Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #5 *Arrest*

[Countem]

Murder in Victoria carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

RSBM. Only 25 years?! That is surprising to me, but I am in the U.S. MOO

 

[Amonet]

"The loss to the community and to the families and my own children who have lost their grandmother… I just can't fathom what has happened," Erin told reporters outside her home in August. "I'm so sorry that they have lost their lives. I just can't believe it."

Australia's 'Mushroom Chef' Arrested Months After Beef Wellington Dish Killed 3 Family Members

Erin Patterson maintained her innocence for months as investigators pieced together whether she'd intentionally poisoned her guests.

themessenger.com

*no mention of grandfather?

"I'm devastated. I loved them. I can't believe that this has happened and I'm so sorry," she tearfully told reporters two days after the third death

Australian police accuse lunch host of murdering 3 guests with poisonous mushrooms

The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged with murdering three guests with poisonous mushrooms and attempting to murder a fourth who was left fighting for life, police said on Thursday.

www.ctvnews.ca

Erin Patterson will remain in police custody until she appears in a local court on Friday, when she can potentially apply to be released on bail. Bail for murder is usually a decision referred to a higher court

Murder in Victoria carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

A lunch host is accused of killing her ex-husband's parents and aunt with poisonous mushrooms

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged Thursday with murdering her ex-husband’s parents and aunt w…

nationalpost.com

I think he might not have died at the time of that interview?

What I found concerning was a quote where EP said about the meal "contributing" to the deaths. I think many innocent people would be feeling that they had (effectively) killed their own loved ones. Guilt can be very strong when a loved one dies even when it's totally illogical and there is no direct causation. Her use of "contribute" rather than "cause" feels like minimisation. A lawyer might suggest this kind of word switch, so I am curious if EP said that in the flow of normal talking or through a statement composed with the help of a legal professional?

 

[Sarahlou]

Will Erin apply for bail? Will she get bail?

It’s worth noting that in Victoria, there is a presumption in favour of bail. This means that a person is entitled to be granted bail unless there is a compelling reason to refuse it. However, in some cases, such as for serious offences like murder or terrorism, bail may be refused altogether.

Ultimate Guide For Bail In Victoria (2024)

How to make a bail application, cost, bail conditions, what to expect at a hearing and more. Our criminal lawyers can help you with a bail application.

www.furstenberglaw.com.au

​

No way should she get bail IMO and I don't think she will.

 

[Ellery84]

She was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to Wonthaggi Police Station for questioning in the afternoon after police searched her Leongatha home, where the family lunch was served.

Patterson was ushered into the back of a police vehicle and driven away through a roller door on one side of the police station about 8.15pm.

Patterson’s lawyer, Ophelia Hollway, left the police station about 7.20pm after five hours of questioning. Hollway refused to comment as she rushed past journalists, TV cameras and photographers to get to her car.

That’s a biiiggggg day for Ophelia!

Erin Patterson charged with murder over Leongatha mushroom deaths

 

[Ellery84]

Will Erin apply for bail? Will she get bail?

It’s worth noting that in Victoria, there is a presumption in favour of bail. This means that a person is entitled to be granted bail unless there is a compelling reason to refuse it. However, in some cases, such as for serious offences like murder or terrorism, bail may be refused altogether.

Ultimate Guide For Bail In Victoria (2024)

How to make a bail application, cost, bail conditions, what to expect at a hearing and more. Our criminal lawyers can help you with a bail application.

www.furstenberglaw.com.au

​

It’s allegedly a mass murder.

And attempted murder charges suggest multiple murder attempts on a 48 year old male also.

Imo she’ll never get bail.

 

[mangoes999]

Erin will face court in Morwell tomorrow.

Judging by this “
UPDATE: The further three attempted murder charges relate to three separate incidents in Victoria between 2021-2022.

It’s alleged a 48-year-old Korumburra man became ill following meals on these dates.”

Erin stands accused of trying to poison her husband on three separate occasions!

i wonder if Dorivitch Pathology or other , digitally kept his blood tests reports/anomalies from those times or did she incriminate herself from her old google search history? what a nasty piece of work she is.

