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

[Detechtive]

One of Erin's phones was never recovered by police: Witness​

Constable Eppingstall is now being asked about Phone A and Phone B.
In its opening address to the jury, the prosecution said Phone A has never been recovered by police, while Phone B was seized from Erin on August 5, 2023, a week after the lunch.
But Constable Eppingstall confirmed that he identified an issue with Phone B and its SIM card ending in 835.

“We did phone checks,” he told the court.
“We came to realise it had only been connected on July 11.
“And it had been used in a tablet device up until August 3.”
The court heard records show the SIM card was taken out of the tablet and placed into Phone B on August 3.

Constable Eppingstall said the records also show the SIM card was mostly used for data.
He confirmed that several factory resets were conducted on Phone B, including on August 5 and August 6, according to a report produced by a digital forensics officer.
Shifting to Phone A, Constable Eppingstall said it was registered in Erin’s name and had been using a SIM card ending in 783.

He said records dating back to 2019 show Erin used this SIM card to consistently “communicate” with people in her life, including her children and Simon.
The court heard this SIM card was placed into Phone A on February 12, 2023.
But Constable Eppingstall said the records show this SIM card was taken out of Phone A on August 5 about 1.45pm, while police were executing a search warrant at Erin’s house.
“We see the actual SIM card change from Phone A into a different phone,” he said.
“It’s a Nokia mobile phone.”

The court heard there was then “ongoing usage” of this SIM card in the Nokia up until the records obtained by police ended on August 14.
He confirmed police executed another search warrant at Erin’s house on November 2.
“We were looking for Phone A,” he told the court.

He was asked by Ms Warren whether Phone A was ever recovered by police.
“It’s never been located by police,” he replied.
He will return to the witness box on 2.15pm.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-homicide-squad-detective-takes-the-stand/live-coverage/c9d01ec22488a41785151bbc694b1fea#/entry/31887497

 

[MrJ]

I’m going to make lunch so someone else please cover the ABC live blog. Cheers

 

[Scooby-Doo]

One of Erin's phones was never recovered by police: Witness​

Constable Eppingstall is now being asked about Phone A and Phone B.
In its opening address to the jury, the prosecution said Phone A has never been recovered by police, while Phone B was seized from Erin on August 5, 2023, a week after the lunch.
But Constable Eppingstall confirmed that he identified an issue with Phone B and its SIM card ending in 835.

“We did phone checks,” he told the court.
“We came to realise it had only been connected on July 11.
“And it had been used in a tablet device up until August 3.”
The court heard records show the SIM card was taken out of the tablet and placed into Phone B on August 3.

Constable Eppingstall said the records also show the SIM card was mostly used for data.
He confirmed that several factory resets were conducted on Phone B, including on August 5 and August 6, according to a report produced by a digital forensics officer.
Shifting to Phone A, Constable Eppingstall said it was registered in Erin’s name and had been using a SIM card ending in 783.

He said records dating back to 2019 show Erin used this SIM card to consistently “communicate” with people in her life, including her children and Simon.
The court heard this SIM card was placed into Phone A on February 12, 2023.
But Constable Eppingstall said the records show this SIM card was taken out of Phone A on August 5 about 1.45pm, while police were executing a search warrant at Erin’s house.
“We see the actual SIM card change from Phone A into a different phone,” he said.
“It’s a Nokia mobile phone.”

The court heard there was then “ongoing usage” of this SIM card in the Nokia up until the records obtained by police ended on August 14.
He confirmed police executed another search warrant at Erin’s house on November 2.
“We were looking for Phone A,” he told the court.

He was asked by Ms Warren whether Phone A was ever recovered by police.
“It’s never been located by police,” he replied.
He will return to the witness box on 2.15pm.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-homicide-squad-detective-takes-the-stand/live-coverage/c9d01ec22488a41785151bbc694b1fea#/entry/31887497

Have they asked Erin where is this other phone? All sounds sloppy to me

 

[MsMarple]

Erin Patterson trial jury shown screenshots of death cap search — as it happened

A police detective is giving evidence in murder trial of Erin Patterson, who is accused of deliberately poisoning four relatives with a meal containing death cap mushrooms, killing three.

www.abc.net.au

4m ago

Prosecution goes through call logs​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The prosecution is moving through a very, very long list of phone logs. It's jumping between different times and dates, with LSC Eppingstall describing how long the various calls lasted.

