Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #11 *Arrest*

[drsleuth]

9 minutes ago
HIGHLIGHT
Erin went to the doctor because her 'wedding ring wouldn't fit'
Mr Mandy now asks about Erin’s cancer claim and health.
“First question is, have you ever been diagnosed with ovarian cancer?” he asks.
“I have not,” she replies.
“Have you ever had a needle biopsy on a lump on your elbow?” he continues.
“I’ve never had a needle biopsy anywhere,” she replies.
Erin said she was worried she had ovarian cancer at certain times.
Towards the end of 2021, Erin said she went to the doctor.
“I’d been having, for a few months by then, a multitude of symptoms,” she said.
“I felt very fatigued, I had ongoing abdominal pain, I had chronic headaches, I put on a lot of weight in quite a short period of time.”
She said she was prompted to go the doctor because her wedding ring wouldn’t fit.
She took it to a local jeweler to be resized but within a few weeks, she had outgrown it again.
“This was like a rapid thing that caused me concern,” she said.

3 minutes ago
HIGHLIGHT
'I consulted Dr Google': Erin's ovarian cancer, brain tumour fears
The prosecution has alleged Erin falsely claimed at the lunch to have cancer to ensure and to explain why the children were not present, while the defence has suggested Erin only told the guests she had a “suspected” diagnosis of cancer.
Asked about her cancer concerns, Erin said she consulted with “Dr Google” because she was worried about ovarian cancer due she had a family history on both sides and an ovarian cyst in about 2002.
Her daughter also had an ovarian mass when she was a baby, she said.
After her daughter was born, Erin said she knew something was wrong because she cried a lot and for long times which she thought was due to pain.
“I took her to a lot of doctors and even the hospital, and what they communicated to me was I was an over anxious mother that should relax, and she’s just a normal baby,” she said.
She said she discovered the mass herself because she would massage her daughter’s belly after showers and on one occasion felt something.
They took her to hospital in August 2014, but Erin said it was dismissed as her having a full bladder.
“How did that make you feel about hospitals?” Mr Mandy asks.
“It considerably damaged my faith in the health system,” she said.
“I didn’t love hospitals before … I didn’t trust that these people knew what they were doing, and I was just in a heightened state of anxiety ever after about (my daughter’s) health.
“I didn’t want to lose her.”

1 minute ago

Children's hospital visits made Erin 'lose faith' in medical system
The mass was removed from her daughter’s ovary, she said, but she continued to have ongoing gastrointestinal issues, pain, constipation and refusing to eat.
When her daughter was four, Erin said an x-ray was performed which showed her daughter’s intestines were clogged with fecal matter.
She said a nasogastric clean out, which took a week, was performed which traumatic for her.
“They had to put a tube down her nose, and she was screaming. And I remember Simon lay on the hospital bed and had (our daughter) lie down on the front of him, and he just hugged her to calm her down,” she said.
“She’s 11, and she still remembers that.”
Their son also had issues with his knee after a bike accident.
She said he had a “merry-go-round” of physiotherapy and seeing podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons, until someone suggested he needed surgery on his knees.
“In the journey to that, I had taken him to a GP in Leongatha, who sent him for an X-ray on the wrong side of his body,” she said.
“When I pointed it out to them, they suggested that I didn’t know what I was talking about, but they X-rayed the wrong side of his body, so he had to return for another X-ray.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-mushroom-cook-returns-to-the-witness-box/live-coverage/d38ddeff9157a7fe0ede32b695044a4f#/entry/32011787

 

[drsleuth]

11.26am

Growing distrust, ‘Dr Google’ and a self-diagnosis​

By​

Erin Patterson is in tears, speaking about her daughter’s experiences in hospitals.

The accused is using her hands as she speaks, sitting facing her barrister, Colin Mandy, SC, as he asks her questions about her family life.

Patterson is explaining how her distrust of the health system grew when she had a similar experience with her son, who developed issues with his knees after a bike accident.

Patterson said she remembered taking him to a GP in Leongatha who X-rayed the wrong side of her son’s body. She said when she pointed it out, staff suggested Patterson didn’t know what she was talking about.

She said that her son eventually had to have surgery in April 2021.

Mandy asked Patterson about a referral for an MRI in her medical records. “I’d been suffering chronic headaches that were getting more intense and more frequent. Once again, I turned to Dr Google,” she replied.

Patterson said she thought she might have a tumour, so she requested the scan. She said she had a brain MRI, but then requested a spinal MRI after the brain scan came back clear. She said the doctor suggested she might have an autoimmune disease such as lupus or MS.

The accused has put her glasses on to watch the computer screen in front of her, which is displaying her google history, including googling cancer symptoms.