 

[Ellery84]

Except... didn't she serve beef wellington? If she made a wellington, the mushrooms surely would have been in the duxelles. I don't think if they were, she could have been selective as to who got served death caps. Traditionally, the duxelles is the layer (with prosciutto) between the inner beef fillet and the outer pastry.

(Hi. Not really here yet, so, sorry if this has already been covered, I'm not up to date, and probably won't be for a while. I haven't been following this case at all, so I have a lot of reading to do before I catch up.)

MOO

I think she made two Beef Wellington meals.

One for her and her kids, and one for the other people.

IMO

 

[iamshadow21]

I think she made two Beef Wellington meals.

One for her and her kids, and one for the other people.

IMO

That'd be the only way - she'd have to have completely separate meals, utensils, everything. And even then, what's to stop her kids from taking a bite from a relative's plate, or from the serving dish in the kitchen? I can't believe she did it with her kids home.

MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

*I’m unfamiliar with the legal elements in the separation of states in Australia. So, I guess the following wouldn’t apply?

According to the Crimes Act 1900, a person found guilty of murder is liable to imprisonment for life, however the court may elect to impose a sentence for a specific amount of time (Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, Section 21). The maximum penalty for attempted murder, manslaughter, or being an accessory after the fact of murder is 25 years imprisonment.

https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Publications/BB/bb76.pdf

*eta: well idk now

Penalties for Murder in Victoria​

The facts and circumstances surrounding each murder case differ. As such, the penalties for each are not exactly uniform. However, in Section 3 of the Crimes Act 1958(Vic), the legislation gives a standard punishment for murder. It states that:

• Anybody found guilty of murder is liable of facing level 1 imprisonment. This means life imprisonment or imprisonment for any number of years as the court sees fit.
• Anybody convicted of murder faces a minimum of 25 years imprisonment.

https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au/Murder-Manslaughter-Victoria-Vic.html#:~:text=Penalties%20for%20Murder%20in%20Victoria&text=It%20states%20that%3A,as%20the%20court%20sees%20fit.

 

[Baby baby Jane]

That'd be the only way - she'd have to have completely separate meals, utensils, everything. And even then, what's to stop her kids from taking a bite from a relative's plate, or from the serving dish in the kitchen? I can't believe she did it with her kids home.

MOO

It’s been theorized that it was the toxic “mushroom” gravy for guests to serve themselves.
Having poison gravy, separate from the meat, and easy to dispose (down toilet), one saucepan, 1 gravy jug.
Untainted meat available for the police.

 

[iamshadow21]

It’s been theorized that it was the toxic “mushroom” gravy for guests to serve themselves.
Having poison gravy, separate from the meat, and easy to dispose (down toilet), one saucepan, 1 gravy jug.
Untainted meat available for the police.

I hate poisoners. Almost as much as I hate bombers. (Actually, I go back and forth between the two.) There's a level of sadism in both that it's hard to find in more conventional crimes that don't involve torture, and a very casual attitude to who exactly gets killed.

MOO

 

[Ellery84]

I hate poisoners. Almost as much as I hate bombers. There's a level of sadism it's hard to find in more conventional crimes that don't involve torture, and a very casual attitude to who exactly gets killed.

MOO

Yeah look, it feels to me like there might be collateral damage or unintended damage with this kind of crime. In general.

Thank God her children survived.

 

[PuzzlinEvidence]

Will Erin apply for bail? Will she get bail?

Very unlikely to get bail imo. It's rare for a defendant to get bail on a murder charge here unless they've got special circumstances (e.g. they're elderly and the alleged offence was decades ago, or they're terminally ill).

*I’m unfamiliar with the legal elements in the separation of states in Australia. So, I guess the following wouldn’t apply?

Yeah that section is from New South Wales (NSW), a different state, and doesn't apply here. Most criminal charges here are state-based, though obviously there are federal ones too, e.g. bringing drugs into the country.

