Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #13 *Arrest*

[drsleuth]

Key Event
2m ago

Asian grocer wasn't initially mentioned to doctors​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Dr Rogers puts to Ms Patterson that she never mentioned to the lunch guests that the beef Wellingtons contained dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer.

"We didn't discuss any of the ingredients," Ms Patterson says.

The questioning then turns to accounts the accused gave about the origins of the mushrooms, including telling Leongatha Hospital staff that the mushrooms were partly from Woolworths in Leongatha, and partly from an Asian grocer in the Oakleigh area in Melbourne's south-east.

Dr Rogers puts to Ms Patterson that she didn't mention the Asian grocer to the first doctor she spoke to the Monday after the lunch, Chris Webster. But she did mention it to a doctor she spoke to several hours later.

The prosecutor suggests that this was because Ms Patterson had had some time to come up with a story. Ms Patterson says that's incorrect.

Live: Erin Patterson faces questioning over deadly beef Wellington recipe

Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson returns to the witness box for a seventh day of evidence. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Detechtive]

13m ago10.39 AEST
Here’s a recap of what the jury heard on day 29 of Erin Patterson’s trial:

1. Under cross-examination, Patterson denied she was thinking of ways to cover her tracks after she discharged herself from Leongatha hospital against medical advice two days after the lunch.

2. Patterson disputed evidence by Ian Wilkinson, the sole lunch guest survivor, that she served the beef wellington for her guests on large grey plates and her own on a smaller orangey-tan coloured plate. Patterson said there was “no smaller plate”.

3. Patterson denied she made a sixth poisoned beef wellington for her estranged husband, Simon, in case he attended the lunch.

4. Patterson rejected the evidence of multiple witnesses including medical staff. This included disputing evidence by Leongtha hospital nurse Cindy Munro that Patterson said she did not want her children involved when staff said they needed to undergo medical testing.

5. Patterson recalled feeling “anxious” when medical staff at Leongatha hospital raised the possibility of death cap mushroom poisoning on 31 July 2023 – two days after the lunch. “I was anxious at the idea that we may have eaten those things [death caps],” she said.

5m ago10.47 AEST
The jurors have returned to the court room in Morwell.

Erin Patterson, seated in the witness box, is dressed in a pink shirt.

Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies foraging death caps two hours before buying dehydrator

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow live

www.theguardian.com

That feminine pink shirt isn't softening today's snark well. IMO

 

[drsleuth]

8m ago10.55 AEST
Patterson questioned about beef wellington recipe

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is cross-examining Patterson. She begins by asking questions about the beef wellingtons she prepared.

Rogers suggests Patterson choose to make the meals with individual eye fillets instead of a single piece of meat because she wanted to serve individual beef wellingtons. She says this allowed Patterson to include death cap mushrooms in the beef wellingtons of her guests but not her own.

Patterson rejects both assertions.

Rogers says in conversations prior to the lunch with her Facebook friends, Patterson did mention adding foraged mushrooms to the beef wellington.

I was not planning to add foraged mushrooms.

2m ago11.01 AEST
Patterson asked about mushrooms bought for beef wellingtons

Rogers shows Patterson the beef wellington recipe she told police she used at the lunch. It is contained in the RecipeTin Eats Dinner cookbook.

Rogers says on two occasions in the week before the meal Patterson bought 1.75kg of sliced mushrooms from Woolworths.

Rogers asks where the other kilogram of mushrooms went, as the recipe only asks for 700g of sliced mushrooms.

“I ate them,” Patterson says.

Rogers says this is a lie. Patterson rejects this.

Rogers puts to Patterson:

You never mentioned to the lunch guests that the beef wellington contained dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer.

Patterson:

We never discussed any of the ingredients.

Rogers says Patterson also never told her guests the beef wellingtons contained foraged mushrooms.

“I didn’t think they did at the time,” Patterson says.

Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies foraging death caps two hours before buying dehydrator

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow live

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

11:01

Patterson claimed she ate a kilo of mushrooms prior to lunch​

Patterson, who is today wearing a pink top, claimed she ate a kilo of mushrooms between July 23 and July 27.
Dr Rogers suggested Patterson purchased 1.75kg of mushrooms between July 23 and July 27.
'Incorrect,' Patterson replied.
Patterson said the amount was a kilo-and-a-half and she ate one kilo and used the rest of the mushrooms for the Wellingtons.
Dr Rogers suggested that is an 'untruth'.
'Disagree,' Patterson said.
Dr Rogers suggested Patterson had twice the amount of mushrooms the RecipeTin Eats recipe called for and there was no need to add extra mushrooms.
Patterson disagreed.

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates

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

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago

More questions on the origins of the mushrooms​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Dr Rogers goes through the evidence from several medical professionals, who recounted that in the days after the meal they spoke to Ms Patterson in an effort to identify the origins of the ingredients.

