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

[katydid23]

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?

The problem is, there were already descriptions of how very sick and weak the 4 victims were. It was said they were 'camped out on the floor near the toilet' on that first night---vomiting 30x and non stop diarrhoea...they could do nothing but lie there and have non-stop issues.

So a video showing her calmly walking around, looking at sandwiches, and stepping into the bathroom for 9 seconds----it looks nothing like what transpired with the poisoned victims. IMO

 

[Warshawski]

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.

And no tissues in the bag slung over one’s shoulder which poses a huge problem when faced with diarrhoea IMO

 

[Cartie]

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

I remember during Lori Daybells trial, the phone expert said, the 1st thing we do is put it in airplane mode for this reason.

Notes from Lori's trial:
2:15 p.m. McDonald turned on the phone and it was in airplane mode. We see the little airplane in the upper right-hand corner of the iPhone. He says this is important, so it can’t be altered by someone off-site.

 

[Warshawski]

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.

Absolutely I agree re the old devices. I’ve a heap in the cupboard that I continually forget to take to the recycling bin.

However it appeared to me that EP must’ve had 2 active connections as there were hints at their numbers. IMO it would be unexplained additional connections that could raise suspicions.

Mr Sorrell testified that he obtained 4 years of mobile Data, and he subsequently gave evidence to explain information gleaned from that data over specific periods, but I don’t recall him divulging whether that data or information came from one number only ( and if so, which one ) or from both numbers.

 

[Bats]

The problem is, there were already descriptions of how very sick and weak the 4 victims were. It was said they were 'camped out on the floor near the toilet' on that first night---vomiting 30x and non stop diarrhoea...they could do nothing but lie there and have non-stop issues.

So a video showing her calmly walking around, looking at sandwiches, and stepping into the bathroom for 9 seconds----it looks nothing like what transpired with the poisoned victims. IMO

Yes, i agree @katydid23 . Perhaps that is the main reason the prosecution were showing it - to show the stark differences.

Could Erin being seen to act quite normal and calm, as you say, play into the defence's hand? We'll never know.

JMO

 

[Scooby-Doo]

If the accused throws her phone out somewhere in the toilet at the BP service station in those 9
seconds, wouldn't the service employee there find it? I can't see it going down the toilet. The police would contact him/her after viewing the CCTV?

 

[mamamama9873]

If the accused throws her phone out somewhere in the toilet at the BP service station in those 9
seconds, wouldn't the service employee there find it? I can't see it going down the toilet. The police would contact him/her after viewing the CCTV?

The CCTV was likely investigated by police at a much later date. By then the bin would have been long emptied. Petrol station bins likely get emptied daily or close to it.
At the time EP visited the petrol station, no officials were suspecting her.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

And no tissues in the bag slung over one’s shoulder which poses a huge problem when faced with diarrhoea IMO

And still wearing her 'famous' white pants, not a good look when she has the squirts

 

[Two SCents]

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

At a glance.....
It looks like she upgraded her phone in February.
New phone is phone A and old phone is phone B.
She gave phone B to one of the kids then took it back on August 2nd did a factory reset and then put her sim card in that phone on August 3rd.
Whatever was on the phone from August 3rd to August 5th - she didn't want known.
Nor did she want phone A scrutinised at all.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

The CCTV was likely investigated by police at a much later date. By then the bin would have been long emptied. Petrol station bins likely get emptied daily or close to it.
At the time EP visited the petrol station, no officials were suspecting her.

If it were thrown into a sanitary bin, the specialized hygiene company would replace the liner and therefore would find it, and they would clean and sanitize the bin.

I can't see her getting rid of anything in there. I think she would be so nervous after what has happened, now the police are investigating, to take a risk if something gets found and connects to her

 

[mamamama9873]

If it were thrown into a sanitary bin, the specialized hygiene company would replace the liner and therefore would find it, and they would clean and sanitize the bin.

I can't see her getting rid of anything in there. I think she would be so nervous after what has happened, now the police are investigating, to take a risk if something gets found and connects to her

The petrol station visit was one day after the lunch. We are not even sure whether she knew the guests were unwell at this time. Police certainly weren’t investigating yet and she likely didnt expect them to at this point in time.

Whether she got rid of something in the 9 seconds in the bathroom is speculation anyway.
What the service station visit and the non use of the actual toilet clearly shows is that she was normal and fine and no signs of diarrhoea whatsoever and even had a healthy appetite. Keeping in mind that all 4 guests who had supposedly eaten the same meal, were so unwell that they had all been admitted to hospital.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

The petrol station visit was one day after the lunch. We are not even sure whether she knew the guests were unwell at this time. Police certainly weren’t investigating yet and she likely didnt expect them to at this point in time.

