Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #6 *Arrest*

[imstilla.grandma]

My suspicion is she didn't want to have to go through formal divorce proceedings as she was attempting to protect her wealth and property from being shared with SP.

If she was poisoning people to make them a bit poorly rather than dead, then I would suggest that was as a delay tactic and not because she wants to care for everybody unwell.

If she did this, maybe she thought she'd be making people feel long term sickly and taking a good few years off their lives through long slow liver failure. Perhaps she didn't know how DC mushrooms work or she though just a tiny bit would only have tiny effect (a lot of people here have said that even in tiniest amounts they are fatal)?

It's hard to imagine she had a cover story for everyone dropping down dead within a week. JMO MOO

Your post just hit me like I’ve known this case was going to at some time. Anyone who has intent on making anyone be so sick ought to witness every day of their illness. Watch their pain as they writhe in their uncomfortable hospital bed. Dozens of IV bags, all the needles, all the nausea, the vomiting and diarrhea, the helplessness of not being able to move, or lift their head, oh my goodness I better stop…

 

[Ellery84]

I'm assuming she can afford the bail -- so it's surprising EP hasn't bonded out yet ?
Omo.

Not to cast aspersions, but the news reports say she was very isolated with not a lot of support. Maybe she’s looking forward to the social aspect of incarceration: Built in buddies and social activities like card playing and such.

IMO

 

[Ellery84]

Not to mention, imo -- they must have had a painful, terrible death !

I can’t imagine anything worse: It’s so tragic and horrible.

 

[Herat]

Right
But she is not right in the head.

It has to come to light.

DBM

 

[JBowie]

I'm assuming she can afford the bail -- so it's surprising EP hasn't bonded out yet ?

By bonded out out I guess you mean granted bail. We have different procedures in Australia.

The Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court told Patterson there was no application for bail as he [as a magistrate] did not have the power to grant it given the seriousness of the charges. If she applies for bail, that will need to be heard in the Supreme Court at a later date, which will be presided over by a senior judge.

The Magistrates’ Court is the first (lowest) level of the Victorian court system.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Not to cast aspersions, but the news reports say she was very isolated with not a lot of support. Maybe she’s looking forward to the social aspect of incarceration: Built in buddies and social activities like card playing and such.

IMO

I think it could be a great relief to be arrested. Away from reporters, media, all the questions, the impending fear of hearing ‘Knock Knock, we are the good guys to arrest you for a bad thing.’ I advise her to give the group a good ‘once over’ before gravitating toward making herself acquainted, because they’ll sure be trying to get the 411 on her. They already know, I’m sure. She’s probably in isolation for her own safety for now. She does seem the type to be eventually be able to make friends. I get the idea that she loves to talk and she’s strong. Adapt or Die will be her motto. She’ll get through the wait but will we? Patience isn’t one of my virtues…

 

[Amonet]

My suspicion is she didn't want to have to go through formal divorce proceedings as she was attempting to protect her wealth and property from being shared with SP.

If she was poisoning people to make them a bit poorly rather than dead, then I would suggest that was as a delay tactic and not because she wants to care for everybody unwell.

If she did this, maybe she thought she'd be making people feel long term sickly and taking a good few years off their lives through long slow liver failure. Perhaps she didn't know how DC mushrooms work or she though just a tiny bit would only have tiny effect (a lot of people here have said that even in tiniest amounts they are fatal)?

It's hard to imagine she had a cover story for everyone dropping down dead within a week. JMO MOO

If guilty of the alleged crime, I think she might have thought it would be put down to a tragic accident, like most food poisoning incidents really are, and that she'd get sympathy, both for such a major loss of family and for barely surviving herself.

 

[katydid23]

If guilty of the alleged crime, I think she might have thought it would be put down to a tragic accident, like most food poisoning incidents really are, and that she'd get sympathy, both for such a major loss of family and for barely surviving herself.

Yes, which is why I am kind of surprised she didn't just admit to something like a simple foraging mistake. It might be hard to pin it on her as murder if she pretended it was all an awful mistake, etc.

