popular opinion. All we have at the moment is speculation and storytelling to fit our own narratives - I feel like I could prove and disprove all theories to myself at the moment.
MOO

 

[SouthAussie]

We don't have that context, it is not necessarily nefarious and at this stage it is not necessarily evidence either.

No, we don't have the context. But I am wondering what would have spurred a discussion about their dehydrator. As I am wondering exactly when the dehydrator was dumped.

I was reading a bit about cleaning dehydrators today, as I have never used one.

It seems that the two issues people sometimes have are food sticking to the dehydrator trays/racks, and food falling through the dehydrator racks. It sounds as if the food can really adhere to the surfaces if spray oil or baking paper are not used on the trays. (here is one link, there are many)

There is a possibility that there could be traces of food within the dehydrator. Even after cleaning.

 

[Ellery84]

New article from the Daily Mail. As usual there’s a mystery twist or such.

Friend of mushroom lunch survivor shares haunting message

The sole survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch is reportedly making good progress with his recovery at home, while a friend has called for the 'truth to come out' about the mystery meal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I’m still praying for Pastor Ian, he’s been through so much…. Wishing him my condolences for the upcoming memorial service for his late wife.

 

[Salah11]

Another article where nobody is showing support for EP and saying “oh it’s one big misunderstanding “. Just the Truth will come out and I hope it’s sooner rather than later.

I just can not imagine living in a small community and not a single friend or neighbor can say a positive word when every day nasty articles are printed about me. Even her Ex Husband turned on her and implied she is fully capable of this act. He was married to her for years so that speaks volume to her character.


moo

Friend of mushroom lunch survivor shares haunting message

The sole survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch is reportedly making good progress with his recovery at home, while a friend has called for the 'truth to come out' about the mystery meal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Oona]

No, we don't have the context. But I am wondering what would have spurred a discussion about their dehydrator. As I am wondering exactly when the dehydrator was dumped.

I was reading a bit about cleaning dehydrators today, as I have never used one.

It seems that the two issues people sometimes have are food sticking to the dehydrator trays/racks, and food falling through the dehydrator racks. It sounds as if the food can really adhere to the surfaces if spray oil or baking paper are not used on the trays. (here is one link, there are many)

There is a possibility that there could be traces of food within the dehydrator. Even after cleaning.

Yes and I can imagine mushroom spores might be hard to completely remove as they would have been puffed around by the dehydrator’s fan and are too small to be seen without a microscope.

Amanita phalloides, Deathcap mushroom

I wonder if the children saw her trying to clean the dehydrator, that could have been part of the discussion.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I still can’t get over how, why and when the dehydrator came up in the first place with the kids. I think that could be key in their witness statements In explaining Erin’s actions should a trial occur.

 

[investikater]

Yet EP’s own statement claims she bought two types of mushrooms from two different stores. She did not include any mushrooms foraged by her or anyone else into the food she prepared.
Given the difficulty of correctly identifying toxic mushrooms, even for experienced foragers, had EP said from the outset that the dish included foraged mushrooms, this whole investigation would not have peaked the interest as it has.

I speculated in this post Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #5 which was a little after the one you are replying to here, that HYPOTHETICALLY not following important and easy-to-prove-you-have-done mushroom identification and foraging rules despite being an experienced forrager could POSSIBLY be a reason to lie.
- For either the POI if she was in fact HYPOTHETICALLY foraging rather than shopping, or for the ALLEGED hypothetical forager for the supposed Asian grocer.

If the Asian grocer exists they HYPOTHETICALLY must have a forager who ALLEDGEDLY f'ed up badly and both that forager and the store would HYPOTHETICALLY be facing financially terrifying legal issues.

If the POI foraged she would HYPOTHETICALLY be facing many of the same financially terrifying legal issues.

Of course if that were the case she has very ironically only added to those legal woes by POSSIBLY trying to hide the foraging.

It wouldnt be a smart thing to do at all, but people do stupid things when they are scared sometimes IN MY OPINION.

 

[Ellery84]

If the Asian grocer exists they HYPOTHETICALLY must have a forager who ALLEDGEDLY f'ed up badly and both that forager and the store would HYPOTHETICALLY be facing financially terrifying legal issues.

None of the Asian grocers are persons of interest in the case.

<modsnip - moderating>

The only suspect the police have put forward right now, as far as the public know, is Erin Patterson.
<modsnip - moderating>

 

[Ellery84]

If the POI foraged she would HYPOTHETICALLY be facing many of the same financially terrifying legal issues.

If Erin foraged for death cap mushrooms, which caused the death of three people and the hospitalisation and illness of a fourth person, she might face charges more serious than “financial” ones.

I doubt “fair trading” would hit her with a fine. She’d be looking at criminal charges.

IMO

 

[Lady Bug]

I have to say that I have not made up my mind in any way whatsoever - to me, pretty much all options are still on the table. I stand firmly by the statement that there are not enough facts for me at the moment to draw a conclusion - and even emotionally speaking, I don't really feel more certain about one theory than the other.

But it is interesting to me, that from the very limited information we have, so many people who are familiar with some toxic patterns in relationships and how they can affect people are somehow sensing the same thing. It might be personal cognitive bias, of course it might. But it might also be bias behind the most popular opinion. All we have at the moment is speculation and storytelling to fit our own narratives - I feel like I could prove and disprove all theories to myself at the moment.
MOO

Only speaking for myself as you've replied on my comment ..... I'm not familiar with toxic patterns in relationships at all. Picking up on certain things can give an understanding of EP but it doesn't influence bias one way or another in reference to what took place at that fateful lunch. Until all evidence is available my mind is open to any possibility. Like everyone I'm discussing the known facts....no bias towards any scenario except to say "innocent until proven guilty".