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

[ch_13]

I'm still leaving room in my Agatha Christie mind for a twist in the tale = she could have been royally set up by someone who really did want to get shot of all four.

Can't say more than that but yes, she's not guilty til the jury says so.

I'm trying to be cognizant that we haven't yet heard her defense. In fact, we have yet to hear the details of the prosecution's evidence. But based on what we know to date, I think it will really take a mystery novel type of twist to get her out of this.

There are just too many coincidences and unlikely events for me to believe in her innocence: the fact that the lunch was contentious; that she was the cook and consumed the meal but was unharmed; that her kids had leftovers but were also unharmed; that she claimed gastric distress but the hospital didn't think she was sick; that she tried to get rid of a dehydrator; that she claims she only used store-bought mushrooms and she bought the sole package where a death-cap somehow found its way into the supply chain; that her husband had previous unexplained illnesses; and so much more.

In a mystery novel, those happenings are red-herrings and the real culprit would be the person you least expect. But of course, this is real life and when you start piling all these circumstances together it becomes extremely hard for me to believe that she just had all this bad luck that had the effect of somehow implicating her in deaths.

For her to be innocent would be a bit like if that old movie trope came true: An innocent bystander inadvertently touches the murder weapon and implicates themselves in a homicide. Like Cary Grant in North by Northwest.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

She was wearing the jumper in the photos of her arriving at the police station on Thursday arvo. I imagine she has been in that jumper for many hours.

I had an instant vision in my minds eye of a naked bottom half.

I wonder how much thought some journalists put into what they write.

 

[NeverPersonal]

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

I have a potential theory that maybe she poisoned these people so that she could take care of them while they were severely ill, and be seen as their savior and hero. Perhaps she has a low self-worth, and desperately wanted to feel needed in a family where she felt less-than, irrelevant, or "othered".

When her ex got sick, they were separated, and I learned from this thread and the news articles that they moved back in together temporarily so she could care for him. I'll find a link if asked, but it's been referenced here plenty.

I wonder if part of it was the "illusion of choice", like you see in magic tricks. Most simply in this instance that could be: the choice of plate with the Beef Wellington ultimately didn't matter because the poison wasn't in that part of the meal.

As some of the wonderful comments have mentioned up thread, poisoners often think of themselves as smarter than those around them, so it wouldn't surprise me if she a) picked a Beef Wellington in the first place because of the duxelles and thinking she was oh so clever with the deliberate red herring, and b) loved the feeling she was tricking the guests with the illusion of choice.

With what we now know, she had likely tried to murder Simon multiple times and failed... she was probably wary of both Simon becoming more suspicious of her cooking, and the fact that this intervention meal was possibly her last chance of getting easy access to his food. So this illusion of choice could be super important to first try and lower his guard enough that he would even eat food she prepared, and secondly to try and delay possible suspicion when he did start to get sick, so he(/they) wouldn't raise concerns until it was too late to communicate again. When he cancelled, it may have caused immense rage that he apparently got spooked (made her feel like she wasn't as sneaky as she believed she was?), and that her final, Hail-Mary plan was thwarted.

We know one of the three that died did manage to have a convo with the paramedic that made them alert the police. Wonder if it was one of his parents, who he may have shared his fears with - even if in the broadest terms? If so, it may be that "paranoia" was the reason one of the victims was able to make the connection and alert the paramedics, even before Simon even got to the hospital, got his bearings and made himself heard. Now it may be deathcap poisoning is so specific that it would've never gone under the radar, but this was a woman was likely emboldened (and frustrated) by the previous attempts that hadn't kicked up too much dust.

IMO.

We could also be seriously overthinking this. She could've not cared too deeply about any of that, and not particularly cared how she acted/seemed during the meal or maybe even acted offensively toward them since she figured they'd be gravely ill/dead soon anyways.
You could totally be right, of course - I am just saying.

BBM - I didn't know that part - do we know what was said?

Something I find fascinating is that she poisoned SO MANY people. This is far more than just one instance of poisoning one person. Multiple instances of poisoning multiple people spread across years. Was she addicted to the control she felt? Because this? This situation is totally out of control. Like did she REALLY think it wouldn't be suspicious that multiple family members came over then DIED! Really lady? Either she was addicted to this behavior and felt like she couldn't stop (sort of how I figure Ms. Letby is, pathologically) or she isn't the sharpest crayon in the box, perhaps both.

