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

[Doesitmakesense]

What I find most curious is only the 4 people fell ill. If accidentally using deadly mushrooms and a non deadly mushrooms, why wasn't their any cross contamination? I don't think most people would thoroughly clean a chopping board and knife when changing to a different variety of mushrooms to chop IMO. Then also how poisonous are they? How would you clean everything to ensure theirs no residual poison? Because I would be very worried if I knew that I was cooking with deadly mushrooms and making sure my kids didn't get sick. Would one run of a dishwasher eliminate any contamination? Could you use the same dishcloth again? SO

 

[Friday Fan]

I'm curious...beef wellington isn't easy to prepare. Did EP always cook like this? If she did then, I might be less suspicious. Now if she was into canned, microwaved and frozen food, then out of the blue, she makes beef wellington, then that's very suspicious. (OK, this is sort of a joke from a person who hates to cook. There are have been cases where women hate to cook, then all of a sudden make this wonderful almond cake, with guess what?) Or they all of a sudden start making sweet tea for their tired husband after work (anti-freeze)

 

[SMK777]

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

B&SBM
Absolutely.

 

[SMK777]

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.

BOLDED:
So do law enforcement, most likely.

 

[Jess M.]

What I find most curious is only the 4 people fell ill. If accidentally using deadly mushrooms and a non deadly mushrooms, why wasn't their any cross contamination? I don't think most people would thoroughly clean a chopping board and knife when changing to a different variety of mushrooms to chop IMO. Then also how poisonous are they? How would you clean everything to ensure theirs no residual poison? Because I would be very worried if I knew that I was cooking with deadly mushrooms and making sure my kids didn't get sick. Would one run of a dishwasher eliminate any contamination? Could you use the same dishcloth again? SO

First of all, you are only assuming that she used both deadly and non-deadly mushrooms and if she in fact did, it sounds as though the 4 victims were the only ones who ate the meal, so cross contamination shouldn't be a concern. Her kids might have had a pizza or something for their lunch.

 

[Jess M.]

I'm curious...beef wellington isn't easy to prepare. Did EP always cook like this? If she did then, I might be less suspicious. Now if she was into canned, microwaved and frozen food, then out of the blue, she makes beef wellington, then that's very suspicious. (OK, this is sort of a joke from a person who hates to cook. There are have been cases where women hate to cook, then all of a sudden make this wonderful almond cake, with guess what?) Or they all of a sudden start making sweet tea for their tired husband after work (anti-freeze)

She is said to be a good cook. Maybe that should now read 'was a good cook.'

 

[Inthedetails]

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

Snipped.

It might be nonviolent for the perp, but poisoning is a painful death for the victims.

jmo

 

[JBowie]

I'm curious...beef wellington isn't easy to prepare. Did EP always cook like this?

I've paraphrased earlier an article in The Australian newspaper where it is reported that EP likes to cook.

 

[k-mac]

What I find most curious is only the 4 people fell ill. If accidentally using deadly mushrooms and a non deadly mushrooms, why wasn't their any cross contamination? I don't think most people would thoroughly clean a chopping board and knife when changing to a different variety of mushrooms to chop IMO. Then also how poisonous are they? How would you clean everything to ensure theirs no residual poison? Because I would be very worried if I knew that I was cooking with deadly mushrooms and making sure my kids didn't get sick. Would one run of a dishwasher eliminate any contamination? Could you use the same dishcloth again? SO

Right.
Which is exactly why I think it had to be deliberate.
Anyone who cooks knows how easy cross contamination happens.

For there to be none is a tell.

Hope forensics went through her kitchen with a fine-tooth comb for everyone involved sake.

We can guess she had to do a walk through of her version of exactly what she did with detectives.

 

[Inthedetails]

I'm curious...beef wellington isn't easy to prepare. Did EP always cook like this? If she did then, I might be less suspicious. Now if she was into canned, microwaved and frozen food, then out of the blue, she makes beef wellington, then that's very suspicious. (OK, this is sort of a joke from a person who hates to cook. There are have been cases where women hate to cook, then all of a sudden make this wonderful almond cake, with guess what?) Or they all of a sudden start making sweet tea for their tired husband after work (anti-freeze)

Understandable that kids might not like beef Wellington, but then why go to the bother of making that complicated meal plus another meal for her family. That's a lot of effort. I love cooking but I'm not making two meals, even when company comes. Given what I've read about these four guests, they would be perfectly happy with a simpler dish and perhaps would've enjoyed the same food the kids like.

It's all odd. imo.

jmo

 

[DeDee]

I wonder if there will be an arrest this week?

An arrest depends on what's contained within the forensics report. How long will that process take in AU?

