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

[SMK777]

Do small towns in Australia really have CCTV at their rubbish dumps? Seems unlikely to me, but what would I know?

We do in the US, but maybe Australia is different.

 

[jjleroche]

Once the police announce a suspect publically its free game on WS
Why wouldn't we sleuth her suspiciously??

She has acted highly suspect.
The scrutiny is fair.

With respect, in what way has EP "acted highly suspect". I have an open mind at this point, as there are few facts available from official sources at this point.
I feel rather alarmed that several posters have concluded that her interactions with the media are suspicious.
IMO I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that someone is guilty of murder when it has not yet been concluded by investigators that a murder has been committed. It reminds me a lot of the Lindy Chamberlain case

The Shameful Tale of What Happened to Lindy Chamberlain - The Injustice Project

Probably the most infamous case in Australia, certainly the case that has received the most publicity, which revealed the fragility of the criminal justice

www.injustice.law

and

Dingo baby ruling ends 32 years of torment for Lindy Chamberlain

Azaria Chamberlain was killed by wild dingo at Uluru, coroner finally rules, after decades of legal and police obstruction

www.theguardian.com

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her weeks-old baby in 1980 while on a camping trip to Ayers Rock. She had always claimed that she had seen dingo running away with baby Azaria in its jaws.
During the trials, Lindy Chamberlain maintained a demeanour which was seen as extremely suspicious by the general public.
She spent three years in prison before being released, when other evidence was discovered. She was pardoned decades later.

The articles are worth a read for anyone interested in forensics. Some appalling errors occurred, and a forensics "expert" was discredited. It's over 40 years ago - forensics have come a long way since then.
The point I'm trying to make is that someone's demeanour doesn't prove anything. Who knows how any of us would appear when under extreme pressure, surrounded by TV cameras. IMO MOO

 

[Jess M.]

Do small towns in Australia really have CCTV at their rubbish dumps? Seems unlikely to me, but what would I know?

We do in the US, but maybe Australia is different.

Do small towns in Australia really have CCTV at their rubbish dumps? Seems unlikely to me, but what would I know?

This video taken at the tip in question shows a sign that they do in fact have CCTV. The police returned to the tip to ask for CCTV footage, so they obviously have it. Leongatha isn't exactly a one horse pony town...

 

[SMK777]

 

[Jess M.]

We do in the US, but maybe Australia is different.

No, Australia isn't any different.

 

[Jess M.]

Do small towns in Australia really have CCTV at their rubbish dumps? Seems unlikely to me, but what would I know?

Police request CCTV at tip in mushroom poisoning investigation

www.9news.com.au

 

[k-mac]

With respect, in what way has EP "acted highly suspect". I have an open mind at this point, as there are few facts available from official sources at this point.
I feel rather alarmed that several posters have concluded that her interactions with the media are suspicious.
IMO I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that someone is guilty of murder when it has not yet been concluded by investigators that a murder has been committed. It reminds me a lot of the Lindy Chamberlain case

The Shameful Tale of What Happened to Lindy Chamberlain - The Injustice Project

Probably the most infamous case in Australia, certainly the case that has received the most publicity, which revealed the fragility of the criminal justice

www.injustice.law

and

Dingo baby ruling ends 32 years of torment for Lindy Chamberlain

Azaria Chamberlain was killed by wild dingo at Uluru, coroner finally rules, after decades of legal and police obstruction

www.theguardian.com

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her weeks-old baby in 1980 while on a camping trip to Ayers Rock. She had always claimed that she had seen dingo running away with baby Azaria in its jaws.
During the trials, Lindy Chamberlain maintained a demeanour which was seen as extremely suspicious by the general public.
She spent three years in prison before being released, when other evidence was discovered. She was pardoned decades later.

The articles are worth a read for anyone interested in forensics. Some appalling errors occurred, and a forensics "expert" was discredited. It's over 40 years ago - forensics have come a long way since then.
The point I'm trying to make is that someone's demeanour doesn't prove anything. Who knows how any of us would appear when under extreme pressure, surrounded by TV cameras. IMO MOO

Top of the list.

Preparing a poisonous lunch that you didn't eat.

 

[Jess M.]

With respect, in what way has EP "acted highly suspect". I have an open mind at this point, as there are few facts available from official sources at this point.
I feel rather alarmed that several posters have concluded that her interactions with the media are suspicious.
IMO I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that someone is guilty of murder when it has not yet been concluded by investigators that a murder has been committed. It reminds me a lot of the Lindy Chamberlain case

The Shameful Tale of What Happened to Lindy Chamberlain - The Injustice Project

Probably the most infamous case in Australia, certainly the case that has received the most publicity, which revealed the fragility of the criminal justice

www.injustice.law

and

Dingo baby ruling ends 32 years of torment for Lindy Chamberlain

Azaria Chamberlain was killed by wild dingo at Uluru, coroner finally rules, after decades of legal and police obstruction

www.theguardian.com

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her weeks-old baby in 1980 while on a camping trip to Ayers Rock. She had always claimed that she had seen dingo running away with baby Azaria in its jaws.
During the trials, Lindy Chamberlain maintained a demeanour which was seen as extremely suspicious by the general public.
She spent three years in prison before being released, when other evidence was discovered. She was pardoned decades later.

