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

[drsleuth]

4.07pm

‘The vast majority came from the local Woolworths’: Where the mushrooms came from​

By​

After a break, defence barrister Colin Mandy. SC. is resuming his questioning of Erin Patterson by asking about the meal she cooked for lunch on July 29, 2023.

Patterson said she accepted the meal contained death cap mushrooms.

Asked by Mandy about where the mushrooms for the meal came from, Patterson said: “The vast majority came from the local Woolworths in Leongatha, and there was some from the grocer in Melbourne”.

Patterson said she purchased the mushrooms from Melbourne during the April school holidays in 2023. She said she had previously purchased shiitake, porcini, and maybe enoki from that style of shop before.

“Sometimes the bag might say wild mushroom mix or forest mushroom mix,” 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]

1m ago
Erin explains dehydrating mushrooms

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin Patterson says due to the short season of mushrooms, she would dry and preserve them to have them available later in the year.

"Did you dehydrate mushrooms that you'd foraged?" Mr Mandy asks.

"I did," she says.

Erin says she began foraging mushrooms within days of purchasing a dehydrator.

She also tells the court she would dehydrate mushrooms bought from the store.

The court is shown photos of the dehydrator and some mushrooms on the dehydrator shelf, on scales.

 

[LinasK]

She's just lied...

Just now
Erin concedes the beef Wellington must have contained death caps

By Joseph Dunstan

Colin Mandy SC asks Erin Patterson about the meal she cooked for her relatives on July 29.

"Do you accept that there must have been death cap mushrooms in it?" Mr Mandy asks.

"Yes, I do," Erin says.

"Do you remember where the mushrooms that went into that meal came from?" he asks.

"The vast majority came from the local Woolworths in Leongatha, and there were some from the grocer in Melbourne," Erin tells the court.

However, Erin says the specific purchase of the mushrooms is not clear in her mind, beyond it being in the April school holidays.

"I know it was in the April school holidays, I think we went there for a week or two in the April school holidays, maybe only a week," she says.

She says she's purchased mushrooms from those kind of shops before, including shitake, porcini and enoki varieties.

"Sometimes the bags might say something like 'wild mushroom mix' or 'forest mushroom'," she says.

So she's conceding that Death Cap mushrooms killed them, but still trying to blame it on unknown Asian grocers. Even IF that were true- she allegedly put them in the dish.

 

[Shortfusepsb]

Wait, has she just reverted back to her story about the asian grocer?

 

[MrJ]

There it is.

Key Event
1m ago
Erin Patterson experimented with dehydrating mushrooms

By Joseph Dunstan

The court is shown a photo of mushrooms on a scale, which Erin says were part of a "bit of an experiment" to see if mushrooms turned out ok being dehydrated whole rather than sliced.

She says the end result was the mushrooms "not looking good at all".

"They were still a bit mushy inside ... they just didn't dry properly," she says.

She doesn't think she tried them.

 

[drsleuth]

2 minutes ago
HIGHLIGHT
Erin accepts there 'must have been death caps' in the beef wellington
Mr Mandy is now questioning Erin about the fatal lunch.
“Do you accept that there must have been death cap mushrooms in it?” he asks.
“Yes I do,” she replies.
He asks where the mushrooms she used came from.
“The vast majority came from the local Woolworths in Leongatha gutter and there were some from a grocer in Melbourne,” she said.
Mr Mandy says there had been evidence that she had told people she’d bought some of the mushrooms from an Asian grocer in April.
“Do you remember that event? Is that event clear in your mind?” he asks.
“No, it’s not clear,” she replies.
“I know it was in the April school holidays. I think we went (to Melbourne) for a week or two in the April school holidays, maybe only a week.”
Erin said she had bought different varieties mushrooms from Asian grocers before, including shitake, porcini and enoki.
He said there was also evidence during the trial she purchased a dehydrator in April 2023.
“I did do that,” she said.
Asked why, Erin said there were a few reasons.
“I liked eating wild mushrooms, but it’s a very small season. You can’t keep them too long in the fridge, so it was one way of sort of preserving them and having them available later on throughout the year,” she said.
“But it wasn’t just for mushrooms, so I thought perhaps I could use it to preserve a whole range of things.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-mushroom-cook-returns-to-the-witness-box/live-coverage/d38ddeff9157a7fe0ede32b695044a4f#/entry/32017651

 

[Detechtive]

Wait, has she just reverted back to her story about the asian grocer?

Yes! What the...

 

[Shortfusepsb]

Yes! What the...

The mind boggles.

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago07.13 BST

Erin Patterson tells court she accepts fateful meal contained death cap mushrooms​

Barrister Colin Mandy SC asks Erin Patterson about the meal she cooked for the fateful beef wellington lunch.

“Do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms in there?”

“Yes, I do,” Patterson replies.

Mandy asks where the mushrooms in the beef wellington came from.

“The vast majority came from the local Woolworths in Leongatha. There were some from the grocer in Melbourne,” she says.

Mandy says the jury has previously heard evidence she reported buying dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne.

Patterson says she cannot remember the exact purchasing of the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer.

She says she knew it was in the April school holidays.

Patterson says she has previously purchased dried mushrooms from Asian grocery stores.

“Sometimes the bag might say something like wild mushroom mix,” she says.

She says these had previously included shiitake or porcini mushrooms.

Erin Patterson trial day 25 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Erin says she foraged for mushrooms at Korumburra Botanical Gardens

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin is asked if, when she went foraging, she had anyone with her.

