VERDICT WATCH Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #16 *Arrest*

[drsleuth]

I'm also unable to post updates this afternoon.

 

[drsleuth]

13:08

Forensic tests on mushroom duxelles probed​

Justice Beale has moved to forensic tests of the mushroom paste found in leftovers from the lunch.
The jury heard a sample contained death caps, but it was unclear if it had penetrated the beef itself.
Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos made several tests of multiple samples.
Justice Beale reminded the jury to be careful when assessing the evidence of each sample
'Again, that doesn't mean that the beta-amanitin was in the meat,' Justice Beale said.
'It simply means that the beta-amanitin was in the sample that contained the meat.'

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

 

[katydid23]

2 minutes ago

The topic of the Asian grocers
Justice Beale has turned to the arguments relating to Erin allegedly lying about using dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer.
He said the prosecution argued that Erin’s story about the Asian grocer “kept changing” and became “more elaborate” because the suburbs she was providing to the doctors and health officials were not consistent.
He added that the prosecution alleges she “sat on her hands” and was slow to respond to the questions by the Department of Health.
He also referred the jury to the prosecution argument that it “beggars belief” that Erin was able to recall dates, evidence and details easily during her evidence, but could not remember the exact location of the grocer.
But Justice Beale said the defence argued that Erin was largely consistent when she answered questions about where she had purchased the mushrooms and that the prosecution had “ignored the nuances of human behaviour”.
He also said the Department of Health did not investigate Asian grocers in Glen Waverley despite Erin mentioning the suburb, which could explain why health officials were unable to find dried mushrooms on store shelves matching Erin’s description.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/judge-gives-crucial-timing-update-in-mushroom-trial/live-coverage/b092399761add9b8f02c222d97435df7#/entry/32422853

"But Justice Beale said the defence argued that Erin was largely consistent when she answered questions about where she had purchased the mushrooms...

----"largely consistent?' lol. Doesn't that mean 'inconsistent?' She was 'largely' consistent but not wholly consistent...so inconsistent.

"... and that the prosecution had “ignored the nuances of human behaviour”.

The nuances of human behaviour? That's how they try to describe her ridiculous behaviour when questioned about her lunch guests who were all near death?



"He also said the Department of Health did not investigate Asian grocers in Glen Waverley despite Erin mentioning the suburb, ..."

Oh come on, she 'mentioned' Glen Waverly after saying three other suburbs first. They had already wasted thousands in resources and precious time searching the other areas. She cried wolf and they knew it by then.


"...which could explain why health officials were unable to find dried mushrooms on store shelves matching Erin’s description."

Oh my Lord, I sure hope no one believes this. What a crock.

Why weren't people dropping dead in Glen Waverly then?

 

[LinasK]

13:08

Forensic tests on mushroom duxelles probed​

Justice Beale has moved to forensic tests of the mushroom paste found in leftovers from the lunch.
The jury heard a sample contained death caps, but it was unclear if it had penetrated the beef itself.
Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos made several tests of multiple samples.
Justice Beale reminded the jury to be careful when assessing the evidence of each sample
'Again, that doesn't mean that the beta-amanitin was in the meat,' Justice Beale said.
'It simply means that the beta-amanitin was in the sample that contained the meat.'

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

If it was detected in the meat sample, then it stands to reason that the meat was contaminated from the Death Cap toxins seeping into it. That's the only way that the meat can get contaminated. The judge is making no sense to me. This thrown out portion was probably the one meant for Simon IMO, since presumably the other "leftovers" (the non-toxic beef portions) were consumed by Erin and her children.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I wish the police found phone A. I wonder where it is?

The police should have interrogated her nonstop until she revealed where that phone is

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Mushroom jury to begin deliberations next week​

The jurors tasked with deciding whether Erin Patterson deliberately poisoned her estranged husband's family with a beef Wellington meal will begin deliberations next week.

The triple-murder trial, which began at the end of April, has reached week nine in the regional Victorian town of Morwell.

Patterson, 50, faced court on Thursday wearing a polka-dot blouse as she was told the case would enter its 10th week.