"Police are forensically testing the dehydrator, which was first seized from the Koonwarra transfer station.
9News understands the dehydrator was seized by police from a bin on Friday."

Police request CCTV at tip in mushroom poisoning investigation

 

[k-mac]

Understandable that kids might not like beef Wellington, but then why go to the bother of making that complicated meal plus another meal for her family. That's a lot of effort. I love cooking but I'm not making two meals, even when company comes. Given what I've read about these four guests, they would be perfectly happy with a simpler dish and perhaps would've enjoyed the same food the kids like.

It's all odd. imo.

jmo

Highly likely when chopping vegetables to cross contaminate the board.
I only wash it after meat chopping.
Most people will roll through the vegies without cleaning it.
So even if she was making something else innocently...the odds are those mushrooms should have contaminated the other choices for lunch too.
Although it is possible the mushrooms went last but the odds are all I am pointing out.

She doesn't deserve benefit of doubt IMO at the moment with the information at hand.
It really looks bad for her.

 

[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...

To be clear, I have not "use(d) the Lindy Chamberlain conviction as a reason that no-one can ever speculate on a person's guilt again".
I was simply using an example wherein the court of public opinion in regard to someone's demeanour got it wrong.
If you read the artcle you will see how massive the public's reactions were.
I also made the point that, for those interested in forensics, there were some major errors in this case

 

[jjleroche]

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 .

You stated "Preparing a poisonous lunch" - your links do not state that at all IMO.

 

[Charlot123]

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

Depends on how much older.

At the age of twelve, my kids and all their friends preferred McDonald's to any decent food for sure. They started branching off to interesting foods by eighteen. However: since a year ago, a risotto entered the scene, I'd venture to guess that EP's kids either have (or believe they have) gluten intolerance, or hate mushrooms.

 

[Doesitmakesense]

Right.
Which is exactly why I think it had to be deliberate.
Anyone who cooks knows how easy cross contamination happens.

For there to be none is a tell.

Hope forensics went through her kitchen with a fine-tooth comb for everyone involved sake.

We can guess she had to do a walk through of her version of exactly what she did with detectives.

Exactly!!!

 

[k-mac]

You stated "Preparing a poisonous lunch" - your links do not state that at all IMO.

Three dead and another fighting for life: What we know so far about suspected mushroom poisonings in Victoria

Police continue to investigate three suspected mushroom poisoning deaths after a family lunch last month in Leongatha in Victoria's east. Detectives have not laid any charges, but say the woman who served the meal remains a suspect. Here's what we know so far.

www.abc.net.au

Detectives have not laid any charges, but say the woman who cooked the meal, 48-year-old Erin Patterson, remains a suspect.

The Victorian Department of Health has confirmed mushrooms were involved, but neither police nor Ms Patterson have specified what was in the meal.

 

[Jess M.]

To be clear, I have not "use(d) the Lindy Chamberlain conviction as a reason that no-one can ever speculate on a person's guilt again".
I was simply using an example wherein the court of public opinion in regard to someone's demeanour got it wrong.
If you read the artcle you will see how massive the public's reactions were.
I also made the point that, for those interested in forensics, there were some major errors in this case

You may not have, but many people do bring up the Lindy Chamberlain case as a defence when others are speculating about an entirely different case. I was one of those people who judged Lindy Chamberlain on her demeanour, so I am guilty of that, yes. So are hundreds of other Australians. In regards to the forensics re that case, yes mistakes were definitely made. No excuses, but it was 1980 and Darwin was rather backwards. This is now 2023 and the police are obviously doing a very thorough investigation, which is why it's taking so long.

 

[Eloise]

To be clear, I have not "use(d) the Lindy Chamberlain conviction as a reason that no-one can ever speculate on a person's guilt again".
I was simply using an example wherein the court of public opinion in regard to someone's demeanour got it wrong.
If you read the artcle you will see how massive the public's reactions were.
I also made the point that, for those interested in forensics, there were some major errors in this case

the Azaria Chamberlain case happened 40 years ago. I personally think we've moved on quite a bit since then and are generally more aware that its' not as simple as "no crying = guilty". I think its more that people are picking up on that it looks like she's (Erin) trying to make it look like she's crying tears when she's not.

Snipped.

It might be nonviolent for the perp, but poisoning is a painful death for the victims.

jmo

Yeah I think instead of "non-violent" perhaps a better term is 'passive'. You don't ever physically have to lay a hand on the person you want to harm/kill

 

[nightrider17]

Maybe she made her food and children's food first.

Then proceeded to make the dish for the guests using the poisonous mushrooms - no cross contamination likely. MOO