Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #12 *Arrest*

[MrJ]

actually, editing my caption for this one. Mightn't be an alleged motive but strain was most likely a factor.

Key Event
1m ago
Erin describes 'strained' relationship between Simon and herself

By Joseph Dunstan and Judd Boaz

Dr Rogers then refers to evidence from in-laws Matthew and Tanya Patterson, who had said that Erin was attending fewer Patterson family events in the years before the lunch.

"Up until the first half of 2023, I don't believe there was a change in my participation," she says.

She adds "I think there was a change in the family events through some of that time because there were a lot of COVID lockdowns in '21".

She disagrees however about Matthew Patterson's evidence that she attended fewer events in the years leading up to the lunch, saying he had the "timeline" wrong.

When asked about her relationship with Simon, which her son had described as becoming "negative", Erin describes it as "strained".

 

[Lisa4]

Exactly. It was a lie to see if the mushrooms could be tasted. She used the Woolworths and any "Asian" visible mushrooms to say- see it couldn't be the mushrooms. Well duh- those kinds of mushrooms aren't toxic! The Death Caps were ground up into powder and undetectable, but just as deadly.

The very first time she was asked when she had only just heard there was suspicion of deathcaps, she said one word "Woolworths".

The next time she was asked a few hours later by her BIL, she said "Woolworths and a Chinese grocer from Oakleigh".

"Anxiety panic" or guilt-filled panic, I think she was trying to muddy the waters and throw some suspicion around there.

 

[SouthAussie]

Dr Rogers suggests that Erin never told Simon about changing schools.

Erin says this is incorrect, and says she told him of the change in March 2023.

Dr Rogers asked her if she "forewarned" Simon about the change of schools. If Erin "told" him in March, was that forewarning him or was it letting him know after it was a done deed?

I know further back in the threads I read that Don and Gail offered to pay for the kid's school fees. No reason to change schools due to money.


Dr Rogers suggests to Erin Patterson that she "just moved" the children to a new school after the financial dispute without forewarning her estranged husband.

imo

 

[Little Jack]

IMO there weren't two duxelles. Just one. Hers was made before she added dried mushrooms.

IMO she didn't eat all of her BW because it was.... bland.

Saying she wasn't going to serve Simon a BW with death cap mushrooms is a leak IMO, that there were two kinds of BW that day.

I think she expected Simon to show up after all, for which she had a BW prepared.

Perhaps she had not decided until she was plating BWs who would eat from the later batch, and when Simon didn't show up, plates got rearranged.

JMO

I think this is why she used the strange wording about leaving the remaining wellington in the oven "to deal with later". She had deal with it because it was deadly.

 

[MsMarple]

1m ago10.57 AEST
Patterson denies she was ‘angry’ with her in-laws

Rogers suggests Patterson was “angry” that her in-laws would not adjudicate the dispute between her and Simon.

Patterson says she was not angry.

Rogers says Patterson did not tell Simon she was planning to move their children to a new school.

Rogers says: “I suggest you just did it without notice to him. Correct or incorrect?”

Patterson rejects this.

 

[Detechtive]

So she makes a unilateral decision to place their kids in a more expensive school and he's supposed to just pay up?

No, she pulled them out of an expensive (religious) school and into a free (non religious) public school, IMO.

 

[MrJ]

Sheeesh she really is digging a hole for herself here.

Key Event
Just now
Erin's group chat messages cursing Don and Gail shown

By Joseph Dunstan

The court is shown two messages sent to Facebook friends, where Erin complains about her in-laws not supporting her in the financial dispute with Simon.

The first one ends in Erin says "this family I swear to f***ing god".

"This ... expressed your true feelings about Don and Gail Patterson, didn't it?" Dr Rogers asks.

"No," Erin replies.

The second ends in "At least I know they're a lost cause".

Erin disagrees that this expressed her true feelings about her parents-in-law.

Dr Rogers then takes Erin Patterson to the message where she said "f*** 'em" about her in-laws.

Erin again expresses shame for the messages and denies they were her true feelings and denies that those feelings persisted until July.

 

[Detechtive]

Erin quizzed on switching kids' school without asking Simon​

Dr Rogers suggests Erin changed her children’s school following the dispute without giving Simon a heads-up.
“Incorrect,” Erin says.
“You felt that you’re entitled, I suggest, to change the children’s school without asking him because of the child support issue, correct or incorrect?” the prosecutor asks.
“No, it had nothing to do with that,” the accused replies.
Asked if the dispute had “disappeared” by the time Erin went on holidays to New Zealand in December 2022, Erin says she didn’t think it had but would some weeks later.

 

[katydid23]

What a chilling prospect & poorly aligned match with character that career path would be - nursing/midwifery!

Ps. Hi everyone

I cannot imagine her being my midwife. I'd be anxious, emotional, needing support but somehow she'd find a way to make it all about herself, and become a poor victim in the end...

 

[MsMarple]

3m ago10.59 AEST
Rogers takes Patterson to Facebook messages she sent to her online friends in a group chat on 7 December 2022.

In the message, Patterson says if Simon will not be involved in paying for school fees she can “choose their school all by myself”.

Rogers asks if Patterson’s evidence is still that she consulted Simon before she moved her children to a new school.

“I did advise. I did tell him,” Patterson says.

 

[LinasK]

No, she pulled them out of an expensive (religious) school and into a free (non religious) public school, IMO.

If it was free, why was she demanding that he pay school fees?

