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

[MrJ]

I wonder how much reasonable doubt still exists in this case given the many denials and falsehoods espoused by the accused over the last few days.

 

[Yh5r]

Just pushing up my previous post from before as it got lost between the court updates.

I'm wondering if we do know that an untouched serving of beef wellington landed in the bin?

If so, then this is really in stark contrast to how Erin usually acts:
- The fruit platter and gravy were still in the fridge from the lunch when police had a search warrant which I believe was days later! Why throw out the beef wellington but keep fruit and gravy - makes zero sense, unless..
- She had to use the unlabelled package of mushrooms from a mysterious 'Asian shop' that smelled funny, but threw out a serving of beef wellington that she had spent 'a fortune on'...
- Which leftovers did she then scrape the mushrooms off from and fed to her children...

Thoughts?

 

[SouthAussie]

Just pushing up my previous post from before as it got lost between the court updates.

I'm wondering if we do know that an untouched serving of beef wellington landed in the bin?

If so, then this is really in stark contrast to how Erin usually acts:
- The fruit platter and gravy were still in the fridge from the lunch when police had a search warrant which I believe was days later! Why throw out the beef wellington but keep fruit and gravy - makes zero sense, unless..
- She had to use the unlabelled package of mushrooms from a mysterious 'Asian shop' that smelled funny, but threw out a serving of beef wellington that she had spent 'a fortune on'...
- Which leftovers did she then scrape the mushrooms off from and fed to her children...

Thoughts?

My thought is that if there was any leftovers from the beef wellington (the kind of leftovers that you might throw in the bin - bits and pieces) any of the dogs I have had in my lifetime would have had it as part of their dinner that night.

I would have thought Erin's dog would have loved it. If it wasn't poisoned.

imo

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Yeah, I think this is more accurate. I think most people who have grown up in Victoria would have an idea at least of toxic mushrooms growing…just not necessarily death caps. At least in Gippsland which is quite wet and cool…more conducive to mushroom growth.

A simple clue is don't eat any mushrooms that are pale yellow, greenish, or even white on the cap, and have white gills. I knew this even as a kid!

 

[CuriousDetective]

A simple clue is don't eat any mushrooms that are pale yellow, greenish, or even white on the cap, and have white gills. I knew this even as a kid!

I didn’t. Good to know now though. I was just told to stay away from wild mushrooms altogether. No specifics about which ones.

 

[Porky1]

What kind of vest is Ian wearing? Or is he carrying a backpack?

A sleeveless vest and a backpack

 

[Deleted member 363451]

One of the worst performance in a witness box I can recall.

Surely every member of that jury must be wishing this could be wrapped up quickly so they can all agree on a guilty verdict and go home.

Erin doesn't remember anything that's going to incriminate her... That's an eye roll Erin.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I didn’t. Good to know now though. I was just told to stay away from wild mushrooms altogether. No specifics about which ones.

As I said earlier on this forum, my brother and I used to go mushroom foraging with my father when we were kids and he taught us only to pick the field mushrooms that were pink/brown underneath and to avoid all others.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

What kind of vest is Ian wearing? Or is he carrying a backpack?

Just a woolen vest, he would have been prepared for each day, most likely drinks, fruit, a bit of lunch, etc, and plenty of paper, a writing pad to write down notes.

I feel so sorry for him, losing his wife after so many years being together, to now being alone. arriving at a quiet, empty home. Probably having a bit of a cry each day

This should never have happened!

 

[Cliff Hardy]

My original comment "I wonder at this point if she is regretting getting on the stand. A lot of this information would not have come to light if she hadn't testified..." wasn't specific to her being cross examined. If she hadn't got on the stand, whose to know what would have been said and by whom. I was just wondering, based so far on her testimony and her responses to questions, whether that be her own admission or through cross, if she is regretting it now (or maybe she still thinks it was a good decision).

Even if she is found not guilty, the whole world is privvy to things I am sure she never wanted public, plus the general perception the public may form of her based on how she has acted, regardless of guilt. eg Do you think anyone would want her to cook them a meal?

It looked like it would be a huge mistake before she even decided to do it and has probably turned out even worse than anticipated.

 

[Lisa4]

Just pushing up my previous post from before as it got lost between the court updates.

I'm wondering if we do know that an untouched serving of beef wellington landed in the bin?

If so, then this is really in stark contrast to how Erin usually acts:
- The fruit platter and gravy were still in the fridge from the lunch when police had a search warrant which I believe was days later! Why throw out the beef wellington but keep fruit and gravy - makes zero sense, unless..
- She had to use the unlabelled package of mushrooms from a mysterious 'Asian shop' that smelled funny, but threw out a serving of beef wellington that she had spent 'a fortune on'...
- Which leftovers did she then scrape the mushrooms off from and fed to her children...

Thoughts?

Very good points all.
*Note she didn't really spend a small fortune. That was her exaggeration to SP, admitted by her.

MOO Heres my thoughts. I think she did initially throw it in the bin. Safe enough until bin day, as her plan was based on zero chance of deathcaps being brought up as a cause. But then she got to hospital that Monday and realised the situation.

So the panicked rush home was specifically to get that wellington from the bin along with anything else DC tainted, and remove them. Everything was thrown out in a quiet street or hidden park bin on her way back to the hospital except the dehydrator of course. That probably stayed in the boot until Wednesday when she took it to the tip.

Some reporting has indeed mentioned retrieval of 1.5 beef wellingtons, but I thought it was leftovers scraps that totalled 1.5 bits?? not 1 whole one and a half one?

What did show up when they tested those scraps, I cant recall?

 

[Cliff Hardy]

What kind of vest is Ian wearing?