The articles are worth a read for anyone interested in forensics. Some appalling errors occurred, and a forensics "expert" was discredited. It's over 40 years ago - forensics have come a long way since then.
The point I'm trying to make is that someone's demeanour doesn't prove anything. Who knows how any of us would appear when under extreme pressure, surrounded by TV cameras. IMO MOO

It's very tiresome when people use the Lindy Chamberlain conviction as a reason that no-one can ever speculate on a persons guilt again. Don't forget that Lindy Chamberlain was initially found guilty by a jury and that case is completely different to this case. The majority of people are not only suspecting EP of being the perpetrator of 3 people's deaths by her media appearance alone, but rather the suspicious circumstances of the deaths in question. Adding to that the fact that neither herself or her kids ate the meal and her telling police that she bought the mushrooms from the local store. If we aren't ever allowed to speculate on a murder case/suspicious death case again, then maybe this forum should be shut down? It is after all a forum for like minded people to discuss current//ongoing cases, is it not? It's not a court of law...

 

[jjleroche]

Top of the list.

Preparing a poisonous lunch that you didn't eat.

There is absolutely no proof of that at this point. <modsnip>

 

[SMK777]

Erm, OK, so first things first, I have never said hospital officials refuted anything have I? Why would hospital officials refute things? What even are 'hospital officials'? Why would anyone who works in a hospital with sick and dying people think it's their place to speak to the media about a possible murder investigation?

Secondly, usually a medical professional or scientist wouldn't comment or refute a story in the media anyway, it's not their job. It's LE who drip feed us the facts. We're waiting on forensic toxicology and pathology surely? Nothing to do with hospitals.

Thirdly, it seems quite clear that someone somewhere has alleged poisonous mushrooms and thus far they cannot be ruled out and are ruled in. ie. nobody knows but it's certainly possible. Even what was actually eaten at lunch transpires to be a piece of leaked info from a friend of a victim and is not verified fact. So, we don't really know if they did eat Beef Wellington with mushrooms. Probably did but it's not a known fact.

We can only wait until we're dealing with verified facts from reliable sources. I'm curious to know where this mushroom theory came from as it seems that someone is claiming to have inside info and has applied a convincing narrative.

Let's see?

Hospital officials often speak at press conferences alongside law enforcement. In this case, police detectives are investigating a medical crime.

Reporters have spoken with PR people at the hospital. This is why they know the Pastor is still in ICU but is recovering.

It’s par for the course.

A hospital spokesman would definitely tell media “we don’t specifically suspect mushroom poisoning, no.”

Law enforcement got the mushroom idea from medical officials whom they interviewed.

 

[k-mac]

There is absolutely no proof of that at this point. <modsnip>

That is what is being stated in the media.
Which is reputable WS sources.

Mushroom poisoning deaths: Family lunch mystery grips Australia

Said to have been poisoned by wild mushrooms, three in a tight-knit town are dead, with another critical.

www.bbc.com

Sole survivor’s family ‘deeply moved’ by support after deadly mushroom lunch

The family of Ian Wilkinson provided an update on his condition as a church service paid tribute to the three who died.

www.theage.com.au

Not sure what your issue is here .

 

[Friday Fan]

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)

I met a guy from the UK who said, "Our speech is macho".
Me: "Why do you call a car hood a bonnet?"

 

[nightrider17]

I wonder if EP made 2 large "pies" and cut 4 serves from one (laced with poisonous mushrooms) and her slice from the second unaffected store bought mushrooms "pie"

If she made the food from scratch - and she used store bought mushrooms - maybe the dehydrated was used on the poisonous ones to dry out and hide their different flavour/texture - if they are somewhat different to the regular button mushrooms found at shops. (just thinking they may have different taste which she might have not wanted to alert them too - so drying them disguises this???).

But she may not have intended a lethal outcome - just to make them very sick? - so then panicked and took the dehydrator to the tip??

(I am not 100 per cent convinced she didn't intend to have this outcome) especially if she has been involved in her ex hubby's food poisoning incident. MOO

 

[Jess M.]

With respect, in what way has EP "acted highly suspect". I have an open mind at this point, as there are few facts available from official sources at this point.
I feel rather alarmed that several posters have concluded that her interactions with the media are suspicious.
IMO I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that someone is guilty of murder when it has not yet been concluded by investigators that a murder has been committed. It reminds me a lot of the Lindy Chamberlain case

The Shameful Tale of What Happened to Lindy Chamberlain - The Injustice Project

Probably the most infamous case in Australia, certainly the case that has received the most publicity, which revealed the fragility of the criminal justice

www.injustice.law

and

Dingo baby ruling ends 32 years of torment for Lindy Chamberlain

Azaria Chamberlain was killed by wild dingo at Uluru, coroner finally rules, after decades of legal and police obstruction

www.theguardian.com

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her weeks-old baby in 1980 while on a camping trip to Ayers Rock. She had always claimed that she had seen dingo running away with baby Azaria in its jaws.
During the trials, Lindy Chamberlain maintained a demeanour which was seen as extremely suspicious by the general public.
She spent three years in prison before being released, when other evidence was discovered. She was pardoned decades later.