 

[Kemug]

What and left his elderly loved ones to go ahead and be poisoned to death?

I don't get this. It makes no sense.

IMO, SP either 1) didn't go to the lunch for some reason other than his suspicions about EP's cooking, or 2) he was a bit suspicious that EP might put something in his coffee or whatever, but never for a moment dreamt that she planned to kill them all.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Just a side note

Borce Ristevski

Never had heard of him before now - couldn't find very much evidence on him, just that his daughter said she doesn't think he'd be capable of such a thing and called her parents inseparable. Interesting.

 

[Montrealaise]

Actually charging could probably scare some people into revealing themselves, but some people get scared into making a false confession.

Tough luck if it turns out she didn't set out to kill anyone.

So it is kind of fishing.

Several people became seriously ill, and some of them died, after eating food she prepared. She's either a cold-blooded murderer or the worst cook in the world.

 

[JLZ]

I was wondering same. Old friend has royally betrayed her, obv thinks she's guilty, or is desperate for money money money

Only pertinent bit is that there are 'family stories' and that EP 'deserved' her inheritance. You could imagine if she had an abusive or traumatic upbringing and yet nursed her mother to the end, that she would feel very entitled and compensated by a large inheritance. The idea of splitting it with a feckless lazy husband (from her viewpoint) would really hurt. Maybe half of everything her mother worked really really hard for and became a notable academic in her field, going to some lazy bloke and his new girlfriend, wow I'd be spitting feathers.

I wonder if 'family stories' are about a sibling. That would fit with deserving an inheritance.

 

[SouthAussie]

Just a side note

Never had heard of him before now - couldn't find very much evidence on him, just that his daughter said she doesn't think he'd be capable of such a thing and called her parents inseparable. Interesting.

When a plea deal is struck, we never get to hear the evidence. Unfortunately.

imo

 

[Kemug]

I hope we hear from her sister, it could be very telling and important.

 

[Amonet]

I think the dehydrator dumping does suggest the mushrooms had been through it.

EP has felt the need to be clear that the mushrooms were removed before the kids ate the leftovers. I think this may indicate that she consciously or subconsciously doesn't want to be accused of risking the lives/health of the kids.

She doesn't seem concerned about things pointing to the mushrooms, instead she has explanations for why she is innocent as she couldn't be held responsible for something she bought and innocently added to a family meal.

EP has said that investigators were given, by her, the contents of the bin unto which the dish remnants were discarded. If forensics didn't show that the mushrooms were in the meal she would look worse from a defence perspective as this would nix her explanation of why she's innocent.

The retrieval of computer equipment would likely be, at least in part, to see if EP searched online for info about how much of these mushrooms one would need to ingest for risk of death vs mild illness. Also to look for any searches for poisoning in general.

They wouldn't need the phone for it but they also might look at her phone gps to see if EP had recently been in a location where she might forage mushrooms?

 

[Amalgam]

An article published yesterday suggests that "the development comes after a dehydrator was found-possibly linked to the lunch- at a local tip"
This sounds like a new discovery rather than the original one????

The original one was sent overseas for testing. Perhaps the results came back and are incriminating?

 

[Shadow@light]

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

You are right, it would be in the Gravy, Erin had stated in Media Her children did not like Mushrooms, so if the Kids were there they would not touch the gravy, like my kiddo Tomato Sauce everything. IMO

 

[mirage1]

I'm pretty sure you don't just scrape off deadly mushrooms off the meat and its fine to eat. There would be deadly residue still on the meat. Pretty sure she is lying about that part also.

 

[kazbar]

Now she has been charged can we talk about the creepy weird wall in her home the tradie shared??

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/unanswered-questions-as-investigation-continues-into-mushroom-deaths/news-story/44f7f0dbe6c7d23b0f7a8248b0ee4ae7

I got big problems with this stuff.
It is super disturbing and I highly suspect Erin wrote that wall.

my speculation only

Is there any significance to the date 19/03/22 on the wall paint? I wouldn't think kids of that age would not be writing things like that? IMO.

 

[k-mac]

Is there any significance to the date 19/03/22 on the wall paint? I wouldn't think kids of that age would not be writing things like that? IMO.

I suspect LE have studied that wall (photograph) with a fine toothcomb and have learned alot.

 

[Knitty]

Thread is closed. Please continue at Thread #6