Bulletproof?

If he is suffering from PTSD, who could blame him?

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Just a woolen vest, he would have been prepared for each day, most likely drinks, fruit, a bit of lunch, etc, and plenty of paper, a writing pad to write down notes.

I feel so sorry for him, losing his wife after so many years being together, to now being alone. arriving at a quiet, empty home. Probably having a bit of a cry each day

This should never have happened!

It must be awful for him and all of the loved ones of the people who died after Erin served them up that 'special' lunch.

 

[MsMarple]

He wears a fleece vest with a hiking backpack and the chest strapped of the backpack strapped across his chest.

Thanks!

 

[Detechtive]

Very good points all.
*Note she didn't really spend a small fortune. That was her exaggeration to SP, admitted by her.

MOO Heres my thoughts. I think she did initially throw it in the bin. Safe enough until bin day, as her plan was based on zero chance of deathcaps being brought up as a cause. But then she got to hospital that Monday and realised the situation.

So the panicked rush home was specifically to get that wellington from the bin along with anything else DC tainted, and remove them. Everything was thrown out in a quiet street or hidden park bin on her way back to the hospital except the dehydrator of course. That probably stayed in the boot until Wednesday when she took it to the tip.

Some reporting has indeed mentioned retrieval of 1.5 beef wellingtons, but I thought it was leftovers scraps that totalled 1.5 bits?? not 1 whole one and a half one?

What did show up when they tested those scraps, I cant recall?

Death caps were in some of the leftovers.

 

[mamamama9873]

Very good points all.
*Note she didn't really spend a small fortune. That was her exaggeration to SP, admitted by her.

MOO Heres my thoughts. I think she did initially throw it in the bin. Safe enough until bin day, as her plan was based on zero chance of deathcaps being brought up as a cause. But then she got to hospital that Monday and realised the situation.

So the panicked rush home was specifically to get that wellington from the bin along with anything else DC tainted, and remove them. Everything was thrown out in a quiet street or hidden park bin on her way back to the hospital except the dehydrator of course. That probably stayed in the boot until Wednesday when she took it to the tip.

Some reporting has indeed mentioned retrieval of 1.5 beef wellingtons, but I thought it was leftovers scraps that totalled 1.5 bits?? not 1 whole one and a half one?

What did show up when they tested those scraps, I cant recall?

I believe the beef wellington leftovers were in a brown paper bag in her street bin and she allowed police to collect them from the bin (this is prior to police having a search warrant). I’m not sure what day this was on?

At the same time she still had the gravy and the fruit in the fridge.

Why throw out the pricy beef wellington (if it was in fact an untouched serving) but not the fruit (that would go off quickly) or the cheap gravy?

 

[Old Soul]

Very good points all.
*Note she didn't really spend a small fortune. That was her exaggeration to SP, admitted by her.

MOO Heres my thoughts. I think she did initially throw it in the bin. Safe enough until bin day, as her plan was based on zero chance of deathcaps being brought up as a cause. But then she got to hospital that Monday and realised the situation.

So the panicked rush home was specifically to get that wellington from the bin along with anything else DC tainted, and remove them. Everything was thrown out in a quiet street or hidden park bin on her way back to the hospital except the dehydrator of course. That probably stayed in the boot until Wednesday when she took it to the tip.

Some reporting has indeed mentioned retrieval of 1.5 beef wellingtons, but I thought it was leftovers scraps that totalled 1.5 bits?? not 1 whole one and a half one?

What did show up when they tested those scraps, I cant recall?

The senior constable said he found the leftovers at the “very bottom” of a red bin in a Woolworths brown paper bag.
“It was primarily one and a bit beef wellingtons,” the police officer told the court.
The senior constable said the bag was “seeping a bit from the bottom”.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/more-witnesses-testify-in-accused-mushroom-cook-erin-pattersons-murder-trial-as-court-case-continues-in-regional-victoria/live-coverage/785ef0beeebcf9c7ca96755b52ae9eee

 

[SouthAussie]

Just to add the testimony about the toxicity of the leftovers found in the bin ....


"A forensic toxicologist who examined the mushroom paste and meat taken from the leftovers found at Erin Patterson’s home after the fatal beef Wellington lunch said the samples tested positive for death cap mushroom toxins.

Associate Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos, the head of forensic science and chief toxicologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) ...... On Friday, while under cross-examination by defence barrister Colin Mandy, SC, Gerostamoulos agreed his facility received the lunch leftovers on August 29, 2023. The leftovers were found in a bin at Patterson’s house.

Mushroom paste and beef samples tested positive for death cap mushroom toxins, he said."

Death cap mushroom toxins found in lunch leftovers, Erin Patterson murder trial hears

A forensic toxicologist who examined the mushroom paste and beef taken from the leftovers said the samples tested positive for the toxins.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Old Soul]

It would be interesting to know if the one whole beef Wellington and the other partly eaten portion were analyzed separately.
I wonder if it could be determined if one piece (Simon’s) contained toxins and the other (Erin’s) didn’t?
I suppose the liquids/juices had probably leeched into both portions by the time they were retrieved from the bin anyway so it is probably moot.

 

[MsMarple]

Bulletproof?

If he is suffering from PTSD, who could blame him?

That’s what I initially wondered but it didn’t look right. Thanks to all who explained that it was a vest and backpack.

I’d wondered because I remember the family had security cameras installed at Ian’s house when he came home. But I think it was due to all the reporters swarming around.

Poor man, he looks so sad in the few photos I’ve seen. To lose three people and have to go through hospitalization has to be unimaginably hard. Then to learn a close family member was responsible. Ugh.

I wonder what he thinks about Erin’s testimony.