"The kids were with me during the COVID period, so 2020, the lockdown periods 2021," she says.

She says the children generally ran around and "did their own thing" while she was foraging, but "they definitely saw what I was doing".

Erin says she recalls some oak trees at Korumburra Botanical Gardens and she believes she foraged mushrooms "near to" those trees.

She says more generally, she took the mushrooms she foraged home, cleaned them, and if she wasn't planning to use them that day, she sliced and dried them before storing them in a tupperware container on the shelf.

 

[Scuffy35]

Wait, has she just reverted back to her story about the asian grocer?

She never dropped the story about the Asian grocer.

She also never linked the foraging of mushrooms to those foraged mushrooms ending up in the BW.

 

[Two SCents]

Re being a professional student.

In my mind an ongoing thirst for knowledge is something that should be admired, not denigrated.

Completely agree. I was suggesting that was the reason for the Degree as opposed to it being undertaken as she was looking to work in a hospital.

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago07.15 BST
Barrister Colin Mandy SC asks Erin Patterson if she dehydrated mushrooms she had foraged.

“I did,” she says.

He takes Patterson to a photo, previously shown to the jury, she sent to her Facebook friends. The photo shows mushrooms inside a dehydrator.

Mandy asks what type of mushrooms are shown in the photo.

“I’m pretty sure they were Woolies mushrooms. Just your basic button,” she says.

Mandy shows Patterson another photo of what appears to be the caps of mushrooms on a tray. Underneath is a digital scale.

Mandy asks why the mushrooms are on scales.

“I was doing some experimenting around trying to find out what temperature to use, how long to put them in for,” Patterson says.

Patterson said she had a “proposition in her mind” that to properly dehydrate mushrooms, she needed to extract all the water.

Mandy turns to May and June of 2023 and asks if there were other wild mushrooms she picked in this time.

Erin Patterson trial day 25 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

3 minutes ago

Erin says she dehydrated foraged mushrooms
Between 2020 and 2023, Erin said she foraged for mushrooms from the botanic gardens in Korumburra and her acreage property on Shellcot Rd.
She said there was also a rail trail leading out of Leongatha where mushrooms grew, as well on her Gibson St block.
“Did you dehydrate mushrooms that you’d foraged?” Mr Mandy asks.
“I did,” she said, adding she did it days after buying the dehydrator.
She said she had also dehydrated mushrooms she bought from a store.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-mushroom-cook-returns-to-the-witness-box/live-coverage/d38ddeff9157a7fe0ede32b695044a4f#/entry/32017751

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
Just now
Erin says mushrooms from Asian grocer smelled 'pungent'

By Joseph Dunstan

Erin says she was going to use the mushrooms she bought from an Asian grocer in Melbourne in April 2023, but they were "very pungent" and so she put them in a container and ultimately stored them at her Leongatha home.

Earlier in the trial, mycologist Tom May told the court that dried death cap mushrooms have an "unpleasant" smell.

Justice Beale interjects, and takes the chance to adjourn court for the day.

Erin Patterson's testimony will continue tomorrow.

 

[drsleuth]

4.15pm

Where Erin Patterson foraged for mushrooms​

By​

Erin Patterson has told the jury that she got a dehydrator to be able to preserve mushrooms for longer, including mushrooms she bought from Woolworths.

“I liked eating wild mushrooms but it’s a very small season. You can’t keep them too long in the fridge so it was one way of sort of preserving them for later in the year,” she said.

Patterson said she would forage for mushrooms in the botanic gardens in Korumburra, her Shellcot Road property in Korumburra , the rail trail leading out of Leongatha and her block in Gibson Street in Leongatha.

The jury has been shown a message from Patterson to her online friends sent after she purchased the dehydrator where she told them: “So fun fact, dehydrator reduces mushroom mass by 90%”.

They have also been taken to a series of images of the dehydrator and mushrooms on a scale.

“I’m pretty sure I picked them from the Korumburra botanic gardens,” Patterson said.

Patterson said it was a failed experiment to see if she could dehydrate them whole, instead of slicing them, but they were mushy in the middle. She said that she was weighing the mushrooms at the time to see if she had removed all the water before dehydrating them.

“I mainly picked field mushrooms ... but there were a couple of other interesting ones,” she said. Those included slippery jacks and honey mushrooms, she said.

Patterson said she had tried those, and they tasted “very nice”.

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

 

[JLZ]

As someone who likes to throw expletives around quite freely, I do agree that when they are written they can be interpreted as being quite strong and that I refrain from their written use, much as I feel they can help to make a point more succinctly at times! So I don't read this the same way as someone else as I see it as Erin venting to her friends as though she is speaking to them (just as we are conversing in this manner because we don't get to talk face to face). This is a forum where language is used respectfully, I think Erin's group played it far more fast and loose.

It's not the bad language or the expression of anger that bothers me. It's the fiction. Like she's playing a noir version of the Sims or something.

 

[whiskia]

Yes! What the...

Has that ever been denied by the defence? Saying she foraged doesn't mean that she didn't also buy them...

 

[Detechtive]

“I’m pretty sure I picked them from the Korumburra botanic gardens,” Patterson said.​

Surely there is phone ping data within the days she bought the dehydrator to rebut this- I am sure we saw that previously in the trial.

 

[MsMarple]

I’m lost. Death caps were found in the dehydrator. She bought dried (ie already dehydrated) mushrooms from the Asian grocery (allegedly). Where’s she going with this?