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

[katydid23]

3m ago03.46 BST
Mandy then turns to what occurred after the lunch guests left.

Patterson says her son helped her tidy up. She said the leftovers included the remainder of her beef wellington and the entire sixth one.

Patterson says “quite a lot” of the cake Gail had brought was leftover. She says about two-thirds of the cake remained after lunch.

She says afterwards she began eating the cake and continued to eat slice after slice.

Mandy asks how many pieces of cake she ate.

“All of it,” she says.

Asked what happened afterwards, Patterson says she “felt sick”.

“I felt over-full,” she says.

“So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again.”

NICE TRY but I bet the prosecution will have rebuttal evidence to show that vomiting would not have prevented the poison from quickly entering her blood stream.

She says she began to have loose stools about 5.30pm that evening.

 

[MsMarple]

2m ago13.25 AEST
Mandy asks his client about what occurred next.

Patterson says she was told she needed to be transferred to Melbourne for treatment. She says she had a water bottle, bag and a warm jumper with her at the hospital.

She recalls trying to explain to medical staff why she could not go straight to Melbourne. She says she needed to make preparations for her daughter’s ballet and secure her pets at her house.

Patterson says she could not move her brain away from what she thought “the day was going to look like”.

She compares it to trying to “turn a really, really big ship.”

Patterson says she lived about 10 mins away from Leongatha hospital and told staff she could return quickly.

 

[browneyes]

How much do we know around the detail and timing of professional persons becoming suspicious that this was possibly more than a genuine accidental deathcap mushroom case?

Asking here in case anyone more familiar with the details has a quick answer. In the meantime, I will look back myself.

The media thread is great for that. I would link it, but I can’t find it.

 

[Cedars]

She'd purchased in total 1.75kg mushrooms from Woolworths in the few days before the lunch. There was no need for her to use any dried mushrooms at all. I want to hear the prosecution question her about that.

She testified that it tasted 'bland'. So she threw in some mystery mushrooms from her 'mushroom surprise' bin. Which she didn't, apparently, try to rehydrate or possibly even saute...I wonder, what happened to that bin?

 

[Kemug]

I was trying to think about what the agreed facts are. These are the ones I can find ...

• The Victorian supreme court heard this week that it is not in dispute that the beef wellingtons contained Amanita phalloides, or death cap mushrooms
• It is not in dispute that Patterson put them there
• both the prosecution and defence agree that Patterson had never been diagnosed with cancer
• lied to police when she told them she had never foraged for mushrooms, Mandy said
• lied to police about not owning a food dehydrator, nor using one, he said

Deliberate poisoning or a tragic accident? The question at the heart of Australia’s mushroom murders trial

Jury hears of a collapsed marriage, cancer claim and mushroom foraging in week one of the trial of Erin Patterson

www.theguardian.com

All those lies - if anyone else was being tried for these deaths, and was telling these lies, admitted lies, would they be acquitted, as some people seem to think she may/should be? Are we being a little bit sympathetic because her personality seems a little weird, and she's not a happy person?

 

[katydid23]

I wonder if the prosecution will call rebuttal witnesses. I believe they can, with the judges permission.

I am pretty sure they will be able to rebut some of her testimony with evidence they have.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

She testified that it tasted 'bland'. So she threw in some mystery mushrooms from her 'mushroom surprise' bin. Which she didn't, apparently, try to rehydrate or possibly even saute...I wonder, what happened to that bin?

So she threw in the stinky ones that were too smelly to put in her Carbonara?

 

[LinasK]

2m ago13.25 AEST
Mandy asks his client about what occurred next.

Patterson says she was told she needed to be transferred to Melbourne for treatment. She says she had a water bottle, bag and a warm jumper with her at the hospital.

She recalls trying to explain to medical staff why she could not go straight to Melbourne. She says she needed to make preparations for her daughter’s ballet and secure her pets at her house.

Patterson says she could not move her brain away from what she thought “the day was going to look like”.

She compares it to trying to “turn a really, really big ship.”

Patterson says she lived about 10 mins away from Leongatha hospital and told staff she could return quickly.

If you are severely dehydrated, and I have been, you aren't worried about how your children are getting home from school or to ballet nor care of your pets. Simon could have handled all of that if asked I'm sure.

 

[katydid23]

She testified that it tasted 'bland'. So she threw in some mystery mushrooms from her 'mushroom surprise' bin. Which she didn't, apparently, try to rehydrate or possibly even saute...I wonder, what happened to that bin?

I think she had to sauté them to prepare the duxelles. According to her she used standard BW recipe which calls for the mushrooms to be simmered together with spices, butter and liquids.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

That's the thing isn't it. This will be forever online for them to pour over.

I am certain her son and daughter would have remembered her pulling off the road to go to the toilet.

They are probably already experiencing bullying over all of this...

 

[Detechtive]

If you are severely dehydrated, and I have been, you aren't worried about how your children are getting home from school or to ballet nor care of your pets. Simon could have handled all of that if asked I'm sure.

I think she didn't want her children to be alone with anyone. There was some brainwashing and gaslighting to be done. IMO

 

[MrJ]

Earlier from her testimony, Erin said this about why she lied to the family about bogus medical tests:
"The issues started to resolve and I felt embarrassed that I had made such a big deal about it and I didn't want their care of me to stop so I just kept it going."
This to me is the crux of it. Everything we've heard so far is pretty much all about her, her wants, her needs, everyone else be damned IMO

 

[Kemug]

Having her on the stand also raises the possibility of bringing up the times Simon was hospitalised with a mysterious gastro illness, crippling pain which many are saying was some fauna poisoning.