Hard to predict an exact sentence, but if she pleads NG and is found guilty she's probably looking at 30 or so years before coming up for parole.

 

[iamshadow21]

Yeah look, it feels to me like there might be collateral damage or unintended damage with this kind of crime. In general.

Thank God her children were ok.

I'm not sure they're going to be okay for a very long time, but thank goodness they're not dead. I honestly have no idea if she would have cared if they had been. Poisoners who target their own families, if you look at famous cases from history, don't tend to stop until somebody stops them.

MOO

 

[Ellery84]

I'm not sure they're going to be okay for a very long time, but thank goodness they're not dead. I honestly have no idea if she would have cared if they had been. Poisoners who target their own families, if you look at famous cases from history, don't tend to stop until somebody stops them.

MOO

Poisoners who target their own families, if you look at famous cases from history, don't tend to stop until somebody stops them.

Yeah wow, so why is that? Why do they just keep going? Such a macabre concept.

 

[Warshawski]

I haven't heard this before and keen to know more if you happen to have a link/reference as that's not my understanding of C-PTSD

Agree D., I left it before but since you’ve questioned, they are different disorders, although often confused. CPTSD comes from childhood trauma.

CPTSD vs. BPD: What’s the Difference?

CPTSD and BPD share common symptoms and key differences. You can learn more here.

psychcentral.com

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Who supposedly wrote all of that?

Given that EP had the role of proofreader/editor of The Burra Flyer newsletter, I would not expect her to make grammatical howlers like "your dead".

It is very obvious to me that the kids did it. Some people believe EP did but let's just say, I strongly disagree LOL

 

[iamshadow21]

Poisoners who target their own families, if you look at famous cases from history, don't tend to stop until somebody stops them.

Yeah wow, so why is that? Why do they just keep going? Such a macabre concept.

Pettiness, spite, resentment, and INHERITANCE.

There's a very good reason that arsenic was known by the moniker 'the inheritor's powder'.

There's actually a book about it called that; I haven't read it yet. What I have read are a bunch of books about individual poisoning cases, and the wonderful history of the development of forensic science in New York called The Poisoner's Handbook. (Not looking for ideas, never fear! Just plumbing the depths of depravity, as all of us on here do, in our own way.)

MOO

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

One thing that Ian Wilkinson would have been able to provide is what was spoken about at the lunch. And whether that was a motive. Because the police need to prove intent - a motive is handy in that aspect.

It'd be interesting to know whether the meeting took a sudden downturn and wasn't going in EP's favour or triggered her anger.

I still think it's possible that she didn't plan to poison them all initially and didn't poison them with anything cooked into the main meal. Maybe she had a fit of temper and made everyone a cup of coffee or something with powdered DC mushroom that she already had prepared / stored somewhere (to kill her husband with?). Pure speculation obviously.

 

[Officer Dibble]

"The loss to the community and to the families and my own children who have lost their grandmother… I just can't fathom what has happened," Erin told reporters outside her home in August. "I'm so sorry that they have lost their lives. I just can't believe it."

Australia's 'Mushroom Chef' Arrested Months After Beef Wellington Dish Killed 3 Family Members

Erin Patterson maintained her innocence for months as investigators pieced together whether she'd intentionally poisoned her guests.

themessenger.com

*no mention of grandfather?

"I'm devastated. I loved them. I can't believe that this has happened and I'm so sorry," she tearfully told reporters two days after the third death

Australian police accuse lunch host of murdering 3 guests with poisonous mushrooms

The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged with murdering three guests with poisonous mushrooms and attempting to murder a fourth who was left fighting for life, police said on Thursday.

www.ctvnews.ca

Erin Patterson will remain in police custody until she appears in a local court on Friday, when she can potentially apply to be released on bail. Bail for murder is usually a decision referred to a higher court

Murder in Victoria carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

A lunch host is accused of killing her ex-husband's parents and aunt with poisonous mushrooms

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged Thursday with murdering her ex-husband’s parents and aunt w…

nationalpost.com

BBM: Yes very interesting. Thanks for sharing. JMO