Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #10 *Arrest*

[Deleted member 363451]

Of course, she could have used her kids phone. Thanks for that! I forgot about the kids having phones. I just thought she wouldn’t have been left with anything to perform the factory reset.

Doing a factory reset on her phone when it was in police possession surely must be seen as suspicious?

 

[SouthAussie]

Doing a factory reset on her phone when it was in police possession surely must be seen as suspicious?

To me, it is one of the most suspicious things that was done. Can't even really be said to be panic-driven. A calculated and deliberate move that took a reasonable amount of effort - first to find out how to do it, then to actually do it. I can't even think of an innocent reason for doing that.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Maybe she wanted to dispose of any unused Death Caps in an area where Death Caps grow. Rather than flush them down the toilet or bury them somewhere. Perhaps showing a little humanity for people or creatures that may be harmed elsewhere.

It must have been to get rid of some type of evidence, surely.

Not a particularly strong guess, but I am at a loss to think why else. Maybe we are about to hear some other testimony that will say what was found in that area by police.

Why would she go back there though, when she could have disposed of them closer to home?

 

[ch_13]

I can’t work out how Erin was able to remotely erase her mobile phone that was in the possession of the Police…..if, I would assume, the Police would have seized ALL of her electronic devices?

I'm curious to hear what the prosecution will say about this. The phone should have been stored in a Faraday bag, which prevents any kind of electromagnetic signal from being sent or received. If the police just had the phone sitting on a shelf somewhere, so it could receive signals remotely, then that's just poor evidence handling.

 

[SouthAussie]

Why would she go back there though, when she could have disposed of them closer to home?

I don't know. I was taking a wild stab at maybe animals won't go near a Death Cap area (without any degree of researching that idea), but might try to dig up something that was buried elsewhere.

 

[Detechtive]

Nine seconds or less would let me either have a quick look at myself, and/or decide I need to hold on if the toilet isn't clean enough.
Another reason I've decided not to use a public toilet was that that there was no paper left.

Thanks for the personal info, but if you had diarrhoea I sincerely doubt that no paper would stop you using the bathroom.

 

[Detechtive]

I'm curious to hear what the prosecution will say about this. The phone should have been stored in a Faraday bag, which prevents any kind of electromagnetic signal from being sent or received. If the police just had the phone sitting on a shelf somewhere, so it could receive signals remotely, then that's just poor evidence handling.

To be fair, they are probably not used to people remotely wiping phones.

 

[Porky1]

Trying to keep an open mind and look at all possibilities...

But I am sure the defense will have an explanation so we'll see.

Too be honest @katydid23, Iam trying to keep an open mind and enjoying reviewing the evidence. To me, it’s very clear who made up their minds very quickly and yes, the prosecution case is strong but it’s not over. I am grateful that our justice system in Australia treats everyone as innocent until proven guilty.

 

[katydid23]

To me, it is one of the most suspicious things that was done. Can't even really be said to be panic-driven. A calculated and deliberate move that took a reasonable amount of effort - first to find out how to do it, then to actually do it. I can't even think of an innocent reason for doing that.

It's VERY bold. Homicide detectives get a search warrant for your cell phone, and while it is in their possession, you erase everything remotely?

I bet that didn't go over very well and may have made them even more certain they were on the right track. IMO

 

[Bats]

I think the CCTV footage from Caldermeade BP station must just be to show the jury that the accused seemed fine and normal.

You can't really glean much from the 9 second toilet stop can you? Maybe she didn't like the look of the toilet and went to a public toilet down the road somewhere?

 

[katydid23]

To be fair, they are probably not used to people remotely wiping phones.

I bet, in the future, they will download everything IMMEDIATELY...lol

 

[Marg944]

I'm curious to hear what the prosecution will say about this. The phone should have been stored in a Faraday bag, which prevents any kind of electromagnetic signal from being sent or received. If the police just had the phone sitting on a shelf somewhere, so it could receive signals remotely, then that's just poor evidence handling.

What a great point! Maybe the Police will learn from this? Most definitely all her electronics should have been stored in a faraday box, the iPads, the watch, etc.

 

[Porky1]

Five iPads seems like a lot? Although if EP had one and the children had one each then two of them were probably just old ones that had been upgraded.

Her having two phones is unusual, IMO. Understandable if one was a work phone, but we know she didn’t work.

I am not sure having two phones is a big deal. She might have used one for travel with a pre-paid sim/plan.