How did that get into his system?


If there's any mention of her caring for him when he was ill, the prosecution will be allowed to raise it and possibly bring in further witnesses

At this stage, it's been off-limits as the prosecution didn't pursue the attempted murder charges against Simon.

There are no tears for her in-laws.

She didn't lift a finger to help her victims while they lay dying in the hospital, no phone calls even to the hospital, to Simon. Checking on Mr Wilkinson.

She was only interested in saving her neck. She is a compulsive liar

If she were innocent, and this was just a horrible mistake. She would be genuinely upset, terribly distressed, and not talk about her life history. To get sympathy from the jury

She hasn't shown any hint of remorse or emotion.

She is talking about using her dehydrator now, but originally, she told police she didn't own one.
She raced down to the tip to dump it.

Earlier in the trial, Facebook friends of Erin Patterson told the court that Erin had divulged that she was an atheist.
But now she is a Christian, another 'Brownie points' for the jury

I hope the prosecution request answers regarding her bowel movements or explosive diarrhea, which will certainly give her the sh***..!!
There was a lot of misleading information from her.

What she's been eating as well... including any of the hotdogs, dim sims, sour confectionery, a ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich, a sweet chilli chicken wrap, and plenty of coffee, while racing around in her cream coloured pants

All so true.

 

[Detechtive]

I think she had to sauté them to prepare the duxelles. According to her she used standard BW recipe which calls for the mushrooms to be simmered together with spices, butter and liquids.

She has said in today's testimony that she threw some dehydrated mushrooms in after putting water on them, because the duxelle tasted bland.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I am sure her son would have mentioned that she stopped on the side of the road....

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

 

[MsMarple]

If you are severely dehydrated, and I have been, you aren't worried about how your children are getting home from school or to ballet nor care of your pets. Simon could have handled all of that if asked I'm sure.

Yeah it’s interesting that she asked him to go with her to hospital as opposed to asking him to pick up the kids and walk the dog while she’s gone.

 

[MrJ]

We haven't even gotten to the cross yet....

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Erin says while her son played PC games with his friend, she had several pieces of cake, progressively eating all of the cake Gail Patterson had left behind — which she says was two-thirds of the original cake.​

​

After eating the cake, Erin says "I felt sick, I felt overfull, so I went to the toilets and brought it back up again".​

​

Yesterday, the court heard Erin say she had struggled with binge eating and bulimia throughout her life.​

And there we have it folks. The reason she wasn't sick. Allegedly.

You called it!!

 

[Kemug]

If she didn't say anything and they recovered, no one would have ever known.

I'm not so sure about that. They may have taken care never to eat with her again.

 

[Detechtive]

Having her on the stand also raises the possibility of bringing up the times Simon was hospitalised with a mysterious gastro illness, crippling pain which many are saying was some fauna poisoning.

How did that get into his system?


If there's any mention of her caring for him when he was ill, the prosecution will be allowed to raise it and possibly bring in further witnesses

At this stage, it's been off-limits as the prosecution didn't pursue the attempted murder charges against Simon.

There are no tears for her in-laws.

She didn't lift a finger to help her victims while they lay dying in the hospital, no phone calls even to the hospital, to Simon. Checking on Mr Wilkinson.

She was only interested in saving her neck. She is a compulsive liar

If she were innocent, and this was just a horrible mistake. She would be genuinely upset, terribly distressed, and not talk about her life history. To get sympathy from the jury

She hasn't shown any hint of remorse or emotion.

She is talking about using her dehydrator now, but originally, she told police she didn't own one.
She raced down to the tip to dump it.

Earlier in the trial, Facebook friends of Erin Patterson told the court that Erin had divulged that she was an atheist.
But now she is a Christian, another 'Brownie points' for the jury

I hope the prosecution request answers regarding her bowel movements or explosive diarrhea, which will certainly give her the sh***..!!
There was a lot of misleading information from her.

What she's been eating as well... including any of the hotdogs, dim sims, sour confectionery, a ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich, a sweet chilli chicken wrap, and plenty of coffee, while racing around in her cream coloured pants

I think Erin will do very badly under cross examination. I would expect histrionics, outburts, and vitriol. She is used to being the 'smartest person in the room', but she will come up against the incredible Dr Rogers SC, shortly.

Dr Nanette Rogers SC obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1977 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1979.

In 1990, she obtained a Master of Laws with First Class Honours from the University of Sydney and became a Doctor of Philosophy from that University in 1999.

After being admitted to practise as a solicitor in New South Wales in July 1979, Dr Rogers practised at the Redfern Legal Centre for ten years before being admitted to practise in the Northern Territory in 1990.

Following her admission in the Territory, Dr Rogers worked for three years as an advocate at the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service.

In 1998, Dr Rogers was appointed a Crown prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Northern Territory and has been in charge of the Alice Springs office since 2000.

Dr Rogers has prosecuted many major trials in the Supreme Court and has regularly appeared as counsel for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/BalJlNTLawSoc/2009/96.pdf