Ms Patterson told them that she'd bought dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in the Oakleigh area in Melbourne's south-east.

The prosecutor recounts how Ms Patterson told one of the doctors she no longer had the packaging to help narrow down the search.

"I suggest that that was an untruth as well," Dr Rogers says.

"Incorrect," Ms Patterson responds.

Live: Erin Patterson faces questioning over deadly beef Wellington recipe

Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson returns to the witness box for a seventh day of evidence. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Detechtive]

No , not even with a patients permission. But you can document very well what ever conversations you have , even verbatim

It's quite arrogant for a nurse-wannabe to not understand how important note-taking is in a hospital setting. The nurses are brilliant at it.

 

[L_B]

Dr Rogers suggested Patterson could've sourced a whole eye-fillet log at several butchers or supermarkets in Korumburra and Leongatha

And exactly what we were discussing yesterday! Thanks for bringing this up Dr Rogers

 

[Detechtive]

In a change to the past few days of Ms Patterson's evidence, the public gallery space is not packed to capacity today.

Is interest waning? I wonder? Is she frustrating everyone?

 

[L_B]

I hope it's brought up how she didnt taste the "bland" duxelle after she added the "asian store" mushrooms.........

 

[drsleuth]

11:08

Questions over what Patterson told doctors about mushrooms​

Patterson (pictured) agreed she told child services officer Dr Katrina Cripps she used dried mushrooms which were 'quite pungent'.
Dr Rogers then reminded Patterson of the evidence of fungi expert Dr Tom May who said dried death caps had an 'unpleasant' smell.
'I don't remember them being unpleasant,' Patterson said before admitting they had a 'strong smell'.
Dr Rogers asked Patterson if she mentioned using dried mushrooms to her lunch guests.
Patterson said there was no discussion about the ingredients of the meal.
Patterson denied she told Dr Chris Webster at Leongatha hospital about dried mushrooms or an Asian grocer.
Patterson said the doctor was mistaken.
Patterson agreed she told her brother-in-law on July 31 that she bought the fresh sliced mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh.
'Yeah I did (tell him those things),' Patterson said.

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates

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

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[L_B]

Is interest waning? I wonder? Is she frustrating everyone?

to be honest it sounds really draining and frustrating. You can probably just guess she will lie/deny most things.

 

[drsleuth]

Key Event
1m ago

Possible locations of Asian grocer questioned​

By Joseph Dunstan​

Throughout the steady stream of questioning from Nanette Rogers SC, Ms Patterson is holding her glasses in her lap.

Her gaze is focused on Dr Rogers, her voice remains level with each response and she is blinking rapidly.

The prosecutor notes one of the doctors, Rhonda Stuart, previously told the court that Ms Patterson told her the store was either in Oakleigh or Glen Waverley and she might recognise it if she drove past it.

But Ms Patterson says she doesn't remember any conversation with Professor Stuart.

"I suggest it is an untruth when you say you have no memory of the conversation with Professor Stuart ... I suggest that you lied to her about the Asian food shop, but of course you disagree with that," Dr Rogers says.

"Correct," Ms Patterson responds.

Live: Erin Patterson faces questioning over deadly beef Wellington recipe

Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson returns to the witness box for a seventh day of evidence. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Detechtive]

11 minutes ago
Good morning!

Erin Patterson has returned to the stand for a seventh day of evidence.​

She is seated in the witness box, wearing a baby pink blouse.

Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC has started her cross-examination by asking Erin about the beef wellington.
Erin told the jury last week she bought individual eye fillet steaks because she could not source a “log” or “tenderloin” from Woolworths as required by the recipe.
Dr Rogers suggests that she could have sourced the tenderloin from various supermarkets or butchers around Leongatha, but Erin denies this.
Dr Rogers: I suggest that your only plan for the beef wellingtons was to ensure that the death cap mushrooms were added.
Erin: Incorrect.
Dr Rogers takes Erin to the beef wellington recipe she followed in a best-selling RecipeTin Eats cookbook, which calls for 700g of sliced mushrooms.
The court heard Erin bought 1kg of sliced mushrooms from Woolworths on July 23 and another 750g on July 27.
She disagrees that she had 1.75kg of mushrooms on the day of the lunch on July 29, telling the jury only 750g remained.
Dr Rogers: Where did the other kilo go?
Erin: I ate them.
She suggests to Erin that she had “no need” to use additional mushrooms outside those she brought from Woolworths, referring to the fact Erin told the jury last week she added dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer into the mushroom duxelles.
Erin says the dried mushrooms were “pungent”, but she added them for “more flavour”.
Dr Rogers: There was evidence from Dr Tom May that he dried death cap mushrooms on a number of occasions and … they smelled quite unpleasant.
But Erin denies the mushrooms from the Asian grocer smelled “unpleasant”, but reiterates they had a “strong smell”.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-day-7-of-the-mushroom-cook-on-the-stand/live-coverage/de6fc4d3d7fad818d3197b46b26ea22f

 

[L_B]

'I don't remember them being unpleasant,' Patterson said before admitting they had a 'strong smell'.

back with the semantics, unpleasant <> strong smell according to erin.

