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

[JBowie]

.oh….mushrooms….show-stopping mushrooms…

Gone right off them now.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Why would it be a crime if she disposed of a hydrator? Hydrators can’t be sent to the dump?

(Not sure how you meant the question but...) It would be a crime if she disposed of the dehydrator because it contained evidence and she knew or she suspected it could contain evidence. IF, of course.

 

[JBowie]

Isn't it just a regional thing?
Would have been called a pie in my small corner of SE London.
Australians have weird names for everything anyway (not being a bully here or anything lol, js)

Beef Wellington is a traditional British dish that is said to have originated in the 1800s after the Duke of Wellington won a victory in Waterloo. The celebratory dish became a classic that rose to popularity as a fancy dish at dinner parties and holidays in the mid 1900's. Traditionally, the dish centers around beef surrounded by pâté, mushrooms and some form of ham that is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven.

Master This Classic Beef Wellington For The Most Impressive Holiday Centerpiece

Trust us, it's worth the effort.

www.delish.com

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Isn't it just a regional thing?
Would have been called a pie in my small corner of SE London.
Australians have weird names for everything anyway (not being a bully here or anything lol, js)

It’s not a pie to me in London. Wellington is totally different. It’s basically usually a single filet of beef (not a cheap cut in itself), lightly browned off, then encased mostly in mushroom or meat pate and covered in a single piece of shortcrust pastry tucked in at the ends. Some people wrap Parma ham or even pancake around it before putting the pastry on.

Notoriously tricky because aside from the prep time it’s hard to get the cook on the meat right and until you serve it you can‘t tell for sure if it is right. Also needs resting, to avoid getting blood if you like it rare.

IMO it’s a faffy thing to make and I think I only made it once. It’s the kind of thing you can buy to order online for special occasions and in the UK at Christmas you‘re looking at approx £50.

Mention all this because it’s not like rustling up a bowl of chilli and the host then just eats a few nachos and guacamole. I see it as a meal which takes time and some skill, for the table to enjoy - and coincidentally normally uses mushrooms…

 

[RickshawFan]

Isn't it just a regional thing?
Would have been called a pie in my small corner of SE London.
Australians have weird names for everything anyway (not being a bully here or anything lol, js)

lol the pun on bully beef.

 

[Tweet57]

Right.
From my perspective, If she disposed of it, it would indicate possible guilt.
And if she is guilty, then she obstructed justice by disposing of evidence.
If they caught her doing so on cctv, that may be why she’s been named a suspect, and the children removed.

I have read she drove 15km to the rubbish dump. To me that shows great desperation to get rid of it quickly. Most would store it until they had a full load.

 

[RickshawFan]

It’s not a pie to me in London. Wellington is totally different. It’s basically usually a single filet of beef (not a cheap cut in itself), lightly browned off, then encased mostly in mushroom or meat pate and covered in a single piece of shortcrust pastry tucked in at the ends. Some people wrap Parma ham or even pancake around it before putting the pastry on.

Notoriously tricky because aside from the prep time it’s hard to get the cook on the meat right and until you serve it you can‘t tell for sure if it is right. Also needs resting, to avoid getting blood if you like it rare.

IMO it’s a faffy thing to make and I think I only made it once. It’s the kind of thing you can buy to order online for special occasions and in the UK at Christmas you‘re looking at approx £50.

Mention all this because it’s not like rustling up a bowl of chilli and the host then just eats a few nachos and guacamole. I see it as a meal which takes time and some skill, for the table to enjoy - and coincidentally normally uses mushrooms…

Do they have individual ones you can buy in shops? I'm thinking the scale and look of a Cornish pastry. This would have been easy to stage in such a way that Erin didn't eat any or what she ate didn't have the toxic mushrooms.

IMO this recipe was developed in a time when households had armies of servants. Alas, I don't have a single one any more. Sigh.

 

[RickshawFan]

Ho ho ho..... the single-serve option:

A whole tenderloin may be wrapped and baked, and then sliced for serving, or the tenderloin may be sliced into individual portions prior to wrapping and baking.

Beef Wellington - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

The police have named Erin Patterson as a suspect. I think they know more than they are saying, but are waiting for the evidence until they arrest her.

Indeed they have but she's a very obvious suspect - the only living and unharmed adult who was in the home at the time.

I wonder if they're going to be able to back up that idea with any evidence and have sufficient grounds to charge her. I suspect not because my argument is that nobody can be sure where those people went before and after the meal and whether someone else poisoned them in a different manner than the very obvious one.

Even if she did this, I don't think they could get a conviction unless there's some proof / evidence over and above that 'they were poisoned'.

 

[SMK777]

I have read she drove 15km to the rubbish dump. To me that shows great desperation to get rid of it quickly. Most would store it until they had a full load.

Absolutely.
Do you know where that information was?
I missed that.
But it may be they saw her on cctv, and the probable cause which allowed them to seize her phone and computer.

 

[SMK777]

Indeed they have but she's a very obvious suspect - the only living and unharmed adult who was in the home at the time.

I wonder if they're going to be able to back up that idea with any evidence and have sufficient grounds to charge her. I suspect not because my argument is that nobody can be sure where those people went before and after the meal and whether someone else poisoned them in a different manner than the very obvious one.