The defence is scrolling through the exhibit as the accused agrees she played “Dr Google” to self-diagnose herself in November 2021.

Patterson said she also googled MS and lupus as well as a whole family of immune diseases. She said she was referred to a rheumatologist and a general physician, among other medical professionals.

11.37am

Not upset, just annoyed: Erin Patterson on Simon’s “single” tax status​

By​

Erin Patterson said that in the late part of 2022, issues around child support started to emerge between her and husband Simon.

She told the court she was preparing to do her tax return and asked Simon for his income to put in her paperwork. That was when he disclosed that he had listed himself as single, she told the jury.

“It arose at that discussion that he had put himself as single in his tax return, so that was not necessary any more,” Patterson said. “I said words to the effect of, ‘Well that’s good, now I can claim tax benefits’.”

Patterson said she was not upset about the change, but she was annoyed that Simon had not told her earlier, so she could have claimed the payments earlier.

“When I told him I was going to do that [claim support payments] he seemed quite accepting of it,” she said.

Day 25, as it happened: Patterson concedes death cap mushrooms were in beef Wellington she fed guests

Accused killer cook Erin Patterson has conceded death cap mushrooms were in a beef Wellington she fed her lunch guests after telling a jury she often foraged for fungi and enjoyed buying exotic varieties because they tasted better.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Erin says she was 'hurt' by medical fee text exchange

By Joseph Dunstan

Mr Mandy then takes Erin to some other messages between her and Simon about their finances, also in November 2022.

Erin texted Simon saying she'd applied for a child support application and some of the details of that.

The same month, Erin was forwarding Simon the anaesthetist's fee for their son's surgery and asking him to pay.

In an incident previously detailed to the court during Simon's evidence, Mr Mandy recaps that Simon told Erin the department of human services had told him not to pay for things like that, as part of the child support payment structure.

"I was hurt," Erin says when asked how she felt.

"I understood what he was trying to communicate but I didn't think what he was saying was right.

"But I was hurt ... we'd never had any conflict over money that I could remember before this."

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago02.43 BST
Erin Patterson says her and estranged husband Simon has financial disagreements

Barrister Colin Mandy SC asks Patterson about a child support dispute between her and Simon Patterson in late 2022.

Patterson says the topic of child support first came up in October 2022 as she was preparing her tax return.

She says she learnt Simon had listed himself as “single” on his tax return form.

Patterson says she was frustrated she had not been told about it earlier when she could have applied for the family tax benefit as a single parent.

From my perspective that was the only annoyance.

Under questioning by Mandy, Patterson agrees the disagreement snowballed into other issues about finances.

Erin Patterson trial day 25 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

18 minutes ago - 11:29 AMMax Corstorphan

Patterson reveals when she was told former partner changed tax record to ‘single’​

Ms Patterson told the court about when she was told her former partner, Simon Patterson, explained he had put “single” on his tax forms.

She claimed she asked Mr Patterson for his income records to begin compiling her tax, when he told her he wouldn’t share them.

“He had put himself down as single (on tax records),” Ms Patterson said Mr Patterson told her.

She told the court she replied, saying “well, that’s good”, adding she could now potentially claim family tax benefits.

12 minutes ago - 11:35 AMMax Corstorphan

Patterson ‘very hurt’ by invitation ‘oversight’ for late relatives 70th birthday​

Ms Patterson told the court about a birthday lunch for Gail Patterson that she was initially not invited to.

She explained Simon Patterson asked if she was going, with Ms Patterson confirming she was “very hurt” over not being invited to the 70th birthday.

Ms Patterson told the court that Don Patterson later reached out to her, calling the missing invitation an “oversight”, extending an invite, which she accepted.

She explained she was “hurt” and shouted at her former partner during an exchange of the children on that day, over not knowing about the 70th birthday lunch.

5 minutes ago - 11:42 AMMax Corstorphan

Patterson details first ‘conflict over money’ with former partner​

While discussing financial arrangements between Erin Patterson and Simon Patterson, she said she was “hurt” by a “conflict over money” in November 2022.

Ms Patterson said she asked Mr Patterson to pay an anaesthetist bill for a surgery their son had.

The court was shown a text message where Mr Patterson said he had been told not to pay money to Ms Patterson by the Department of Human Services, not to pay her funds over the children due to childcare payment negotiations.

Ms Patterson said the two had never had a “conflict over money” before that interaction and that she was left “hurt”, admitting she later sent her former partner a “petty” message discussing “pocket money”.

1 minute ago - 11:45 AMMax Corstorphan

Court adjourned for morning recces​

The court is now taking a short break, with Erin Patterson returning to give evidence in around 10 minutes.