Whether she got rid of something in the 9 seconds in the bathroom is speculation anyway.
What the service station visit and the non use of the actual toilet clearly shows is that she was normal and fine and no signs of diarrhoea whatsoever and even had a healthy appetite. Keeping in mind that all 4 guests who had supposedly eaten the same meal, were so unwell that they had all been admitted to hospital.

That's right. The police had the stop watch on her for her toilet break, and then watched her browsing for items, with no signs of sickness

Court shown CCTV vision of Erin Patterson the day after the meal​

On Tuesday, security footage was also shown to the court of Erin Patterson at a service station on July 30, 2023, a day after the deadly lunch.

Ms Patterson is seen calmly entering a BP service station at Caldermeade, entering and exiting the toilets in about 10 seconds, and browsing for items.

The trial has been told Ms Patterson complained to her children about having diarrhoea hours after the lunch and also on the following day.

Erin Patterson's case is being heard in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. (AAP: James Ross)

That same day, the four lunch guests were admitted to hospital after suffering vomiting and diarrhoea.

Their conditions declined and doctors later concluded they had suffered death cap mushroom poisoning. Don and Gail Patterson, along with Heather Wilkinson died in the week after the lunch. Ian Wilkinson was the sole guest who survived.

Ms Patterson was checked into hospital a day after the others, on July 31, 2023. She was discharged two days later.

She has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder, arguing she did not intend to poison anyone.

The trial continues.

 

[CityKid]

CCTV still shown to court​

By Judd Boaz​

The court is now shown still images from some other CCTV footage, which shows Erin Patterson’s red MG vehicle pulling up to the service station and getting out.

In the footage, she is wearing a grey jumper and white pants while carrying a small bag with a crossbody strap.

Ms Warren suggests that Erin Patterson's toilet visit lasted around nine seconds.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard that Ms Patterson had told hospital staff she had suffered vomiting and diarrhoea in the days after the lunch.

IMO white pants are a bold choice when one is having GI issues.

 

[Melt71]

Good point, and I don't know about other women, but I NEVER take my whole bag into a shop or service station. I take my purse only. Or my phone, to pay.
She had her cross body bag on when entering the bathroom and shop.

Geez in the part of Victoria my family lives in, leaving your bag in your car at a servo just invites a smash and grab. I always take mine in. My 2 phones, my diary, my car keys are all in there. Plus I can hide from the kids the Salt and Vinegar chips I inevitably buy while browsing...

 

[CityKid]

Yeah, my memories of trials as a kid was five minutes on the evening news or a column in the next day's paper. And only for big trials for important witnesses. Short of being there, these liveblogs are the most detailed recounting we'll get.

I wouldn't trade what we have for an American style system where it's televised and broadcast, but I do appreciate being able to follow local cases more closely than in the past.

MOO

I want to clarify that most trials in the U.S. are not televised. Federal court cases are not televised, and not all states allow video cameras for broadcasting state cases.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/panel-votes-maintain-ban-cameras-us-federal-criminal-trials-2024-11-06/

 

[CityKid]

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

MOO but anytime I've had any GI issues, I keep a packet of tissues on me, just in case.

 

[ch_13]

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

Using a Faraday bag or some other method of blocking signals should be standard procedure. It's not just because of remote wiping. Improper handling can also affect the forensic examination, making it difficult to determine when or where a phone was last used.

I remember this came up in the Murdaugh case in the U.S., because a victim's phone was thrown out the window of a moving car. The police didn't use a Faraday bag when they discovered it, which muddled the digital timeline.

I found a paper from the Australian digital forensics conference in 2016 discussing the effectiveness of various types of Faraday bags. This was from 7 years before the poisonings, so it's not like the authorities weren't aware of the issue.

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=adf

(Of course, it's entirely possible that they did use some device that blocked the signal but it failed. The paper indicates that not all devices provide complete protection. Or perhaps the phone was wiped at the exact moment it was taken out to be examined forensically and it was just bad luck. I guess we'll have to see.)

 

[Megnut]

When Erin was claiming symptoms, did she alert or confer with her guests, worried about having maybe made anyone sick, Sydenham or otherwise?

You know what isn't an antidote to nausea and diarrhea? Gas station food.

But then, her liver was fine.

JMO

 

[BreakingNews]

9 seconds and white pants. WTH? No mention of Erin stopping for gas or just stopping to go to the restroom.

Guess you could throw up in 9 seconds. But that doesn't give time to repeat the performance.

 

[Megnut]

She knew she foraged for mushrooms. Even if we say she only accidentally picked Death Cap mushrooms, and she felt even the tiniest real bit sick, with her knowledge of mushrooms, good think she'd tear away to an ER in case she accidentally poisoned herself -- and while tearing away to an ER using BOTH of her cell phones to warn her guests.

Instead she was buying a sammich at the 5 star gastaurant. In her cream pants.

How could she be so sure her liver wasn't shutting down?

JMO