The prosecution doesn't go into great detail about each call.

 

[MsMarple]

2m ago

Details of web pages visited​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Then the court is taken to a digital analysis report of the Cooler Master computer, which was seized at Erin Patterson's home.

These specific reports are described by the prosecution as an artefact of Chrome website visits made on the computer.

It briefly flashes on the screen and includes visits made to several pages on the iNaturalist website on May 28, 2022.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

Alleged site search shows 'deathcap' map​

By Joseph Dunstan​

A new image is shown to the jury.

It is a screenshot of the iNaturalist website, and shows a map of the world, with many red markers across several areas, including a dense swathe of red over Europe.

In the search bar at the top, the word "Deathcap" can be seen.

The image shown to the court was taken in December 2024.

The judge tells the jury to note that aspects of the site may have changed between that date and Erin Patterson's alleged visit to the sites on May 28, 2022 — exactly three years ago.

LSC Eppingstall tells the court the red dots represent reported sightings of death cap mushrooms that had been uploaded.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

Alleged search for deathcap mushrooms in Melbourne region​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Now we're looking at a screenshot where that map is focused on the wider Melbourne region, still searching "deathcap".

A list of recent deathcap sightings is generated in a column to the side.

LSC Eppingstall notes that this 2024 screenshot will have different sightings to the version that Ms Patterson allegedly accessed in 2022.

The next image is one specific sighting of a death cap mushroom listed on iNaturalist by a user.

The pin is at Bricker Reserve, Moorabbin, in Melbourne's south-east, for an observation in May 2022.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

Korumburra Middle Hotel website also visted​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The following image is a Google search result for "korumburra middle pub", with results showing several entries.

The first one is the Korumburra Middle Hotel website.

The next image is of the Korumburra hotel's main landing page, then a pop-up window titled "The Middle Korumburra Hotel - Pickup/Del".

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

Bing searches for iNaturalist website​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The next image is a Bing search for "iNaturalist", which brings up a list of results, the first one being the iNaturalist website we've heard a lot about during the trial.

LSC Eppingstall confirms these screenshots were made by taking URLs from digital forensic analysis of the computer taken from Erin Patterson's home, and putting them into a browser.

After the Bing search result, we see another page, of the iNaturalist home page.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

A pub meal delivered to Erin's home​

By Joseph Dunstan​

We're now being shown a food order from the Korumburra Middle Pub on May 28, 2022.

LSC Eppingstall says home delivery to Erin Patterson's home was requested for the family meal.

The order is:

Family Pack

Garlic Bread

2x Chicken Parmigiana

Kids Burger

Kids Fish

Coke No Sugar 1.25L

The total cost is $82 and it was ordered at 7:25pm on May 28, 2022.

We're then shown logs taken from Ms Patterson's computer, that align with the time the order was placed to the pub.

 

[MsMarple]

I’m at a loss as to the relevance.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I’m at a loss as to the relevance.

She likes her food, even when she has the trots

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago

Cross-examination of police informant begins​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Erin Patterson's barrister, Colin Mandy SC, is now cross-examining LSC Eppingstall.

After kicking off with some fairly straightforward questions, Mr Mandy flags his intention to take the detective to some photos from an SD card.

There's an objection from the prosecution and an interruption to the public hearing.

 

[Detechtive]

I’m at a loss as to the relevance.

They are saying that on the 22nd of May, after looking at the Inaturalist website - Erin ordered food for the family. In other words, it wasn't someone else using her computer, like her child.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I’m at a loss as to the relevance.

Simon posted to a Facebook group in June 2022 that he had "some serious medical problems" one month earlier and had to be placed into a coma.

They might be looking into this?

 

[MsMarple]

They are saying that on the 22nd of May, after looking at the Inaturalist website - Erin ordered food for the family. In other words, it wasn't someone else using her computer, like her child.

Ah, thank you!

 

[SouthAussie]

All that leads me to believe that things were still distant and awkward between them. IMO

Remember way back when, they were saying that this lunch was a reconciliation?