Accused mushroom killer testifies about fatal lunch

RECAP: Erin Patterson has returned to the witness box to discuss the fatal lunch that left three people dead.

thenightly.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

11.49am

A birthday oversight, a familiar rift: Patterson details marital dynamics​

By​

Defence lawyer, Colin Mandy, SC, is talking to his client about a series of messages between Erin and Simon Patterson back in October 2022. The messages are about childcare arrangements.

During one text exchange, Simon asked his estranged wife if she was going to his mother, Gail’s, 70th birthday party.

Patterson told the jury she didn’t know about the party when she got the message was felt hurt that she hadn’t been invited.

“I thought I’d been left off the invite list,” she said. “I was also annoyed with myself because I had forgotten it was a big birthday coming up for Gail.″⁣

The jury heard that the exchange between the separated couple became tense, as they debated the issue over messages.

At one point that afternoon, Patterson said she attempted to continue discussing the issue with Simon, who had come to pick up their daughter, but he did not want to engage. “I was really trying to get Simon to understand why I was hurt,” she said.

The following morning, he apologised for raising his voice and interrupting her in that conversation.

Patterson told the jury that it was a classic example of how they resolved their problems. “What happened in this exchange was a typical I might feel hurt about something I didn’t communicate it really well, Simon maybe doesn’t get feelings so well ... and I would feel hurt and hurt, and then we’d be annoyed at each other for a day or two and then apologise,” she said.

Patterson said that kind of exchange would occur weekly while they were living together, but would only occur every three to six months after they separated.

Patterson said she eventually agreed to attend the celebrations after she was contacted by her father-in-law, Don Patterson, who explained it was an oversight, and they really wanted her to attend.

Day 25, as it happened: Patterson concedes death cap mushrooms were in beef Wellington she fed guests

Accused killer cook Erin Patterson has conceded death cap mushrooms were in a beef Wellington she fed her lunch guests after telling a jury she often foraged for fungi and enjoyed buying exotic varieties because they tasted better.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Erin isn't exactly obese.

Yes is unquestionably obese.

This is what the World Health Organization classify as obesity :

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese.

Obesity

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese. In 2019, an estimated 5 million noncommunicable disease (NCD) deaths were caused by higher-than-optimal BMI.

www.who.int

I am not trying to be judgmental but let's keep it real.

 

[MrJ]

This really was the worst decision EP could have made by going into the witness box. Oh my god.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

The juries are tasked with deciding based on the evidence presented, and emotional appeals may sway them.

 

[drsleuth]

5m ago02.56 BST
Erin Patterson recalls first conflict about money with estranged husband Simon

Barrister Colin Mandy SC then asks Patterson about messages between her and Simon in November 2022.

In the messages, previously shown to the court, Patterson tells Simon she has applied for child support payments.

The court previously heard that when Patterson sent Simon an an anaesthetist fee for their son the same month, he said said he had been advised by the government department overseeing child support payments not to provide money for things like that.

“I understood what he was trying to communicate but I didn’t think what he was saying was right,” Patterson says.

She recalls how she was feeling.

I was hurt.


We’d never had a conflict with money that I could remember before that.

Erin Patterson trial day 25 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Erin asked Don and Gail Patterson for mediation help

By Joseph Dunstan

Mr Mandy is taking Erin Patterson to December 2022, and a Signal message exchange between her and Simon that starts on December 6.

The first is quite a lengthy one from Simon which notes that Erin had asked to catch up with his parents to discuss details of the separation.

Mr Mandy asks Erin why she was asking Don and Gail over for a chat.

"I was struggling to achieve good communication with Simon about a few things and I was wanting or hoping Don and Gail might help mediate that a little bit and help us solve that problem," Erin says.

"They'd done it before."

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
School fees were a source of disagreement

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin says there were a few issues with the separation at that point in time, including the payment of school fees.

School fees had been paid by Simon up until the child support issue was raised, the court hears.

But afterwards, Erin says Simon had wanted her to pay "all of them".

Simon later said in a message he felt they could "fairly easily" sort out the disagreement over some financial issues and he planned to ask a mediator to help them sort it out.

Erin says when she met with Don and Gail they said if money was an issue, they'd pay for the school fees.

"Which wasn't what I needed, but ... that was their first response," Erin says.

"Overridingly, they felt that Simon and I should settle the issue together, but they didn't want to become, like official mediators."

 

[mamamama9873]

This really was the worst decision EP could have made by going into the witness box. Oh my god.

And these are her lawyers questioning her. Let’s wait for the prosecution’s turn…

 

[Detechtive]

Wow.......

Key Event
Just now
Erin Patterson lashes out over invite

By Joseph Dunstan

The messages continue back and forth, with Simon telling Erin his dad thought he had invited Erin but perhaps he was confused.