"We will be stopping, as we normally do, at 1 o'clock tomorrow," Justice Christopher Beale told the jury.

"You'll be able to go home for the weekend.

"I'll be completing my charge prior to lunchtime on Monday, at which point we'll have the ballot and away you go, so to speak."

The 14 jurors will be balloted down to 12, who will be sent away to decide whether Patterson is guilty or not guilty.

The judge reminded the jury that they will be sequestered at the end of each day, during their deliberations.

Justice Beale is continuing to sum up evidence in the case and give the jury their final directions, known as the charge.

Ian Wilkinson became unwell but was the only lunch guest to survive and has attended most days of the trial since he gave evidence in week two. (Justin McManus)

Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson (left) and his parents Don and Gail Patterson. (Nine)
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges and one attempted murder for serving her estranged husband's family death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellingtons.
Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died in hospital days after eating the lunch prepared by Patterson on July 29, 2023.
Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson became unwell but was the only lunch guest to survive and has attended most days of the trial since he gave evidence in week two.
Patterson claims the lunch was a terrible accident and she did not intend to poison her guests.
The trial continues.

Mushroom jury to begin deliberations next week

The triple-murder trial, which began at the end of April, has reached week nine in the regional Victorian t...

www.9news.com.au

 

[Deleted member 363451]

13m ago

Turning now to an overheard conversation​

​

By Mikaela Ortolan​

The jury is back in the courtroom.

As promised, Justice Beale turns to evidence given by Katrina Cripps.

The child protection officer gave evidence that during her first conversation with Erin Patterson, the accused said she purchased pre-sliced mushrooms from a supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in either Oakleigh or Clayton. This conversation took place while Ms Patterson was in hospital.

In her evidence, Ms Cripps mentioned a conversation she overheard between Ms Patterson and Sally Ann Atkinson from the health department, where the accused told Ms Atkinson that she couldn't recall where she purchased the dried mushrooms.

She said she overheard Ms Patterson tell Ms Atkinson she was going to use the dried mushrooms in a carbonara but they had a strong smell. Ms Patterson reportedly said she put the dried mushrooms in the beef Wellingtons because they wouldn't be the primary flavour.

Later, Ms Cripps asked if Ms Patterson had picked the mushrooms that were used in the lunch, but she did not answer her.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

What a load of nonsense!

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
14m ago
Turning now to the children's medical treatment
Mikaela Ortolan profile image
By Mikaela Ortolan

The judge turns his focus to another alleged incriminating act: Erin Patterson's reluctance to get medical treatment for her children.

Justice Beale returns to evdience given by Kylie Ashton, a nurse at Leongatha hospital, who told the trial about a conversation she had with Ms Patterson.

The nurse said she told Ms Patterson that scraping the mushroom paste off the leftovers she fed to her children would not guarantee they wouldn't get sick.

The judge says another health worker stressed the urgency with which Ms Patterson should take the children to hopsital for assessment.

The judge mentions how Ms Patterson asked one of the doctors if a blood test could tell whether or not the children were sick.

He says Ms Patterson said she initially didn't want to worry the children, but eventually agreed to bring them to hospital.


Key Event
26m ago
Jury told to disregard suggestion children would be sick from leftovers
Mikaela Ortolan profile image
By Mikaela Ortolan

Justice Beale tells the jury to disregard the argument that toxins would have penetrated the leftover meat Erin Patterson says she fed her children.

The prosecution suggested the children would have become unwell if they at the leftovers, but the judge says no expert was asked whether they would still experience symptoms if the mushroom paste and pastry had been scraped off the leftover meat.

"You have no expert evidence as to if that would be the case, so I direct you to disregard that evidence," he says.

"You would be speculating if you were to go down that path."

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrJ]

4m ago
Prosecution argued Erin Patterson knew her children did not consume death caps
Mikaela Ortolan profile image
By Mikaela Ortolan

Recapping the arguments on this point from each side now, Justice Beale says the prosecution told the jury they should reject Ms Patterson's suggestion that she was only "initially" reluctant to seek help for her children because she wanted to better understand what was going on.