At the time we wondered if Erin was trying to reconcile with Simon. But maybe the in-laws thought she was trying to reconcile with them due to their own relationship drifting apart. And maybe that was mentioned to MSM by someone who knew the in-laws.

imo

 

[katydid23]

Erin Patterson murder trial day 21 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

Warren asks Eppingstall about call records for the mobile phone number ending “783”.

She says Simon previously gave evidence that he told Erin on 30 July his parents were unwell after the lunch. He says he could not be sure if he also mentioned Ian and Heather, Warren says.

Simon said the accused told Simon on this date she had experienced diarrhoea which was quite frequent, Warren says.

The jury is shown call records, with some rows highlighted.

One highlighted call was on 30 July 2023 at 11.08am. Eppingstall says the call records show a phone call from Simon to Patterson.

It indicates the phone connected … The call duration was six minutes and 18 seconds.

Another highlighted call at 2.23pm shows a call from Simon to Patterson lasting six minutes and 6 seconds, Eppingstall says.

Warren asks Eppingstall about a report for the Cooler Master computer that detectives seized from Patterson’s house on 5 August 2023.

Warren asks Eppingstall about the “Chrome web visits” listed in the report.

It shows several URLs for the citizen science website iNaturalist on 28 May 2022.

Eppingstall says he put all the URLs listed in the report into a web browser and took screenshots of the webpages.

He says this was done on 9 December 2024.

Jurors are shown the screenshots of the webpages Eppingstall found.

Justice Christopher Beale tells jurors the images are screenshots taken in 2024 and “it’s being put in evidence because of alleged activity by the accused on these pages on 28 May 2022.”

He reminds jurors about previous evidence that information on a webpage may have changed between 2022 and 2024.

The first screenshot shows a world map with red dots indicating death cap mushroom sightings posted on iNaturalist as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.

Eppingstall says the second screenshot shows the “observation” section of the iNaturalist websites and is zoomed into the Victoria area.

On the right hand side are a list of recent death cap sightings as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.

The next screenshot shows a reported death cap mushroom sighting in the Melbourne CBD posted to iNaturalist on 18 May 2022, Eppingstall says.

Another screenshots shows a Google search of the term “Korumburra middle pub”

The next screenshot shows the website of the Korumburra Middle Hotel.

Another screenshot shows the term ‘inaturalist” searched in Bing.

The next screenshot shows the homepage of iNaturalist as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.

Eppingstall says he attended the Korumburra Middle Hotel to enquire about purchases made by Patterson in May 2022.

He said the venue found a home delivery for a family meal on 28 May 2022.

It was delivered to Patterson’s home at the time in Korumburra, the court hears.

 

[katydid23]

Erin Patterson murder trial day 21 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

Another screenshot shows the term ‘inaturalist” searched in Bing.

The next screenshot shows the homepage of iNaturalist as of December 2024, Eppingstall says.

Eppingstall says he attended the Korumburra Middle Hotel to enquire about purchases made by Patterson in May 2022.

He said the venue found a home delivery for a family meal on 28 May 2022.

It was delivered to Patterson’s home at the time in Korumburra, the court hears.

Lead detective being cross-examined

Warren has concluded examining Eppingstall.

Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, has begun cross-examining Eppingstall.

He begins by asking whether Patterson has any prior criminal history.

Eppingstall says she does not.

 

[Scuffy35]

Apparently, according to Ian, Gail took two plates and Heather took two plates to the table.

I suggest that Erin's plate was on a different part of the counter, or placed significantly close to herself, so that the ladies natural instinct would be to take the four plates that were most conveniently placed on their side of the counter.


“Erin plated up the food,” he says.
“She was on the kitchen side of the kitchen bench and she was putting the food on the plates.”

Ian says Gail picked up two of the grey plates and placed them on the table, and Heather took the other two. Erin took the unique plate and placed it at her seat.

Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal: Trial day six, as it happened

Of the four guests who dined on beef Wellington at Erin Patterson’s house in 2023, only one survived. On Tuesday, that guest – Ian Wilkinson – will tell his story for the first time when he takes the stand as a witness in the cook’s murder trial.

www.smh.com.au

I'm still catching up from today, sorry if already discussed.

It seems strange that she would leave it this much to chance though. I would have thought that she would ensure that she herself got the coloured plate and not make it look suspicious. The only real way to do that would be to hand each guest their plate individually.

If she alternatively took her coloured plate first and then allowed the guests to choose there's, this would look very rude.