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

[Jake18]

I don't think any of the above info proves that EP was telling the truth about having 'Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer' diagnosis.


I can see why she may have had fears about it, if it was prominent in her family. But that doesn't excuse calling a lunch meeting to announce her diagnosis and get help concerning telling the children, etc. IMO

No, she lied about having cancer, lied about having a biopsy and lied about her health to lure her guests to the lunch, IMO.

Separate to that, 2 years or so prior she was worried about ovarian cancer which is fair enough - family history and presents with vague symptoms - but had tests and didn’t have it.

I agree that it sounds like she has health anxiety. Also, Simon is very kind and responsive to her in texts.

I’m wondering about the pub lunch ordered online in 2022 - 2 kids’ meals and two chicken pamis. Pub meals are BIG - was Simon with her then?

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Playing catch up again.....

So am I right in saying Erin bought (at least) the following in the week prior to the lunch on the 29th?

• JULY 23 - 2 x 500 grams of sliced mushrooms, 1kg of WW puff pastry, Filo pastry, Shallot onions, along with some Bulla raspberry splits, salami, shaved turkey, yoghurt, parmesan, spinach, a danish and some Le Snaks.
• JULY 27 - more puff pastry and filo pastry, beef eye fillets and more sliced mushrooms.
• JULY 28 - more puff pastry and filo pastry, 1.5 kilograms of mashed potato, 340 grams of cleaned beans, Gravox gravy and more beef eye fillet.

So over the course of 6 days, she's purchased mushrooms twice (totally over 1kg), puff pastry 3 times (I'm guessing at least 2kg, because I think the smallest packs are 500gm), filo pastry 3 times, expensive beef eye fillets TWICE, and pre-made mashed potato.

That's a LOT of mushrooms, pastry (2 types) and beef in a short period of time. "Practice run" are the words that come to my mind. And somebody who's described as a "good cook" buying pre-made mashed potato? It's really easy to make yourself, unless of course you want everything else to be easy (packaged gravy powder too - that's more plausible) on the day to focus on other parts of the meal?

Suspicious if you ask me. MOO of course.

 

[JBowie]

IMO, from today's evidence, EP is coming across as an attention-seeking hypochondriac.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I am still waiting for the 'killer blow' in evidence.

 

[drsleuth]

would it be fair to say there's a bit of hypochondria or a dramatic personality in Erin, like googling symptoms? imo her group texts do have a bit of dramatic flair to them and quite aggressive language. twice we have documented evidence she left hospital against medical advice - why? I'm thinking/typing out loud here but some of her behaviour does point to something in her personality i haven't really pinpointed.

For attention?? If so she has it spades now............

 

[drsleuth]

Thanks to all who have been posting the live updates, much appreciated

 

[katydid23]

Erin Patterson murder trial day 21 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

The trial has been adjourned for the day. Here is a recap of what the jury heard on day 21 of Patterson’s trial:

1. Jurors were shown Patterson’s Woolworths purchase history which included two items of 500g sliced mushrooms purchased on 23 July 2023 in Leongatha.

2. Jurors were shown text messages between Patterson and her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, where the pair discussed medical appointments for Patterson, including a needle biopsy on 28 June 2023. Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall said obtained medical records found no appointment matching this.

3. Eppingstall said no cancer diagnosis for Patterson was found on the Victorian cancer registry database.

4. Police never located a phone connected to Patterson that the prosecution labelled “Phone A”, the court heard.

5. The jury was shown screenshots of web pages, including death cap mushroom sightings on the iNaturalist website. The URLS, which Eppingstall copied and pasted into a web browser in December 2024, were extracted from a computer seized from Patterson’s house in August 2023.

We’ll bring you live updates tomorrow from 10.30am.

 

[Lord Peter Flimsy]

It’s not just Beef Wellington’s she serves up. Quite a few Porky Pies too.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

lying about having cancer when you have a family history of ovarian cancer (from what she must've told the doctors) feels extremely cruel IMO

If indeed that's true. If those people are no longer around, she can suggest what she wants about their health issues, without them here to disagree. I doubt the health records of deceased relatives would be called on in a legal case.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

It’s not just Beef Wellington’s she serves up. Quite a few Porky Pies too.

Don't let her near any pork..!

 

[Monstradamus]

No, she lied about having cancer, lied about having a biopsy and lied about her health to lure her guests to the lunch, IMO.

Separate to that, 2 years or so prior she was worried about ovarian cancer which is fair enough - family history and presents with vague symptoms - but had tests and didn’t have it.

I agree that it sounds like she has health anxiety. Also, Simon is very kind and responsive to her in texts.

I’m wondering about the pub lunch ordered online in 2022 - 2 kids’ meals and two chicken pamis. Pub meals are BIG - was Simon with her then?

Maybe she was super hungry after all of that Googling

 

[katydid23]

I am still waiting for the 'killer blow' in evidence.

I think there were a couple 'killer blows.' IMO

 

[Detechtive]

Ah, thank you!

I can’t edit my post - but I meant to say May 28, not 22nd.

 

[Monstradamus]

For attention?? If so she has it spades now............

She appears to be on the spectrum, imo

 

[Old Soul]

I am still waiting for the 'killer blow' in evidence.

For me, EP searching on iNaturalist for death cap mushrooms was a killer blow.

Hard to argue that she accidentally picked the death caps thinking they were safe after seeing the detailed images of amanita phalloides on iNaturalist, in my opinion.

 

[Neet_Mc]

I’m at a loss as to the relevance.

To indicate that the device was at her home conducting the Inaturalist searches and she was the individual at home conducting those searches because she was simultaneously ordering from the pub and her bank account/card from the same device.

 

[Kemug]

I agree. I have only used language like that about one person I loathe. I don't think it's normal to speak that way about people, venting or otherwise.

She really is a potty-mouth, which I personally find very off-putting. I hope she didn't speak like that in front of her children.

 

[Jake18]

I am wondering about all of her fatigue, breathing problems etc. it sounds like her GP is ordering what she requests and in Australia an Echo comes as part of a a cardiology review so would have ruled out a heart condition.

The defence seems to be arguing that she was affected by death cap mushrooms but escaped severe symptoms, maybe because she didn’t have co-morbid symptoms like Don. But - she wasn’t at all healthy was she? Severely fatigued, huffing and puffing with day-to-day activities

 

[Neet_Mc]

And something really bad, too.

She also remotely reset the other phone (Phone B) after it was in police custody and after locally resetting it 3 times prior! So she must have been paranoid that it showed something too, considering that it was only used since July 11 that year. She was probably concerned they would find her gps/ mobile tower disposing the dehydrator on that one, IMO.

The other phone (Phone A) must have been the one she searched for death caps, etc on, and the one she used for her trips to pick them, IMO.

This is all very premeditated looking behaviour, in my opinion.

I don’t have a Nokia but I’m presuming it can’t be hard reset like an apple. Hence if she wasn’t sure, she wouldn’t want to hand it over.

 

[katydid23]

For me, EP searching on iNaturalist for death cap mushrooms was a killer blow.

Hard to argue that she accidentally picked the death caps thinking they were safe after seeing the detailed images of amanita phalloides on iNaturalist, in my opinion.

Yes, and buying a dehydrator on the same day as one of those visits to forage. And then repeatedly lying and insisting she never had one even though she still had the manual, had pictures of it on her FB page which include fresh mushrooms and there was CCTV of her tipping it on the day after her lunch guests were hospitalised. And LE found Death Cap traces on it after it was tipped.