 

[iamshadow21]

Yes, which is why I am kind of surprised she didn't just admit to something like a simple foraging mistake. It might be hard to pin it on her as murder if she pretended it was all an awful mistake, etc.

I don't know whether it applies here, but I will say that some people would rather anything than have others believe them to have done something that suggests that they performed a task with less than ideal excellence, whether through carelessness, incompetence, or unintelligence.

If responsible for unintentionally picking death caps, someone might find admitting to making a mistake too hard for them. If responsible for intentionally picking death caps, they might never consider it as an option to say it was an accidental thing, because they couldn't bear people thinking they'd make a mistake like that, even if a less plausible story leads to drawing suspicion to themself.

MOO

 

[JBowie]

I don't know whether it applies here, but I will say that some people would rather anything than have others believe them to have done something that suggests that they performed a task with less than ideal excellence, whether through carelessness, incompetence, or unintelligence.

One of the characteristics of a perfectionist: Self-worth or self-esteem that is contingent upon success.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

It’s been claimed she was a experienced forager so you would think she would be fully aware of Death Cap mushrooms and their toxicity.

IMO

True but my point was that I sincerely doubt she was trying make herself busy and relevant by tending to the sick (ie some form of munchausen by proxy) I believe she was trying to harm / kill people in order to avoid the financial consequences of divorce.

As for how much she knew of how DC mushrooms work, or other poisons, we just don't know. Being an experienced forager means you know how to safely identify what is edible. It doesn't mean you have extensive knowledge of exactly how each poison works.

Sounds to me that if she really did make several previous attempts on SP's life and he didn't die then she wasn't exactly proficient (yet)! JMO MOO

 

[MsMarple]

Yes, which is why I am kind of surprised she didn't just admit to something like a simple foraging mistake. It might be hard to pin it on her as murder if she pretended it was all an awful mistake, etc.

That had me scratching my head too. Some thoughts (so JMO) were that EP’s personality is such that she couldn’t stand the idea of people thinking she was “stupid” for making such a mistake. Or becoming suspicious if in fact she’s an experienced forager.

A more practical reason could have been that it would open her up to a civil suit by the families which would quickly drain her finances. And possibly she could have also worried about being charged with involuntary manslaughter. IMO

Blaming a minority owned market that she couldn’t identify distances her from any wrongdoing and paints her as a victim. IMO she didn’t expect the negative response from social media.

 

[Salah11]

She definitely has had a lot of sleepless nights waiting for that knock on the door as the wait must of been torture.

She must of been absolutely horrified that Ian had survived that lunch time meal so whatever story’s she was telling there was now a witness to contradict her version.
Then not only that Simon also was somehow still alive after multiple attempts and now suddenly he was being very vocal about what he believed happened that Lunch time.

MOO


of course she may not be guilty so we must bare that in mind but this is one possible way it happened.

 

[ch_13]

Diaries, emails to lovers or family or friends about the state of her relationship or resentments against SP and his family that conflict with her account of how she loved them. Text messages going back in time on old out of use handsets.

More importantly, online searches for the effects of different toxins and poisons. If she did this, she must have been doing a lot of research and she's clever enough to use a VPN and delete her search histories but maybe there's something can be detected anyhow?

On first glance, the search for electronic devices and drives is a bit of a puzzler. Usually you think of computer evidence being central when someone has illicit photos/videos, or maybe if there are financial records that point to their crimes. Neither of those seem to apply here. I'm sure the authorities would love to find an incriminating email or a google search, but this just doesn't seem to be a case that would turn on that kind of evidence.

Instead, I think what would matter would be being able to prove that the lunch was poisoned, the testimony of Ian, Simon and others, as well as her own statements and actions that could be used against her.

My initial thought was that the search for electronic evidence was just a sort of cherry on top where the police hoped they could find something incriminating. However, in EP's court appearance, the prosecutor said they would need weeks to go through all the electronic evidence, so maybe there is something specific they want to find.

Also, if there really is damaging evidence stored on electronic devices, why didn't EP just destroy it? A few minutes with a drill or handsaw could have done a lot of damage and made it virtually impossible to retrieve any data.