The judge points to Ms Patterson's evidence that she didn't want to stress the children, which the prosecution said was "an extraordinary attitude”.

The prosecution argued "the only reasonable explanation for this reluctance is that the accused, who you heard is a doting mother, knew they had not eaten death cap mushrooms," the judge says.

The prosecution told the jury a parent would get their children to hospital "as quickly as possible" if they thought they had consumed deadly mushrooms.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

 

[BreakingNews]

Remotely wiping your phone while it's in police custody is an absolutely wild move

It is. But as the judge said, police are required to disable this by putting the phone into aeroplane mode and they didn't.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

3m ago

More on the store location, and a quick break​

​

By Mikaela Ortolan​

The judge reminds the jury that health department officials located dried mushrooms in Oakleigh that matched the packaging description Erin Patterson gave.

Justice Beale says the department's Sally Ann Atkinson gave evidence that Ms Patterson was "never precise" about the location of the store and it wasn't until their third conversation that she first mentioned Glen Waverley.

Ms Patterson was asked to look at some maps during the investigation, but struggled to remember the location of the store, the jury heard.

We take a break, with the judge indicating he will turn to the evidence of child protection officer Katrina Cripps when the hearing resumes.

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

The judge reminds the jury that health department officials located dried mushrooms in Oakleigh that matched the packaging description Erin Patterson gave.

What inference is Beale making here? She didn't buy the Death Caps at an Asian Grocery store!

 

[Deleted member 363451]

2m ago12.20 AEST
Beale turns to Patterson’s evidence about the dried mushrooms.

He says Patterson said she realised on 2 August 2023 that she may have put foraged mushrooms in a Tupperware container including store-bought mushrooms that she used in the beef wellington.

Beale says Patterson said she did not lie in her police interview when she told investigators she purchased dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Oakleigh in April 2023 and used these in the beef wellington.

While testifying, Patterson agreed she did not mention to Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha hospital she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer, the court hears.

Erin Patterson mushroom trial day 38 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

I love the wording. "She may have put foraged mushrooms in a Tupperware container." In other words, mushrooms that she - Erin, had foraged.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

"But Justice Beale said the defence argued that Erin was largely consistent when she answered questions about where she had purchased the mushrooms...

----"largely consistent?' lol. Doesn't that mean 'inconsistent?' She was 'largely' consistent but not wholly consistent...so inconsistent.

"... and that the prosecution had “ignored the nuances of human behaviour”.

The nuances of human behaviour? That's how they try to describe her ridiculous behaviour when questioned about her lunch guests who were all near death?



"He also said the Department of Health did not investigate Asian grocers in Glen Waverley despite Erin mentioning the suburb, ..."

Oh come on, she 'mentioned' Glen Waverly after saying three other suburbs first. They had already wasted thousands in resources and precious time searching the other areas. She cried wolf and they knew it by then.


"...which could explain why health officials were unable to find dried mushrooms on store shelves matching Erin’s description."

Oh my Lord, I sure hope no one believes this. What a crock.

Why weren't people dropping dead in Glen Waverly then?

Still trying to pin it on an uninspecting Asian grocer.

 

[LinasK]

The judge reminds the jury that health department officials located dried mushrooms in Oakleigh that matched the packaging description Erin Patterson gave.

What inference is Beale making here? She didn't buy the Death Caps at an Asian Grocery store!

Maybe some other 3rd kind of mushroom, but they certainly weren't Death Caps. It was pure luck if they found some matching her packaging descriptions. A hand-written label sounds sketchy to me...

 

[Way2Invested]

Since that phone data regarding the possible Outtrim trip was mentioned by Dr Rogers I was sure that she was going to bring this theory up during Erin's cross, but maybe she decided against it given the phone data was vague.

Theory - Erin attended hospital on the Monday morning and discovered that doctors had already figured out death caps were involved, AND were insistent on Erin being admitted for treatment & blood tests.

Knowing that she wasn't at all sick, Erin panicked, checked herself out of hospital and drove to Outtrim looking for more deathcaps to micro-dose herself.
I can't think of any other reason for her to rush to Outtrim instead of starting treatment. It certainly wasn't to pack a ballet bag or have a nap.

