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

[Detechtive]

Photos of Erin's kitchen scales show mushrooms 'consistent with death caps': Crown​

Erin is shown photos of the dehydrator that were taken on her phone.
One says it was last modified on April 30, 2023.
Dr Rogers suggests the photos must have been taken after April 28.
Erin agrees.
Erin says she was unsure what phone she was using at the time.
Dr Rogers says the photos were taken by a phone in a pink case, and Erin says it would have been that one.
More photos are shown, including yellow-tinged mushrooms laid out on a dehydrator tray on a set of electronic scales.
Erin says they look like photos from her home.
She says she owned “at least one” set of scales.
Dr Rogers takes Erin to the evidence of mycologist Dr Tom May in which he said the mushrooms depicted on the tray were “consistent with Amanita phalloides (death cap mushrooms)”.
The prospector suggests those were death caps she had foraged in Loch after seeing a post on iNaturalist.
“That’s not correct,” Erin says.

The court is taking a short break.

 

[LinasK]

Jury warned about possible extension in trial proceedings​

By Joseph Dunstan​

After calling the morning break, Justice Christopher Beale addresses the jury about the timeline of the trial, which is nearing the end of its sixth week.

He says it's expected that Erin Patterson's evidence will extend through the end of this week and into next week, when the court will only sit Tuesday to Friday due to the King's Birthday public holiday on Monday.

After that, Justice Beale says he'll need to have some legal discussions with the defence and prosecution in the absence of the jury.

He says those discussions will consider whether there is to be any more evidence in the case and the directions he should provide to the jury when the trial nears its end.

He says there's a "possibility" that after that there will be more evidence. After that, there will be closing addresses from prosecution and defence, which he says could run for a couple of days each.

Then his final address to the jury could take a couple of days, before the jury retires to deliberate.

He uses the saying "how long's a piece of string" to note that it's not possible to anticipate how long the jury will need to deliberate, but adds they should take "all the time you need".

Based on this rough outline, the trial could be extending into late June. With those things noted, he invites the jury to go and "enjoy a cup of tea or coffee" in the break while they mull that over.

There's a moment of laughter in the courtroom, before the hearing adjourns.

Adjourned for the day? or just that part. Awfully short day, but some bombshells if true.

 

[Detechtive]

Adjourned for the day? or just that part. Awfully short day, but some bombshells if true.

No, just a short 15 minute break, probably.

 

[MrJ]

Adjourned for the day? or just that part. Awfully short day, but some bombshells if true.

just a break

 

[Detechtive]

Can someone please inform Fungi expert Erin that mushrooms aren't vegetables. It's irritating me.

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
Just now

Erin denies weighing 'fatal dose' of death caps​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The jury's back in after the break and prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC resumes her cross-examination of Erin Patterson, picking back up at the photos of mushrooms on a dehydrator shelf.

Rogers: You deny that these are death cap mushrooms?

Patterson: That's correct, I don't think they are.

Erin also disagrees that she saw an iNaturalist post in April 2023 about a death cap mushroom sighting in Loch.

But she says she doesn't "know" if she went to Loch afterwards.

Dr Rogers suggests she went to Loch to find death cap mushrooms.

She says she didn't go to find death cap mushrooms.

Dr Rogers then suggests the weighing of the mushrooms was calculated.

Rogers: I suggest that you were weighing these death cap mushrooms so that you could calculate the weight required for the administration of a fatal dose for one person. Agree or disagree?

Patterson: Disagree.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers has commenced cross-examining Patterson.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/06/05/02/1749088220128_lc_galleryImage_The_murder_trial_of_Erin_.JPG

Erin Patterson tells murder trial her side of story after fatal lunch

Follow Daily Mail Australia's live coverage of accused mushroom chef Erin Patterson's murder trial here.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[L_B]

The prospector suggests those were death caps she had foraged in Loch after seeing a post on iNaturalist.
“That’s not correct,” Erin says.

So technically her answer *could* be correct, cos they may have been deathcaps foraged from ANOTHER location.... so not lying as such.

 

[drsleuth]

7m ago12.29 AEST

Jurors updated on timeline of Patterson trial​

Justice Christopher Beale has spoken to the jury about the timeline for the remainder of the trial.

Patterson’s trial is currently in week six. Beale reminds jurors he previously estimated the trial would run for six weeks.

“I’m not going to put a figure on how much time is left to run in this trial,” he says.

He says Patterson’s evidence will “probably” run into early next week.

After Patterson has completed evidence, there will be legal discussion between parties in the absence of the jury, Beale says.

He says one topic is whether there will be any more evidence in the case and what directions Beale will give the jury before they deliberate.

“Those discussions will take a couple of days,” he says.

“After all the evidence is completed we will then hear closing addresses from the prosecution and defence,” he says.

This will be followed by Beale’s directions to the jury, called the judge’s charge. Beale says this could take a couple of days.

He says the jury can take “all the time you need” when they begin deliberating.

Erin Patterson trial day 27 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Is Erin allergic to answering 'yes'?

1m ago
More photos of mushrooms on Erin's kitchen bench shown

By Joseph Dunstan

Dr Rogers goes to another image of mushroom pieces on a dehydrator shelf, which Erin agrees she probably took and appears to show her kitchen bench and the images was last modified on April 30, 2023.