 

[Chimera]

On first glance, the search for electronic devices and drives is a bit of a puzzler. Usually you think of computer evidence being central when someone has illicit photos/videos, or maybe if there are financial records that point to their crimes. Neither of those seem to apply here. I'm sure the authorities would love to find an incriminating email or a google search, but this just doesn't seem to be a case that would turn on that kind of evidence.

Instead, I think what would matter would be being able to prove that the lunch was poisoned, the testimony of Ian, Simon and others, as well as her own statements and actions that could be used against her.

My initial thought was that the search for electronic evidence was just a sort of cherry on top where the police hoped they could find something incriminating. However, in EP's court appearance, the prosecutor said they would need weeks to go through all the electronic evidence, so maybe there is something specific they want to find.

Also, if there really is damaging evidence stored on electronic devices, why didn't EP just destroy it? A few minutes with a drill or handsaw could have done a lot of damage and made it virtually impossible to retrieve any data.

Bbm.
Agreed.
And what IF EP wrote something like, "...By this time next month, they (victims) won't be a problem any more....".
Etc.
Omo.

 

[MsMarple]

Yes, if we’re considering arrogance as @Kittybunny pointed out upthread then IMO it’s possible EP wrote her thoughts down in a diary/journal/manifesto or whatever you want to call it. And if that’s the case would she want to destroy her words or preserve them?

If so then the question becomes whether or not it’s incriminating in some way. Or perhaps she had been experimenting with different toxins and kept a log.

It seems like an unnecessary risk to document something that could be used in evidence but there have been other cases where risk was overridden by a need to leave a written agenda.
JMO

 

[Neet_Mc]

I can’t imagine why she would plead guilty. She has strenuously denied the charges so far.

I do wonder if she’ll be able to afford to pay her top legal team for the next 2 years or so.

The irony is that she’s spending her own children’s inheritance on legal fees.

Jmo

Having seen an ex revel in doing this to his previous ex in the courts, it’s absolutely nothing about inheritance for the children (even though everything he said was to give illusion that it was in the best interest of the child and child’s future and finaincial
Stability etc) but more about screwing over the other party and not leaving any money for her when it came to financial settlement.
Perhaps EP would be happier that if she can’t hang onto the finances and property, they get evaporated by legal fees rather than go to SP.

 

[MsMarple]

Remember when Ian returned home from hospital msm reported that he had CCTV cameras installed around his house? I had thought his family arranged it but now I wonder if LE suggested it for safety reasons?

IOW was there enough evidence that early to be concerned about an attempt on Ian’s life?

Sole survivor of mushroom lunch's security upgrade

The sole survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch had security cameras erected outside his Korumburra home just days after his release from hospital.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Neet_Mc]

Remember when Ian returned home from hospital msm reported that he had CCTV cameras installed around his house? I had thought his family arranged it but now I wonder if LE suggested it for safety reasons?

IOW was there enough evidence that early to be concerned about an attempt on Ian’s life?

Sole survivor of mushroom lunch's security upgrade

The sole survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch had security cameras erected outside his Korumburra home just days after his release from hospital.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Excellent point!
Given Ian was present at the lunch, and perhaps not as close as other family members (I would think lesser reason to have been killed - other than collateral damage), then getting cctv hints at him having information from the lunch that could be incriminating for EP and thus warrant cctv at behest of LE (potentially). If Ian’s report could only back up EP’s account of what occurred, then there isn’t really any reason to warrant cctv (okay potentially public interest, media scrums etc). I mean as EP stated it was BW and everyone picked a plate and what happened is fate, but Ian could suggest otherwise - EP selected meals for guests, there was gravy, EP didn’t eat - then she has as a massive issue!

 

[Ellery84]

Having seen an ex revel in doing this to his previous ex in the courts, it’s absolutely nothing about inheritance for the children (even though everything he said was to give illusion that it was in the best interest of the child and child’s future and finaincial
Stability etc) but more about screwing over the other party and not leaving any money for her when it came to financial settlement.
Perhaps EP would be happier that if she can’t hang onto the finances and property, they get evaporated by legal fees rather than go to SP.

It’s all so spiteful, I’m sorry your ex was like this. Thanks for your insight.