If she had succeeded and found more deathcaps, she would have soon developed real symptoms, perhaps the three deaths of the other lunch guests would have been assumed an innocent accident and we wouldn't be here.


.

Personal theory, if there had been more death cap mushrooms available to find in Outrim on that day, perhaps Erin would have supplied the hospital with a half-used punnet of Woolies mushrooms which upon testing would have been found to contain some death caps thereby "proving" the source of the contamination. The Asian mushroom story had not been started at this point in time.
All MOO

 

[LinasK]

Personal theory, if there had been more death cap mushrooms available to find in Outrim on that day, perhaps Erin would have supplied the hospital with a half-used punnet of Woolies mushrooms which upon testing would have been found to contain some death caps thereby "proving" the source of the contamination. The Asian mushroom story had not been started at this point in time.
All MOO

So she would have blamed Woolworths?

 

[Detechtive]

Key Event
14m ago
Turning now to the children's medical treatment
Mikaela Ortolan profile image
By Mikaela Ortolan

The judge turns his focus to another alleged incriminating act: Erin Patterson's reluctance to get medical treatment for her children.

Justice Beale returns to evdience given by Kylie Ashton, a nurse at Leongatha hospital, who told the trial about a conversation she had with Ms Patterson.

The nurse said she told Ms Patterson that scraping the mushroom paste off the leftovers she fed to her children would not guarantee they wouldn't get sick.

The judge says another health worker stressed the urgency with which Ms Patterson should take the children to hopsital for assessment.

The judge mentions how Ms Patterson asked one of the doctors if a blood test could tell whether or not the children were sick.

He says Ms Patterson said she initially didn't want to worry the children, but eventually agreed to bring them to hospital.


Key Event
26m ago
Jury told to disregard suggestion children would be sick from leftovers
Mikaela Ortolan profile image
By Mikaela Ortolan

Justice Beale tells the jury to disregard the argument that toxins would have penetrated the leftover meat Erin Patterson says she fed her children.

The prosecution suggested the children would have become unwell if they at the leftovers, but the judge says no expert was asked whether they would still experience symptoms if the mushroom paste and pastry had been scraped off the leftover meat.

"You have no expert evidence as to if that would be the case, so I direct you to disregard that evidence," he says.

"You would be speculating if you were to go down that path."

Judge continues instructions for jury in Erin Patterson triple-murder trial — as it happened

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial is continuing to deliver his final instructions to the jury. Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning her relatives by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms. Follow the proceedings as it happened.

www.abc.net.au

I wish the prosecution called a rebuttal expert about this! And also about whether vomiting the meal hours post-lunch would have affected the toxicity if Erin had consumed the Death Caps!

 

[Kemug]

It's just... silly.
Funny the things she minimizes.
JMO

Let's count them:

1 Resetting her phone
2 The possibility of her children having Deathcap poisoning
3 Her own little bout of Deathcap poisoning
4 Other peoples' suffering compared to hers

And probably many more!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The next alleged incriminating conduct the prosecution has alleged is Patterson’s reluctance to have herself medically tested at hospital.

Leongatha hospital nurse Cindy Munro testified that while assessing Patterson on 31 July 2023 she said multiple times she didn’t want any medical interventions, including IV fluids and a cannula. When Foote arrived, she convinced her to be treated with IV fluids.

Patterson was commenced on NAC – a liver function medication – shortly after midday, the court hears.

Patterson testified that she was reluctant to receive treatment during her first presentation at the hospital, where she discharged herself within minutes of arriving, but not the second.

Patterson rejected Munro’s evidence that she told her she didn’t want to be cannulated, Beale says. He reminds the jury of Patterson’s testimony:

The whole point of being in hospital was to get treatment.

The prosecution said Patterson was reluctant because she knew she was not suffering death cap mushroom poisoning, Beale says.

The defence said the evidence that Patterson was initially reluctant to receive treatment was contradictory to a person faking an illness.

Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson jury to begin deliberations after judge’s charge concludes on Monday

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

www.theguardian.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]