Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023

[JLZ]

But if the mushrooms were store-bought and all right that's where the dehydrator comes in. Somebody has added dehydrated death-cap mushroom product to the fresh-mushroom dish. Apparently.

 

[Waverider]

I met someone who was murdered over $4000 so I won't say a house or so couldn't be an inducement. However, outside of wealthy families I think it would be unusual for grandchildren to inherit alongside or ahead of the son. I hadn't considered the possibility of anything coming from the Wilkinsons. It seems to me it would be rather far-sighted and even imaginative for Erin to have expectations here.

I was assuming that her plans involved the ex husband no longer being in the picture…

 

[Waverider]

Does anybody have any information about the inheritance laws there? Let's say there is no will, what is the legal succession of assets? If a couple dies, and one of them has a sister and this couple also has a son, would the deceased person's sister also have a right to inheritance? And if so, would the son not passing away before or at the same time affect this sister's inheritance? If it does, it could be a reason to include the mother-in-law's sister and her husband, if guilty, jmo.

Victorian will and inheritance law - who gets what? — Vanessa Ash Law

Who gets your stuff? We review what your ex gets, what your kids get, and what sort of arguments may arise after you die.

vanessaash.com.au

According to this, if the ex husband is dead, then the parents-in-law’s property would go to the grandchildren.

If the ex husband is alive and the MIL’s sister and husband have no children, then the sister’s property goes to the ex husband.

If the ex husband dies after inheriting his parents’ and aunt’s estate, but before divorcing, then everything would go to EP.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Mushroom mystery: family lunch leaves Australian town reeling after three deaths in suspected poisoning

As police investigate what looks like a fatal case of food poisoning in Leongatha in rural Victoria, locals recall the victims as kind and community-spirited

www.theguardian.com

Mushroom foraging is popular in the area. Even the local mayor does it.

“I do it with my wife and friends,” says Nathan Hersey, mayor of the South Gippsland Shire council. “It’s something that has increased over the years.”

 

[Kemug]

Someone suggested that the motherinlaw's sister and her husband might not have any children (which might affect inheritances), but I think I read that in fact they have 4?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I read that the four children of Ian Wilkinson are at his bedside

 

[Kemug]

And re the children inheriting if their father, the ex, is dead - I imagine he may have siblings, in which case the children would not get much anyway.

 

[srper2]

Hmm, wonder if the hospital tested the husband for organophosphate poisoning, which can cause multiple perforations of the small intestine and severe illness............https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843284/

Dichlorvos is easily available in Leongatha from rural farming supply outlets........

 

[Sarahlou]

If she is guilty of this it might not be about inheritance. She might just hold a grudge and be completely unhinged.

 

[Estelle]

I think I see what you mean. Assuming SP survived? What if he'd joined the lunch, died, and had willed everything to a new partner, or left it in trust for the children until they came of age?

Edit: And about not being suspected for causing her ex's hospitalisation, I don't suspect her of that either, yet. You see with Ian, the result was that he needs a new liver. Now there was no suggestion that SP had any liver damage. He was recurrently close to death, and I am assuming those occasions were connected with whether or not he'd survive surgery. It sounds to me like a completely different thing. But of course I'm holding my breath for the medical records review.

Yes I don't think anyone suspected EP for being responsible for her ex's hospitalisation at the time until now so it might just be a coincidence. If any of the family had suspected her, they wouldn't have even gone to the lunch. If SP had suspected her, he would have probably changed his will immediately. However, often when people are not well, they don't think of legal things such as changing their will or having a property settlement signed as soon as possible.

I think they bought their current house in 2019 and he suffered his medical incident in 2022.

What we don't know is when they officially separated or when he moved out of their house and the reasons for his doing so. Was it before or after his hospitalisation?

 

[Estelle]

Someone suggested that the motherinlaw's sister and her husband might not have any children (which might affect inheritances), but I think I read that in fact they have 4?

I read that the four children of Ian Wilkinson are at his bedside

SORRY TO EVERYONE. It looks as if I have made an error which I need to correct. I must say I was unable to sleep last night as I was suffering from jet lag so I posted on Websleuths probably half asleep and became confused.

"The unusual tale began when Gail and Don Patterson stopped for lunch at their daughter-in-law Erin Patterson's home in Leongatha - a two-hour drive south-east of Melbourne. With them were the Wilkinsons - Heather, Gail's sister, and her husband Ian."

So, of course, Gail and Don Patterson are the parents of SP. They have died. Has there been any mention of any siblings of their son, SP? In this case, possibly SP would inherit everything from his parents.

However, with Heather and Don Wilkinson, Heather has died and Don is struggling to live due to his liver. It was reported that their four children are at his bedside. Therefore, SP would probably not inherit anything from them.

So what could EP's motivation have been to cause their deaths?

 

[Tbone144]

I think there is an attention factor at play as well. -Her husband has been sick and she’s had to be strong for her children.-
-Now their grandparents got sick with a similar issues and passed it’s just so terrible-

She may not have intended to kill them, maybe making them sick like the husband was her intent.

I can’t logically see how someone could poison 4 people at a dinner, avoid eating the food herself and not expect to be investigated. If she had expected to get away with it at this stage she should have had just a taste so she could say she ate it too.

IMOO

 

[Tbone144]

Hmm, wonder if the hospital tested the husband for organophosphate poisoning, which can cause multiple perforations of the small intestine and severe illness............https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843284/

Dichlorvos is easily available in Leongatha from rural farming supply outlets........

I’d be interested in a hair analysis to see if that turns anything up for him. I can’t remember if he has hair or not.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Maybe she didn't get over the separation and maybe SP has moved on.

Perhaps she felt abandoned by the whole group that she came to think of as family.

Just a theory.


Or maybe someone made a terrible mistake

Somehow she doesn't come across to me as someone who would deliberately kill someone.

 

[Estelle]

I’d be interested in a hair analysis to see if that turns anything up for him. I can’t remember if he has hair or not.

I just saw a photo of him on TV and he has a shaved head. However, wouldn't it be too late for that? IIRC he suffered his illness in May, 2022.

 

[Estelle]

I think there is an attention factor at play as well. -Her husband has been sick and she’s had to be strong for her children.-
-Now their grandparents got sick with a similar issues and passed it’s just so terrible-

She may not have intended to kill them, maybe making them sick like the husband was her intent.

I can’t logically see how someone could poison 4 people at a dinner, avoid eating the food herself and not expect to be investigated. If she had expected to get away with it at this stage she should have had just a taste so she could say she ate it too.

IMOO

Has she actually admitted that she didn't eat the meal herself yet?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Welcome Home Estelle!

 

[Estelle]

Welcome Home Estelle!

Thanks Tootsie.

 

[AliceInPain]

I can’t logically see how someone could poison 4 people at a dinner, avoid eating the food herself and not expect to be investigated.

sbm
Yes that's absolutely to be expected, and that's why I find it weird she didn't tell the reporters what she allegedly told the police, to stop at least them following her around and sticking their microphones in her face. They would have been hanging outside a supermarket instead of her house if she had, because that would have been very easy and quick to verify. She answered a few other questions but when it came to that one question that could "clear her" in the eyes of the media and the public, she suddenly had to leave.
I and I think most people would have made very sure everyone knew "I bought the mushrooms at a store!!"
Will be very interesting to find out if that is what she told LE or not. And if it was really mushrooms that made them ill/ die.

 

[Kemug]

I read that the four children of Ian Wilkinson are at his bedside

Those poor people.