 

[Walk A Mile]

Two come to mind - Casey Anthony and Lizzie Borden were both acquitted of murder but to this day, most people believe that they actually committed the crimes they were charged with.

A close-to-home example: Greg Domaszewicz, acquitted of the 1997 murder of Jaidyn Leskie in Moe (neighboring town of Morwell).

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago11.15 AEST

Erin Patterson denies fabricating that she bought mushrooms from an Asian grocer​

Rogers turns to answers Patterson gave to medical staff about the source of the mushrooms contained in the beef wellington.

Rogers says Patterson did not mention an Asian grocer when she first spoke to Dr Chris Webster at Leongatha hospital on 31 July 2023 – two days after the lunch. Rogers says Patterson later mentioned the Asian grocer because she had time to come up with her story.

Patterson rejects this.

Rogers says Dr Connor McDermott, a toxicology registrar at the Austin hospital, asked Patterson if she had the original packaging of the dried mushrooms she says she bought from an Asian grocer.

Rogers says the “mushrooms contained in the beef wellingtons were not from an Asian grocer”.

“Disagree,” Patterson replies.

Rogers says she told a paramedic en route to Monash hospital that she had bought dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne and fresh mushrooms from Woolworths.

Patterson agrees she said this.

“I suggest this is a lie,” Rogers says.

“Incorrect,” Patterson says.

Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson denies foraging death caps two hours before buying dehydrator

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow live

www.theguardian.com

 

[Detechtive]

Crown grills Erin over 'changing story'​

Dr Rogers is now asking Erin about her “changing story” regarding the source of the mushrooms used in the beef wellington.
The jury previously heard from Dr Chris Webster, an emergency doctor at Leongatha Hospital, who said they had asked Erin where she got the mushrooms and she had told him Woolworths.
Dr Rogers: And you disagree with that?

Erin: That wasn’t the question I remember him asking.
Erin says he asked her where the ingredients had come from, not the mushrooms specifically.
Dr Rogers: Your evidence is that Dr Webster is mistaken when he says he asked you where you’d obtained the mushrooms from that you’d used in the beef wellington?
Erin: He’s mistaken about the content of his question, yes.

Erin admits she made no mention of an Asian grocer or dried mushrooms to Dr Webster.
Dr Rogers now takes Erin to the evidence given by her brother-in-law, Matthew Patterson, who told the jury he called Erin while he was at Don’s bedside in Dandenong Hospital and asked her where the mushrooms had come from.

Dr Rogers: And you replied Woolworths and an Asian grocer. Do you agree that you told him those things?
Erin: Yeah, I did. Yep.
Dr Rogers: You mentioned the location (of the Asian grocer) as being in the Oakleigh area, correct?
Erin: I said “possibly” in the Oakleigh area.

The Crown prosecutor now asks Erin about her knowledge of Don’s condition at the time of her phone conversation with Matthew.
Dr Rogers: Matthew Patterson told you he was with Don in hospital and toxicology people wanted to know where the mushrooms came from .. and you knew how important it was to be truthful and accurate?
Erin: Yeah, I did.
Dr Rogers: And you knew Don’s health was at stake, correct?
Erin: That wasn’t something that was said to be me…
Dr Rogers: I suggest you know that Don’s health was at stake in this phone call.
Erin: Yeah, I knew that his health, the treatment of him, was important and the information about the food that fed into that was important.

Erin is now asked about the evidence of Dr Veronica Foote, who reviewed her at Leongatha Hospital on July 31.
Erin told Dr Foote the mushrooms had been bought from Woolworth in Leongatha and an Asian grocer in Melbourne in April.
Dr Rogers says the conversation with Dr Foote took place about two-and-a-half hours after Erin’s conversations with Dr Webster.
Dr Rogers: I suggest you had some time to think about your story, correct or incorrect?
Erin: Incorrect.
Dr Rogers suggests Erin changed her story to include mention of the Asian grocer.

 

[Detechtive]

Erin denies Asian grocer story is a lie​

Dr Conor McDermott from Austin Health told the jury he spoke to Erin over the phone in the days after the lunch and offered to name all the Asian grocers in Oakleigh and Glen Waverley to help her figure out where she bought them from.
Erin denies she was not willing to identify a store to Dr McDermott.

Dr Rogers: I suggest you did not have the original packaging because there was no original packaging, agree or disagree?
Erin: Disagree.
Dr Rogers: The mushrooms contained in the beef wellington were not from an Asian grocer, agree or disagree?
Erin: Disagree.

