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

[TootsieFootsie]

I’m surprised they said the children had been put in care, I’d have assumed they would have just gone to their father, especially if they were teenagers.

I wonder if they had a say in where they wanted to go if they couldn't be with their mother.

Usually it's with another family member.
Grandparents of course is not possible

But there's the father and aunts and uncles.

 

[LacieL]

IMO if I was innocent & media camped at my door...

If police took my mobile & devices I'd have no way of contacting friends (no landline - no way I could remember my friends mobile nos. No Messenger etc) I'd be stranded !

I'd pack a suitcase & 'rack off' somewhere too.

I agree. I don’t blame her for hiding. As long as the police are aware of her whereabouts, the rest of us don’t need to know.

Innocent or guilty, after how people have interpreted her media appearances, it’s in her best interests not to appear on camera again.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

IMO if I was innocent & media camped at my door...

If police took my mobile & devices I'd have no way of contacting friends (no landline - no way I could remember my friends mobile nos. No Messenger etc NO WEBSLEUTHS) I'd feel stranded !

I'd pack a suitcase & 'rack off' somewhere too.

Same here. I would feel lost and alone and scared and under attack.

I'd take off too.

 

[jepop]

This is just a really odd situation, Imo. I try to imagine any number of scenarios. All below is speculation.

1) She served up beef wellington with deaths cap mushies inside them but didn't partake herself - Sus even if she argues she didn't know the mushies were dangerous when she picked them. A lot would rest on the credibility of any reason given for why she didn't partake - ie vegetarian? What did she have instead? If not vegetarian then it just looks incredibly suspicious that she didn't partake. And even if she is known to be vegetarian it still raises questions.

2) She did partake of beef wellington and didn't get sick. That looks even more suspicious. Too much of a coincidence to suggest that her own beef wellington serving somehow didn't have any mushroom in it. Or that maybe she gathered two sorts of mushrooms and she got lucky in that her serving had the okay ones whilst the other four diners all unluckily got wellingtons with death caps.

3) The deadly mushrooms were store bought. Not feasible. More people who bought and consumed from the death cap batch (tainted perhaps somehow accidentally with deathcaps?) would have reported ill by now. OTOH she may well be able to prove she bought store mushrooms for the meal, say, the day before and children may be able to corroborate they saw her preparing the meal with such that morning or previous day. But this still doesn't help her case. Assuming the fact stands (official tox report still outstanding) that the four relatives were poisoned by toxins found in death caps, then it just opens the door to the probability of her adding either fresh death caps (or dried/powdered death caps) to the wellingtons at some later point. And again, if she tainted all but her own portion and ate hers with the store bought only, there is no innocent explanation for her not being ill.

The only possible semi-unsus scenario I can come up with is that she ate wellington along with the others but didn't partake of mushroom sauce. She decided to make the sauce at last minute and as she had used up all the store mushrooms she used some dried/powdered mushrooms she had gathered from some time prior. She didn't partake of the sauce. This seems semi -credible.
Moo

 

[AliceInPain]

As a vegetarian, I've had both happen. People will usually cook a meat free version for everyone as that's easier and cheaper, but that could just be the types of people I hang out with. Sometimes I've been to dinners where they've made a meat version and a veggie version. Sometimes I've gone and no meat free option is there even though they knew I was coming :')

Main thing though is that we don't know who, if anyone, is actually vegetarian or not.

Wondering now if Erin ate what the kids ate. Say chips and hotdogs, or pizza. Comfort food.
That would honestly not be sus to me.
But no, I've never been to anyone's dinner/lunch (we're not talking fancy here) where they didn't cook the same for everyone. If someone doesn't eat meat, the meat comes separately. You don't make them a whole entire different dish.
We need more info about this lunch, what was cooked, what the kids ate, what Erin ate and why she didn't eat the same as the other adults. If that is what even happened.

 

[heartandsoul]

We need more info about this lunch, what was cooked, what the kids ate, what Erin ate and why she didn't eat the same as the other adults. If that is what even happened.

Yes, hard to speculate without that information!

 

[AliceInPain]

Same here. I would feel lost and alone and scared and under attack.

I'd take off too.