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Erin asked about true feelings towards in-laws

By Joseph Dunstan and Judd Boaz

Dr Rogers's questioning is probing whether the messages expressed simply a vent or deeper emotional views Erin held towards her in-laws

Rogers: Were you frustrated when you wrote ... f*** 'em?

Patterson: Yeah, I was.

Rogers: Not angry?

Patterson: No, I was frustrated and upset.

Erin is then taken to a message where she wondered why Gail Patterson didn't reflect more on her "deadbeat" son.

Erin: I was frustrated.

Rogers: And hurt?

Erin: I don't think hurt is reflected in this message. I was frustrated.

 

[MsMarple]

Be back shortly.

 

[LinasK]

Key Event
1m ago
Erin asked about true feelings towards in-laws

By Joseph Dunstan and Judd Boaz

Dr Rogers's questioning is probing whether the messages expressed simply a vent or deeper emotional views Erin held towards her in-laws

Rogers: Were you frustrated when you wrote ... * 'em?

Patterson: Yeah, I was.

Rogers: Not angry?

Patterson: No, I was frustrated and upset.

Erin is then taken to a message where she wondered why Gail Patterson didn't reflect more on her "deadbeat" son.

Erin: I was frustrated.

Rogers: And hurt?

Erin: I don't think hurt is reflected in this message. I was frustrated.

Deadbeat? To me that emoji with the cursing is far more than frustration. it's rage/anger.

 

[Detechtive]

Erin says her and Simon's relationship was 'strained', but not 'negative'​

Dr Rogers takes Erin to the evidence of Matthew and Tanya Patterson, who are Simon’s brother and sister-in-law, and said Erin was attending fewer family events in the years leading up to the lunch.
“So up until the first half of 2023, I don’t believe there was a change in my participation,” Erin says.
“I think there was a change in the family events through some of that time, because there was a lot of Covid lockdowns in ’21 which affected how many gatherings there were. But other than that, if there was a gathering and I was invited, I went.”
Dr Rogers says Erin’s son gave evidence that his mother’s relationship with Simon was “negative”.
She disagrees, saying they were “strained” but not negative.

 

[Detechtive]

Erin's messages to Facebook friends under microscope​

Dr Rogers takes Erin to a Facebook message to friends from December 2022 in which she said Simon wanted to “walk away from his responsibilities … that’s his choice”.
In a follow up message, Erin says that could be a “blessing in disguise” because it gave her more freedom in choosing her children’s school.
“If he wants them to go to a private Christian school, then he can help pay for it. If he doesn’t want to help pay for it, then I don’t have to send them there,” the message said.
Dr Rogers suggests that Erin never told Simon about changing schools.
Erin says denies this, saying she informed him of the change in March 2023.

 

[CityKid]

I lied, I panicked Erin Patterson’s account of mushroom lunch​

Re-enactment from Wednesday's court trial.

The "I panicked" comment really stands out for me. She used this to describe what happened when the police were speaking with her. If she had innocently misidentified the mushrooms she'd foraged, why panic and lie to the police? Why not say you're terrified to think that you might have mistakenly foraged poison mushrooms and fed them to your guests? I'd be mortified and remorseful, but panic at that point is strange to me. MOO

 

[Little Jack]

The very first time she was asked when she had only just heard there was suspicion of deathcaps, she said one word "Woolworths".

The next time she was asked a few hours later by her BIL, she said "Woolworths and a Chinese grocer from Oakleigh".

"Anxiety panic" or guilt-filled panic, I think she was trying to muddy the waters and throw some suspicion around there.

If this is correct I hope the prosecution mentions it in close - that's huge. She realized that it would be extremely obvious that woolies was not selling deathcaps and had to come up with a dubious vague source of additional mushrooms and not let anyone nail it down definitively.

 

[Lisa4]

The very first time she was asked when she had only just heard there was suspicion of deathcaps, she said one word "Woolworths".

The next time she was asked a few hours later by her BIL, she said "Woolworths and a Chinese grocer from Oakleigh".

"Anxiety panic" or guilt-filled panic, I think she was trying to muddy the waters and throw some suspicion around there.

It does seem to me that at this point she absolutely was trying to infer it was the mushrooms bought from an anonymous, untraceable grocer shop. Make it all go away.

Must've been like a nightmare game of whack-a-mole when she discovered that Public Health weren't going to let that mystery grocer shop go!

I think this is why she used the strange wording about leaving the remaining wellington in the oven "to deal with later". She had deal with it because it was deadly.

 

[MrJ]

With friends like these, etc.

Key Event
1m ago
Erin calls the testimony of witness Christine Hunt incorrect

By Joseph Dunstan and Judd Boaz

Erin then disagrees with more evidence previously given by her Facebook friend Christine Hunt.

She disagrees that she told Ms Hunt that Simon was "coercive" or that she was never happy with his commitment to things.

Erin seems mystified by some of Ms Hunt's claims raised by the prosecution, saying she wasn't sure where it stemmed from.

Yesterday, Erin told the court she was not close with Ms Hunt.

She's then taken to evidence from another Facebook friend, Danielle Barkley, who recalled Erin telling her that Simon "wasn't a very nice person".

Erin can't recall that but does recall messages expressing concern about Simon's cleanliness.

"Yeah it is true because I had to spend two weeks cleaning his house at one point," she says.

She also confirms she told Ms Barkley that she wasn't happy with the way Simon lived.