The articles are worth a read for anyone interested in forensics. Some appalling errors occurred, and a forensics "expert" was discredited. It's over 40 years ago - forensics have come a long way since then.
The point I'm trying to make is that someone's demeanour doesn't prove anything. Who knows how any of us would appear when under extreme pressure, surrounded by TV cameras. IMO MOO

Erm, let's see?
1. Not eating the same lunch that she herself cooked and as the victims did.
2. Her kids not eating the same lunch as the victims did.
3. Presenting at the local hospital for examination, even though she herself exhibited no symptoms of illness.
4. Possibly travelling miles to the local tip the following day to dispose of a food dehydrator, which could be evidence.
5. Telling police that she purchased the mushrooms at a local store & then refusing to comment further.

 

[jjleroche]

It's very tiresome when people use the Lindy Chamberlain conviction as a reason that no-one can ever speculate on a persons guilt again. Don't forget that Lindy Chamberlain was initially found guilty by a jury and that case is completely different to this case. The majority of people are not only suspecting EP of being the perpetrator of 3 people's deaths by her media appearance alone, but rather the suspicious circumstances of the deaths in question. Adding to that the fact that neither herself or her kids ate the meal and her telling police that she bought the mushrooms from the local store. If we aren't ever allowed to speculate on a murder case/suspicious death case again, then maybe this forum should be shut down? It is after all a forum for like minded people to discuss current//ongoing cases, is it not? It's not a court of law...

As I clearly state, the point I was trying to make was that someone's demeanour does not prove that they are a murderer.
How do you know that "the majority of people" are suspecting EP of being the perpetrator. Has an official survey been conducted?
I take the points you are making, but don't think it's useful to state "facts" which are actually not facts at this point.
As Websleuths moderators can (and hopefully will) explain, speculation needs to be stated as speculation - not fact IMO.

 

[Charlot123]

That's my thinking too, the children ( teenagers) must be vegetarian or vegan, otherwise how could she guarantee that they wouldn't want to try some of the Beef Wellington too?
She could hardly say to them, no don't eat it if they asked for a taste of it.

There is an easy explanation. I would be happy to eat components of beef Wellington separately, but in a combined product, unlikely. Same about any form of meat pie or pudding. Just not for me. Kids, being young, probably are way more sensitive to textures than us adults, so pate or even mushrooms might not be their favorite food. They don't need to be vegetarians to refuse beef Wellington. If anything, young kids often dislike tomatoes. The dish could have been chosen because the hostess was a good cook, because her guests were known to like beef Wellington, and the kids could be counted on refusing it. There always is the risk that a grandma could have offered a piece of "just" meat to the kid, but some kids are known to never try unknown food.
Just in case, there is an antidote to poisonous mushrooms, is there a possibility that Erin P. kept some in the house, just in case?

BTW, poisoning is not an uncommon way of attempted murder for a woman. Nonviolent and effective.

 

[nightrider17]

I think her children are older??

But maybe she knows her children absolutely hate mushrooms so there would be no chance they would want any of this dish. MOO

 

[Karo]

Do small towns in Australia really have CCTV at their rubbish dumps? Seems unlikely to me, but what would I know?

Yes they do

 

[Jess M.]

I wonder if EP made 2 large "pies" and cut 4 serves from one (laced with poisonous mushrooms) and her slice from the second unaffected store bought mushrooms "pie"

If she made the food from scratch - and she used store bought mushrooms - maybe the dehydrated was used on the poisonous ones to dry out and hide their different flavour/texture - if they are somewhat different to the regular button mushrooms found at shops. (just thinking they may have different taste which she might have not wanted to alert them too - so drying them disguises this???).

But she may not have intended a lethal outcome - just to make them very sick? - so then panicked and took the dehydrator to the tip??

(I am not 100 per cent convinced she didn't intend to have this outcome) especially if she has been involved in her ex hubby's food poisoning incident. MOO

It's possible that she did use store bought mushrooms and then added death caps in a powdered form or otherwise to the victims meals. Perhaps she did just intend to make them sick, rather than die? Personally, I find the coincidence of her husband mysteriously getting sick last year and almost dying of a mystery illness that affected him the way it did, just too suspicious.

 

[Jess M.]

I think her children are older??

But maybe she knows her children absolutely hate mushrooms so there would be no chance they would want any of this dish. MOO

Yes, I think this is very likely. A lot of kids won't eat mushrooms.