So why wouldn't she just tell them what she supposedly told the police: "I bought the mushrooms at a supermarket!!"
Would have got rid of them. (Don't know if this has been confirmed yet, but in the other interview she walked off when the reporters asked her where she got the mushrooms from. )

 

[jepop]

Wondering now if Erin ate what the kids ate. Say chips and hotdogs, or pizza. Comfort food.
That would honestly not be sus to me.
But no, I've never been to anyone's dinner/lunch (we're not talking fancy here) where they didn't cook the same for everyone. If someone doesn't eat meat, the meat comes separately. You don't make them a whole entire different dish.
We need more info about this lunch, what was cooked, what the kids ate, what Erin ate and why she didn't eat the same as the other adults. If that is what even happened.

Good points. It's not a fact that she didn't eat the beef wellingtn is it? Also I'm not sure it's a fact that she said the mushrooms were store bought. I saw that reported in Daily Mail but for me personally that doesn't make it a fact. Moo

 

[Ellery84]

Breaking: She’s back!

The woman at the centre of the poisonous mushroom lunch which left three people dead has been spotted in Melbourne as her ex-husband raises fresh questions about his mystery illness.

Missing poison mushroom chef is spotted in Melbourne

 

[TootsieFootsie]

But .. it's meat for vegetarians .. still doesn't explain why she didn't eat the mushrooms .

If you were vegetarian, it's not enough to pick the vegetables out of a meat dish.

Especially not one like Beef Wellington.

Anyway we don't know if anyone was a vegetarian at the meal.

 

[GoldySam]

Just a thought, what if the pies were made with shop bought mushrooms, and the poisonous ones were in powder form, sprinkled on after? If the mushrooms were dehydrated and ground up to powder form. Wondering if the lose their potency or it becomes more condensed after dehydration?
Sorry, I'm not a regular poster here, jmo

 

[Ellery84]

Good points. It's not a fact that she didn't eat the beef wellingtn is it? Also I'm not sure it's a fact that she said the mushrooms were store bought. I saw that reported in Daily Mail but for me personally that doesn't make it a fact. Moo

Oh, she said the mushrooms were bought in a store? That sounds a bit fishy to me…

IMO

 

[Tortoise]

My transcript


EP: It’s a tragedy what’s happened.

Rep: Can you tell us about the meal that you cooked?

EP: I’m so, devastated by what’s happened, by the loss of Don and, Don is still in hospital, the loss of Ian and Heather and Gail who are some of the best people that I’ve ever met. Gail is like [cries]

Rep: Take your time.

EP: Gail is the mum that I didn’t have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail’s never been anything but good and kind to me and Ian and Heather were some of the best people I’ve ever met, they never did anything wrong to me and I’m so devastated about what’s happened.

Rep: Can you tell us...

EP: And the loss to the community, and to the families and to my own children who’ve lost their grandmother.

Rep: Can you tell us a bit more about the lunch?

EP: What I can tell you is that I just can’t fathom what has happened, I just can’t fathom what has happened, that Ian and Heather have lost their lives, and Gail has lost her life, and Don is still in hospital, and I pray, I pray that he pulls through, because my children love him.

Rep: And you must be pretty shaken up by this as well.

EP: [looking up at the sky] I’m devastated, I loved them and I can’t believe that this has happened and I’m so sorry that they have lost their lives and I just can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it. [looks around and makes moves as if planning to walk]

Rep: Can you tell us where the mushrooms came from?

EP: [cries and walks around car opening doors and removes a bag]

Rep: Were they picked from the property Erin, the mushrooms?

EP: I’m just asking just to leave me alone please

Rep: Sure. Police say you’re a suspect, do you have anything to say about that?

EP: Yes, I say I didn’t do anything. I loved them and I’m devastated that they’re gone and I hope with every fibre of my being that Don pulls through, that’s what I have to say.

Rep: Where did the mushrooms come from?

EP: [walks towards house]

Rep: Were they picked by you or, where did they come from Erin? Can you tell us?

EP: [opens her front door]

Rep: What meal did you cook them? Did you eat the same meal, Erin?

EP: [enters house and closes door]

 

[TootsieFootsie]

This case is the first time ever I've heard Beef Wellington described as a pie.

Never before have I heard it described as Beef Wellington Pie, but it seems it's developed a new name through this case.