She also denies lying to Dr Laura Muldoon at Monash Health about not having the packaging.
Dr Rogers puts to Erin that the prosecution says the story about the Asian grocer is a lie.

“Correct. You do say that, yes,” Erin replies.

 

[drsleuth]

11.15am

Mushrooms in beef Wellington had ‘strong smell’​

By​

Accused mushroom killer Erin Patterson, wearing a pink button-down shirt, has returned to the witness box for the seventh day.

Senior Crown prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC, is once again leading the cross-examination. Rogers has started by asking Patterson about the preparation of the beef Wellington served during the fatal lunch on July 31, 2023.

The mother of two denied Rogers’ suggestion that she could have sourced a whole cut of meat from one of the local butchers to prepare the beef Wellington as a single log, instead of buying eye-fillet steaks to create individual portions.

“I may have been able to, but I don’t know,” Patterson said.

Rogers has taken Patterson to a record of her interview with the police, where Patterson referred Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall to the cookbook recipe she’d used, which called for a single piece of meat to prepare the dish as a log.

The prosecutor questioned Patterson about the quantity of mushrooms she purchased for the recipe, which called for 700 grams of sliced mushrooms for six to eight servings. She referred Patterson to her purchases leading up to the meal, which included buying a kilogram of sliced mushrooms from Woolworths and another 750 grams on two separate dates leading up to July 29, 2023.

Patterson said she ate a kilo of mushrooms between July 23 and July 27, leaving her with 750 grams for the recipe.

Rogers suggested Patterson was lying about eating the mushrooms, which the mother of two denied.

Rogers: It’s more than twice the amount of mushrooms that the recipe called for.

Patterson: Correct.

Rogers: I suggest you had no need to use additional mushrooms outside the ones you purchased from Woolworths.

Patterson: I may not have needed to, no.

Rogers: You told [Department of Health manager] Sally Ann Atkinson and [child protection worker] Katrina Cripps that the dried mushrooms you had had a strong smell.

Patterson: They were quite pungent.

Rogers: There was evidence from [mycologist] Dr Tom May that he had dried death cap mushrooms on a number of occasions and that they smelled quite unpleasant. The mushrooms you included in the meal smelled very unpleasant didn’t they?

Patterson: I don’t remember them being unpleasant.

Rogers: The mushrooms you included in the meal had a strong smell.

Patterson: They did.

Rogers: Is it your evidence that the smell was not unpleasant?

Patterson: I don’t remember thinking that the smell was unpleasant.

Rogers: You chose what to serve your guests for lunch.

Patterson: Correct.

Roger: You were solely responsible for obtaining and preparing the ingredients.

Patterson: For the main, yes.

Rogers: You never mentioned to the lunch guests that the beef Wellington contained dried mushrooms from a Chinese grocer.

Patterson: We didn’t discuss any of the ingredients.

Rogers: You never mentioned to the lunch guests that the beef wellington contained wild foraged mushrooms.

Patterson: I didn’t think it did at the time.

Erin Patterson murder trial LIVE: Accused mushroom cook to return to the witness box for seventh day

Accused killer Erin Patterson is expected to return to the witness box during her murder trial. She has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

Key Event
2m ago

Erin says she put mushrooms from Asian grocer in food dehydrator​

By Joseph Dunstan​

The prosecutor then takes the accused to evidence previously given by health official Sally Ann Atkinson, who was leading the public health investigation into the death cap poisoning, amid fears toxic mushrooms were in the Victorian supply chain.

"You recognised that this was being treated as a public health emergency, didn't you?" Dr Rogers asks.

"I did," Ms Patterson says.

Ms Atkinson previously told the court that the listing of possible suburbs where dried mushrooms were purchased from an Asian grocer given by Ms Patterson changed during conversations, initially including Mount Waverley, before swapping to Glen Waverley.

Ms Patterson tells the court she believes Ms Atkinson was mistaken about that.

Dr Rogers notes that Ms Atkinson previously told the court that Ms Patterson had told her the dried mushrooms from the Asian grocer "smelled funny" when she bought them in April so she'd put them into a container, before using them months later in the beef Wellington.

"You agree you did not put any mushrooms from the Asian grocery store into your dehydrator?" Dr Rogers asks.

"I think I did at one point ... I remember after using the dehydrator quite a few times and noticing how crisp things were when they came out after quite a number of hours, I remember feeling the mushrooms in the Tupperware container and they weren't like that, they were quite rubbery ... so I whacked them in the dehydrator for a couple of hours," Ms Patterson says.

She says she did it just the once, sometime after buying them.

Live: Erin Patterson faces questioning over deadly beef Wellington recipe

Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson returns to the witness box for a seventh day of evidence. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au