Even if she did this, I don't think they could get a conviction unless there's some proof / evidence over and above that 'they were poisoned'.

I’m sure law enforcement interviews, investigation, GPS, and cctv can show whether these people ate anywhere else. They weren’t likely to eat much before a lunch invitation. The food in their homes can be tested, and the recovering pastor can be interviewed.

They may have found cctv footage at the dump site, and now have reason to believe she was quick to dispose of the dehydrator; and her confiscated phones and devices may reveal searches.

If guilty, a conviction may be easily obtained.

 

[ch_13]

I wonder if they're going to be able to back up that idea with any evidence and have sufficient grounds to charge her. I suspect not because my argument is that nobody can be sure where those people went before and after the meal and whether someone else poisoned them in a different manner than the very obvious one.

Two separate couples were poisoned: the Wilkinsons and the Pattersons. Presumably this was the only meal all four people shared recently, so it points directly to them becoming ill at the lunch that Erin Patterson served up.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I've been reading every article published so far and haven't seen it mentioned that they know she drove to the tip.
Is there a link somewhere that shows that ?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Two separate couples were poisoned: the Wilkinsons and the Pattersons. Presumably this was the only meal all four people shared recently, so it points directly to them becoming ill at the meal that Erin Patterson served up.

Unless they went somewhere after the meal.

As it was said to be a discussion about the marriage, it just came to me that possibly the four of them went somewhere together after the meal for the four of them to talk over their impressions on whether Erin was "good enough" or not.

They may have had a cup of tea or coffee after while they talked and perhaps a biscuit or two.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

If the victims had also eaten elsewhere together, I assume that information will come out soon. I think it's unlikely, since it hasn't, and since she was named a POI.

If it turns out she did dispose of her dehydrator, that's possibly a crime in itself.

This case has many puzzle pieces and I think in time they will all fit to the same puzzle. All JMO.

Why is disposing of a dehydrator a crime? I'm confused.

Also I'm not certain what a dehydrator is but am assuming it's a device that one uses to dry things out - foodstuffs ? Like mushrooms ? But why would one not just set them to the side and dry them out they don't take long do they?

If she did this, was she in a hurry? Also if she did this, if she was cooking food then why did the mushrooms have to be dried out? Would it be so they could be powdered and then be a huge dose as opposed to say just serving each person two or three mushrooms that may not have much effect?

What do these type of mushrooms taste like? Do they taste like 'normal' mushrooms? Assume not many people have eaten them LOL

 

[ch_13]

Unless they went somewhere after the meal.

As it was said to be a discussion about the marriage, it just came to me that possibly the four of them went somewhere together after the meal for the four of them to talk over their impressions on whether Erin was "good enough" or not.

And you think that they would have then eaten even more food, after a big lunch of Beef Wellington? Seems very unlikely IMO.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

It is highly suspicious .

Keep reflecting on putting yourself in the situation.
I have an illness that involves heavy diet restriction.
I am also the wife mother cook in my family.
Even with my unique situation can't remember ever preparing a dinner that didn't include myself.
In an entertaining scenario.

Said food is proven deadly.

If she is innocent she is luckier than a powerball winner.

Because realistically she handled it....she prepared it.... she cooked it.
Who doesn't taste test for flavour??

It doesn't look very good.

moo

It has yet to be confirmed that the people died of mushroom poisoning, never mind how they consumed the mushrooms.

I have doubts about this case and especially because if it's as simple and straight forwards as all this, then it's a strange and very obvious way to go about murdering people :/ I mean to say one could hardly hope to get away with it surely?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Also I'm not certain what a dehydrator is but am assuming it's a device that one uses to dry things out - foodstuffs ? Like mushrooms ? But why would one not just set them to the side and dry them out they don't take long do they?

Using a food dehydrator to dry food is different to just leaving fruit or veg to dry out.

It's an electrical machine that drys things like the dried apricots you buy in supermarkets.
and other things like plums and banana slices. There are lots of dried foods in shops.

Letting something dry out naturally usually means it just ends up rotting.

I've tried drying slices of fruit naturally and all they did was go mouldy.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I have doubts about this case and especially because if it's as simple and straight forwards as all this, then it's a strange and very obvious way to go about murdering people :/ I mean to say one could hardly hope to get away with it surely?

I have my doubts too.

And anyone would know they would be suspect.

To me she does seem completely baffled at what's happened.

 

[Inthedetails]

Why is disposing of a dehydrator a crime? I'm confused.

Also I'm not certain what a dehydrator is but am assuming it's a device that one uses to dry things out - foodstuffs ? Like mushrooms ? But why would one not just set them to the side and dry them out they don't take long do they?

If she did this, was she in a hurry? Also if she did this, if she was cooking food then why did the mushrooms have to be dried out? Would it be so they could be powdered and then be a huge dose as opposed to say just serving each person two or three mushrooms that may not have much effect?

What do these type of mushrooms taste like? Do they taste like 'normal' mushrooms? Assume not many people have eaten them LOL

If she deliberately poisoned them, I would think she would want to get rid of anything in the kitchen that might be tainted, not just because it's evidence but because she wouldn't want to accidentally poison herself or children with contaminated items in the kitchen.

jmo