There are 5 iPads in my household and 6 phones. It’s not unusual to keep old devices if you have room to store.

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm curious to hear what the prosecution will say about this. The phone should have been stored in a Faraday bag, which prevents any kind of electromagnetic signal from being sent or received. If the police just had the phone sitting on a shelf somewhere, so it could receive signals remotely, then that's just poor evidence handling.

She did two of the resets while the phone was still in her possession.

On August 2nd
And then one on August 6th after the police took her phone - they took her phone on August 5th when they enacted a search warrant.

I imagine everything was wiped on August 2nd, but she made triple sure on August 6th.

I guess we will have to wait to hear why the phone was out of a Faraday bag. Perhaps being looked at, at the time. Perhaps not.


Prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, is detailing how Erin Patterson carried out three separate factory resets on her phone, including one remotely after it was seized by police on August 6, 2023.

Alleged mushroom cook didn’t ingest death caps, ‘no record’ she had cancer, jury told: Trial day one, as it happened

Erin Patterson is facing trial after pleading not guilty over a fatal mushroom lunch. Today, Nanette Rogers, SC, will present the prosecution’s case against Patterson.

www.smh.com.au

August 2
Erin allegedly conducts a factory reset on Phone B, which she had been using before February 12.
August 3
A Victoria Police investigation is launched into the July 29 lunch.
Erin allegedly moves her SIM card with the number 04XX X X X 835 into Phone B.
August 5
A search warrant is executed at Erin's Leongatha house, where police seize Phone B with SIM card number 04XX X X X 835.
August 6
Erin allegedly remotely conducts a factory reset of Phone B, which is still held by police.
Erin allegedly continues to use Phone A with number 04XX X X X 783. Police say they never recover this phone.

The timeline prosecutors alleged in the mushroom murder trial

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering three people and attempting to murder a fourth. Here's what we know about the case, based on material put to the jury.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Marg944]

“Effective alternatives to a Faraday pouch include a metal tin such as a biscuit barrel or a fridge.”

Keyless car theft concern with fake Faraday pouches being sold

Imitation Faraday pouches are flooding the market leaving drivers, who believe they are getting a bargain, still vulnerable to keyless car theft.

www.fleetnews.co.uk

 

[Warshawski]

I don't even think it's long enough to remove a sim. They are trickly little things, where you need to put something sharp into them to pop out the tray. Takes me forever!

Possibly the SIM was already removed & it was just a matter of its disposal. (Were the kids in the car ? I don’t recall them being asked about this stop )

it’s been said that Police couldn’t find the other ‘phone’, but that could be a reporting thing causing confusion.

The ‘phone’ is actually the handset, the usage data will all be in the obtainable network data as transmitted via the SIM (which determines the mobile #), even though they record the respective IMEI (handset identification) - unless looking for contents of text messages etc.

I think it’s a valid question to ask Why, IF she was using 2 different mobile numbers over the same time period.
Having 2 connections on her phone account potentially means nothing. She had a 14 year old child, that may have been his phone - one would expect that was all clarified.

IMO.

 

[Kemug]

Re taking her bag in with her, I always do that. My wallet, phone and diary live in there, and I'm keeping them with me.

 

[Warshawski]

Yep, but my query was that she wouldn’t have any device left to do the factory reset - the Police surely would have taken everything. But @Detechtive has just pointed out that she could have used her children’s phone.

Just thinking though Marg944, surely they will have taken ALL devices initially including any that potentially belonged to the kids.

 

[Marg944]

10 years ago:-

Criminals able to remotely wipe evidence stored on phones and tablets after police seize them​

“POLICE say accused criminals are regularly deleting potential evidence from seized electronic devices such as mobile phones by using remote access software.”

Crims wipe phone evidence remotely

POLICE say accused criminals are regularly deleting potential evidence from seized electronic devices such as mobile phones by using remote access software.

perthnow.com.au

 

[SouthAussie]

Yep, but my query was that she wouldn’t have any device left to do the factory reset - the Police surely would have taken everything. But @Detechtive has just pointed out that she could have used her children’s phone.

She reset Phone B (3 times) in early August 2023.

The technology dogs didn't find all of the other devices until November 2023.

And they never found Phone A.

Dogs deployed to sniff out technology as mushroom lunch cook quizzed

Investigators called in the country’s top technology sniffer dog to hunt for new evidence before Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder.

www.theage.com.au