We go to another image where the shelf with mushrooms is balanced over the electronic scales, which read 255.8 grams, with the image records showing it was last modified on May 4, 2023.

Another photo has a bowl of large mushrooms balanced on electronic scales, with the weight recorded as 490.5 grams.

When asked about the origin of the photos, Erin says she "probably" took the images, but had no memory of doing so.

 

[Detechtive]

Crown suggests kitchen scales were used to calculate fatal dose of death caps​

The jury has returned from its break.

Dr Rogers suggests the mushrooms referred to by Dr May are death caps.
“I don’t think they are,” she says.
Dr Rogers puts to Erin that she saw Christine McKenzie’s iNaturalist post about death caps in Loch.
“I disagree,” she says.
The prosecutor suggests Erin went to Loch on April 28.
“I don’t know if I did go to Loch that day or not,” she says.
Dr Rogers puts to Erin she went to Loch to search for death caps.
“Disagree,” she replies.
Erin also disagrees the photos of mushrooms on the scales were those death caps, or that she weighing to calculate a fatal dose for one person.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Plenty of people have more than one phone, more than one device and more than one set of scales.

 

[MrJ]

How exhausting

Just now
Erin tells court she is unsure of details in photos

By Joseph Dunstan

Another photo shows Erin Patterson's kitchen scales on the bench, with a dehydrator tray. The weight appears to read 158.9 grams, Erin agrees.

Dr Rogers put to Ms Patterson that an object at the left of the photo is Erin's pink phone case, the same one seen in a still from Leongatha Hospital where Erin is at a bed.

"It could be. I don't know," Erin replies.

 

[LinasK]

So technically her answer *could* be correct, cos they may have been deathcaps foraged from ANOTHER location.... so not lying as such.

I wondered about that because didn't she previously say her dogs found them in her backyard?

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago22.37 EDT
The jury is shown another photo with mushroom caps on a tray.

Rogers says mycologist Dr Thomas May gave evidence that the mushrooms were consistent with death caps.

Rogers says: “I suggest to you that these were death caps that you foraged on or after 28 April 2022. Correct?”

Patterson replies: “No, that’s not correct.”

Erin Patterson trial day 27 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Detechtive]

Dr Rogers suggests the mushrooms referred to by Dr May are death caps.
“I don’t think they are,” she says.

Not Erin disagreeing with a world expert mycologist.

 

[drsleuth]

1 minute ago - 12:39 PMMax Corstorphan

Patterson doesn’t think mushroom in dehydrator photos are death cap​

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC asked Ms Patterson if the picture of mushrooms in her dehydrator were death cap mushrooms.

“You deny that these are death cap mushrooms?” Dr Rogers asked.

“I don’t think they are,” Ms Patterson said.

Asked if she went to Loch in regional Victoria after seeing a Facebook post that stated there were death cap mushrooms in the area in April, Ms Patterson said, “I don’t know”.

Ms Patterson “disagreed” to the accusation that she went to Loch to find death cap mushrooms.

Ex ‘would have had beef Wellington too’ if he’d come

LIVE UPDATES: Erin Patterson says she would have served ex-husband Simon Patterson a beef Wellington, too, if he had turned up to the deadly lunch.

thenightly.com.au

 

[Corina]

I wondered about that because didn't she previously say her dogs found them in her backyard?

I think what she said she'd found was Inocybe fungi.

editing to quote, "I found out that there were some mushrooms growing on my property that were probably toxic to dogs," she says. "They're called inocybe."

 

[MrJ]

'Probably true'

Key Event
Just now
Prosecution suggests Erin lied to avoid suspicion

By Joseph Dunstan

The prosecution puts it to Erin Patterson that she lied to police to avoid becoming a suspect.

"You lied about dehydrating food and mushrooms because you knew that if you told police the truth then that would implicate you in the poisoned lunch. Agree or disagree?" Dr Rogers asks.

"I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible," Erin says.

Dr Rogers persists with her question.

"I'll ask the question again. You knew that if you told police the truth, that would implicate you in the poisoned lunch. Agree or disagree?"

Mr Mandy interjects to take issue with the word "implicate" in the question, and Justice Beale invites Dr Rogers to find an alternative word.

Dr Rogers tries again.

"You knew that if you told police the truth then you would be immediately suspected by police of being involved in a poisoning event?"

"That's probably true, yes," Erin says.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Key Event
Just now

Erin denies weighing 'fatal dose' of death caps​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The jury's back in after the break and prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC resumes her cross-examination of Erin Patterson, picking back up at the photos of mushrooms on a dehydrator shelf.


Erin also disagrees that she saw an iNaturalist post in April 2023 about a death cap mushroom sighting in Loch.

But she says she doesn't "know" if she went to Loch afterwards.

Dr Rogers suggests she went to Loch to find death cap mushrooms.

She says she didn't go to find death cap mushrooms.

Dr Rogers then suggests the weighing of the mushrooms was calculated.

She has said previously that she needed 1kg of mushrooms for the recipe which suggests that she should have been weighing them.