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

[TootsieFootsie]

I don't think it's so surprising that someone who cooks a meal might not eat part of it.

For years I've had to avoid some veges I love, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, then mushrooms.
Just because they affected me, I didn't want my family to not be able to eat them,

I would still taste the sauce bit, but avoid those veges.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I don't think lack of tears is a good indication of someone's guilt or innocence.

Many people react differently to horrific situations.

With me when horrific things happened, I turned into a statue, frozen. At the worst times, I could not cry

Add on the public treating you like you're the worst person in the world. They've already convicted you.

 

[LordMo]

regardless of intent, I once spoke to a mushroom salvager hobbyist who said there's now testing strips for if mushrooms are poisonous. I don't know how accurate or expensive they are, but I hear they're significantly more reliable for poison identification than apps or even locally-sourced books.

I also don't know about the fact the hostess wasn't poisoned, but I agree with @TootsieFootsie - absolute and mortified shock could explain a helluva lot. Especially if you thought you were providing a nice gravy and suddenly had the world's spotlights on you.

Taking an "innocent until proven guilty" stance on this one, MOO*.

* - hope I'm using this correctly to state it's my opinion, y'all use a different jargon than I'm used to on the internet!

 

[Aycheff]

There are a lot of edible mushrooms that don't have poisonous look alikes. I'll never understand why anyone insists on using the ones that do. There's no way that the risk is ever worth it.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

There are a lot of edible mushrooms that don't have poisonous look alikes. I'll never understand why anyone insists on using the ones that do. There's no way that the risk is ever worth it.

Maybe it's this craze for something more exotic and out of the ordinary.

I think I'm pretty good at knowing what is to me a normal ok mushroom.

From not only the look, but also the smell,
if it looks ok but doesn't smell like I think it should, then I' wouldn't take the risk.

I haven't picked any for years. One reason I wouldn't pick any is possible contamination from dogs or cats.
I would never pick any close to where people walk their dogs. Even if i washed the mushrooms.

But I wouldn't have a clue at some I've seen in photos of mushroom meals at some new and trendy foraged food restaurants. Some of those mushrooms look downright scary to me

But I'm not a mushroom expert.

 

[Kemug]

Back home on the farm when I was a little girl, my mother and I often went mushrooming. We never had any confusion about what was what - basically as a rule of thumb, if it smelt like a mushroom it was a mushroom. If not, leave it alone. Although one time we found some huge rounded ones that we weren't sure about. But Grandpa said they were OK, and he took them home and ate them. Didn't do him any harm (or if they did, he never admitted it!)

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Mushroom cook's ex 'almost died' from mystery gut illness​

20 minutes ago — The ex-husband of the woman who hosted a deadly mushroom lunch nearly died last year after he collapsed with a mystery gut illness.

Behind paywall. Posting the bit that's visible on google.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I nearly posted a disgraceful Daily Mail article where they didn't use the alleged word when they said she served a dish which included poisonous mushrooms.

Isn't that yet to be proved. ?

Anyway she has now been hounded out of her home.

Good work press I hope you're proud of yourselves

Ok here's the link. Re WS rules.

Daughter-in-law refuses to say what she cooked for doomed guests

The woman who hosted a poisonous lunch where four people fell ill - three of whom have since died - has been forced to flee her home.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[TootsieFootsie]

'It's unexplained': Mystery surrounds poisonous mushroom deaths

www.9news.com.au

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas told media today the investigation was "complex" but confirmed a family member was a suspect.
"I would like to say that because the Homicide Squad is investigating this matter, it doesn't automatically mean that the deaths are suspicious," Thomas said.

 

[Neet_Mc]

Article in the age didn’t appear to be behind a paywall.
Confirms ex-husband was in icu 3 weeks last year with illness with similar symptoms. Also source says police investigating a food dehydrator disposed of at local tip.

Police test food dehydrator found at tip after deadly mushroom meal

Tests are being done to see if the appliance is linked to the deaths of three people who ate poisonous mushrooms.

www.theage.com.au

 

[LolaAngelina]

Confirms ex-husband was in icu 3 weeks last year with illness with similar symptoms. Also source says police investigating a food dehydrator disposed of at local tip.

Police test food dehydrator found at tip after deadly mushroom meal

Tests are being done to see if the appliance is linked to the deaths of three people who ate poisonous mushrooms.

www.theage.com.au

Oh this is not looking good. Looks like she couldn’t get rid of the ex so went for his parents

 

[juliajjj]

Excuse my ignorance, why is finding a food dehydrator suspicious? Is it because by dehydrating the food you can disguise, to the eater at leas, what's in the meal?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

It could still turn out to be a terrible mistake, ie mistaking the mushrooms for ok ones.

I can imagine getting into a panic if it was you who prepared and cooked the meal and someone died.

Would it be normal to try and cover up what happened even if you mistook the mushrooms for safe ones.

If someone died and I prepared the meal, I'd probably think that these days I'd go to jail even if it was just a terrible mistake.


And the ex, we don't know the cause of what happened to him.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Would it be normal to try and cover up what happened even if you mistook the mushrooms for safe ones.

If it was me there would be no way I wouldn't just tell the truth. I couldn't live with myself otherwise.

But everyone is different.

 

[helpfulcharlie]

I'm pretty sure this was a Midsomer Murders plot once. But I guess most everything here was a variant of a Midsomer Murders plot once.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'm pretty sure this was a Midsomer Murders plot once. But I guess most everything here was a variant of a Midsomer Murders plot once.

I think that's the programme that comes to my mind.

I don't remember the details but I think the one who did the cooking wasn't the murderer and I remember a hand, replacing the good mushrooms for the poisonous ones.
It might be a not very accurate memory. It's a long time since I saw the episode.



I'm not saying that's what I think happened re this case.
These are my maybe faulty memories of the episode.

 

[Waverider]

Excuse my ignorance, why is finding a food dehydrator suspicious? Is it because by dehydrating the food you can disguise, to the eater at leas, what's in the meal?

I’m assuming that police are investigating whether traces of the same poison are present in the food dehydrator. If so, then disposing of evidence would suggest culpability IMO

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Parishioners gather to pray after mushroom poisoning deaths

www.9news.com.au

 

[boomburger]

Even if detectives deem this a tragic accident, she will still be charged and will likely see a small amount of jail time for her negligence. I cant shake the feeling this was done on purpose though. Hopefully the truth comes out.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I have a problem with the idea that it's an honest mistake if you serve wild mushrooms you've picked to guests and they turn out to be poisonous. I don't believe that is a reasonable risk to place on others.
Take the risk on yourself; serve store-bought mushrooms to guests.

I'm glad they're thoroughly investigating this. Something isn't right; it doesn't feel like a true "mistake" anyone could just make. JMO.