Beef Wellington - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The name of the dish is Beef Wellington, or sometimes Boeuf Wellington, not Beef Wellington Pie.

Older recipes have it as Boeuf Wellington.

 

[MrsWattle]

This is just a really odd situation, Imo. I try to imagine any number of scenarios. All below is speculation.

1) She served up beef wellington with deaths cap mushies inside them but didn't partake herself - Sus even if she argues she didn't know the mushies were dangerous when she picked them. A lot would rest on the credibility of any reason given for why she didn't partake - ie vegetarian? What did she have instead? If not vegetarian then it just looks incredibly suspicious that she didn't partake. And even if she is known to be vegetarian it still raises questions.

2) She did partake of beef wellington and didn't get sick. That looks even more suspicious. Too much of a coincidence to suggest that her own beef wellington serving somehow didn't have any mushroom in it. Or that maybe she gathered two sorts of mushrooms and she got lucky in that her serving had the okay ones whilst the other four diners all unluckily got wellingtons with death caps.

3) The deadly mushrooms were store bought. Not feasible. More people who bought and consumed from the death cap batch (tainted perhaps somehow accidentally with deathcaps?) would have reported ill by now. OTOH she may well be able to prove she bought store mushrooms for the meal, say, the day before and children may be able to corroborate they saw her preparing the meal with such that morning or previous day. But this still doesn't help her case. Assuming the fact stands (official tox report still outstanding) that the four relatives were poisoned by toxins found in death caps, then it just opens the door to the probability of her adding either fresh death caps (or dried/powdered death caps) to the wellingtons at some later point. And again, if she tainted all but her own portion and ate hers with the store bought only, there is no innocent explanation for her not being ill.

The only possible semi-unsus scenario I can come up with is that she ate wellington along with the others but didn't partake of mushroom sauce. She decided to make the sauce at last minute and as she had used up all the store mushrooms she used some dried/powdered mushrooms she had gathered from some time prior. She didn't partake of the sauce. This seems semi -credible.
Moo

Maybe she doesn't like mushrooms and usually avoids them, but she knew her in-laws enjoyed local foraged mushrooms so she tried to please them with her cooking skills but Failed.
Kids fav meals are chicken nuggets and chips, spaghetti Bolognese or pizza.

 

[jepop]

Maybe she doesn't like mushrooms and usually avoids them, but she knew her in-laws enjoyed local foraged mushrooms so she tried to please them with her cooking skills but Failed.
Kids fav meals are chicken nuggets and chips, spaghetti Bolognese or pizza.

Yea, that's another feasible explanation as long as it's known that she didn't like mushrooms and it's known that her in-laws enjoyed locally foraged mushrooms. It's not sus, Imo, that her kids ate separately. If it's true that the dining room table talk was expected to include marriage/personal/adult matters that makes sense. But to me also makes sense that the kids being teens ate their own thing separately even if the reports re purpose of lunch are inaccurate or based on the skinniest of rumours.

If it's true that she told the police that the mushrooms were store bought then Imo that's a real issue. Moo

 

[Waverider]

I’m surprised they said the children had been put in care, I’d have assumed they would have just gone to their father, especially if they were teenagers.

Perhaps it’s because they’re witnesses and also vulnerable in terms of their ages. The police presumably would need to ensure that they can provide testimony freely without being subjected coercion etc. Their parents might not like what they have to say, so perhaps there’s some unacceptable risk there? MOO

 

[TootsieFootsie]

What if she received the mushrooms from someone who picked them, but made a terrible mistake and she is trying to protect them.

Not saying that this is what happened.

I think there are all sort of innocent reasons why she didn't eat the mushrooms. She may have not liked mushrooms but wanted to make something a bit special for her guests.

 

[Sunbeams]

Something that sticks out to me as odd is that in the interview she says “they never did anything wrong to me”. Why would you say this when referencing something that had nothing to do with you? Why even say this at all?

It seems strange that that’s what her mind comes up with when talking about the other two people. Almost as if others did do something wrong and she’s feeling guilt without realising about them being killed by association? Odd choice of words if this was just a mistake.

 

[MrsWattle]

Deadly mushrooms, mysteries and the curious cops

Any homicide investigator will tell you that while lightning can strike twice, you certainly want to go and have a look at the scorch marks.

www.theage.com.au