Erin: I'm not too sure how your dad could have been confused what we were talking about. It's pretty obvious in this conversation. Seems that my invite to tomorrow is a bit of an afterthought and not even from your parents so I might pass thanks as I'd rather not go somewhere I'm not welcome.

Simon: Oh c'mon, that's ridiculous. You really reckon dad is lying? Anyhow, I'd like to pick the kids up at [time] please.

Erin: What I reckon is that everybody forgot to actually invite me to this thing and I feel very very hurt about that and your response is to say I'm being ridiculous.

Erin says Don later reached out to her and she agreed to go to the lunch.

She tells the court she had yelled at Simon when he had come to the house to pick up their daughter.

This is insane to me. Why does she make everything about herself? This isn't a normal reaction, IMO.

 

[drsleuth]

The juries are tasked with deciding based on the evidence presented, and emotional appeals may sway them.

Erin's 'very hurt'..........Simon has no 'feelings' ..............no one listens to me................every symptom I have must be terminal.................Simon doesn't understand...........

Rinse, wash, repeat.

Erin is exhausting!

 

[drsleuth]

6 minutes ago - 12:05 PMMax Corstorphan

Patterson claims ex-partner wanted a ‘mediator’ brought in​

Erin Patterson is now giving “context” around a series of messages between her and Simon Patterson, regarding issues she and her former partner were having over finances and their son.

Ms Patterson told the court she thought Don and Gail Patterson could help the former couple reach an agreement, like they had in the past.

Ms Patterson said that her in-laws came to visit her in the hope of assisting, however, Mr Patterson later said a professional “mediator” should be used.

Accused mushroom killer testifies about fatal lunch

RECAP: Erin Patterson has returned to the witness box to discuss the fatal lunch that left three people dead.

thenightly.com.au

 

[LinasK]

This is insane to me. Why does she make everything about herself? This isn't a normal reaction, IMO.

Yes, as an American outsider, I don't see any of this testimony as helpful to her. It makes her look like a hypochondriac, narcissist, and injustice collector. How is it humanizing? It's normal in a breakup for the in-laws to side with their own child rather than the DIL or SIL.

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago03.11 BST

Erin Patterson says son struggled in ‘a lot of aspects of his life’​

Barrister Colin Mandy SC takes Erin to messages exchanged with her estranged husband Simon on 6 December 2022.

In one message, Simon says he understands Erin has invited his parents to her house the prior day to discuss how their son is going and “finances for our kids”.

Erin says she asked Don and Gail Patterson for a discussion because she was “struggling to achieve good communication with Simon about a few things.”

I was wanting or hoping Don and Gail might help mediate that a little bit.

Erin says her in-laws had previously meditated between the couple.

She says her son was struggling in “a lot of aspects of his life” including school.

Erin also wanted to discuss the school fees for the children.

She says prior to the child support disagreement in late 2022, Simon had been paying their school fees.

After this, Simon wanted her to pay all of the school fees, Erin says.

Erin says when Don and Gail visited on 5 December 2022 they offered to pay the children’s school fees if money was an issue.

“Which wasn’t what I needed,” she says.

She says they encouraged the couple to discuss the issue between them.

They didn’t want to become official mediators.

Erin Patterson trial day 25 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
Just now
Erin's frustration with Patterson family

By Joseph Dunstan

Mr Mandy takes Erin through more evidence surrounding the involvement of Don and Gail in Simon and Erin's financial dispute.

Messages between Erin and her in-laws show her expressing a desire to keep them involved in settling what she believed to be fair financial arrangements to cover the children's schooling fees.

We're then taken to the "this family I swear to f***ing god" message previously read to the court, which Erin sent to Facebook friends about this time.

In it, she expresses frustration about Gail and Don being reluctant to get involved in the dispute.

Erin says when she wrote the message she was "really hurt and I was really frustrated and felt a little bit desperate".

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Key Event
1m ago
School fees were a source of disagreement

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin says there were a few issues with the separation at that point in time, including the payment of school fees.

School fees had been paid by Simon up until the child support issue was raised, the court hears.

But afterwards, Erin says Simon had wanted her to pay "all of them".

Simon later said in a message he felt they could "fairly easily" sort out the disagreement over some financial issues and he planned to ask a mediator to help them sort it out.

Erin says when she met with Don and Gail they said if money was an issue, they'd pay for the school fees.

"Which wasn't what I needed, but ... that was their first response," Erin says.

"Overridingly, they felt that Simon and I should settle the issue together, but they didn't want to become, like official mediators."

Anyone would think that Erin was a struggling single mother on a pension...