Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #7 *Arrest*

[Sarahlou]

Sounds like Heather’s instincts were trying to warn her, albeit too late. What happened to these people was horrific and if it was done intentionally then the accused could only be called a monster. JMO

Absolute monster.
Some of these details are awful.
This trial will be an interesting one, thanks to those posting updates.

 

[Detechtive]

I thought I'd hold off on giving my opinion on innocent or guilty. Either could be true.

I'll let the jury decide.

Only one version is true.

 

[drsleuth]

The main things for me that point towards guilt are :

That she didn't want her kids checked , you'd be rushing to ED to get them seen, seeing how sick the others were , even if you thought that they didn't eat any of the meal, not having the medical staff have to contact the police as they were so concerned

Wiping her phone. Why?? 3 times. We are yet to hear about the digital devices the AFP dogs found.

Lying about the mushrooms, if she had told the truth from when the victims first got sick, she could have greatly helped the medical staff & the victims could have received the earliest targeted treatment, told them she foraged mushrooms & not lied when she was directly asked this question. Make no mistake Don, Gail & Heather died a absolute horrible painful deaths. And poor Ian , he miraculously survived, but lost his wife Heather & would have gone thru so much just to survive.

Made a ruse to get her victims together to tell them she had cancer ( lying about having cancer is the lowest of lows & a punch in the guts to anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer )

And was it just a coincidence that she didn't get sick or the kids?


Sorry, but so far I don't see much reasonable doubt at all.

I do wonder if she was initially just targeting Simon, but when he pulled out of the lunch, she was so angry that she took revenge out on him by allegedly murdering his parents & aunt & uncle.......how she thought she'd get away with that I have no clue!

ALL IMO

 

[JosieJo]

The lies , odd behaviour , individual Wellingtons and a different plate ....

 

[JennieM]

The court heard Dr Webster insisted she bring the children in so they could be treated.

'At that point, the accused became emotional and said, "Is this really necessary? They don’t have symptoms" and she also said they did not eat mushrooms. "I just don’t want them to be panicked or stressed",' the prosecutor told the court.

But the court was told Dr Chris Webster warned her: 'They can be scared and alive, or dead.'

[…]

Patterson herself had refused treatment, forcing Dr Webster to call Triple-0 after she left the hospital and refused to pick-up her phone.

'He left a voicemail message each time requesting that she return to hospital for treatment,' Ms Rogers told the jury.

'In the third voicemail, Dr Webster said apologetically that he would have to call the police to ask for their assistance in getting her to return to hospital, as he was concerned about her health.'

When Patterson eventually returned to hospital, she told Dr Webster her two children had eaten the meat, but not the mushroom or pastry surrounding it.

The jury heard Patterson was not actually concerned about the children becoming ill because they never actually ate the leftovers.

'The prosecution asserts that the children’s meal was not contaminated with death cap mushrooms,' Dr Rogers said.

A court sketch of Erin Patterson from earlier this week

Jury hears doc's eight-word warning to Erin Patterson about her kids

Alleged mushroom killer Erin Patterson repeatedly tried to stop doctors examining her children despite claims they had consumed the same meal that ultimately killed their grandparents.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Defendant told her guests she had cancer at meal, jury hears​

After the lunch, the accused said she had cancer and asked for advice about telling her children, the prosecutor says.

Erin Patterson: Trial begins for Australia woman accused of toxic mushroom lunch

Erin Patterson, from Victoria, is facing three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the alleged beef wellington poisoning in July 2023.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Salah11]

I wonder if we will hear more about why she lied about having cancer.
It’s such a weird lie to make up, as at some point, people would realise she was lying. Unless you decide to murder the people you have told, I suppose.

 

[JennieM]

I wonder if we will hear more about why she lied about having cancer.
It’s such a weird lie to make up, as at some point, people would realise she was lying. Unless you decide to murder the people you have told, I suppose.

Telling them there was a medical issue she wanted to discuss maybe was the only way she could make them come over to her house without suspicion.



Mr and Mrs Wilkinson were "surprised at the invitation because they’d never before been to the accused’s house", Nanette Rogers says.

Erin Patterson: Trial begins for Australia woman accused of toxic mushroom lunch

Erin Patterson, from Victoria, is facing three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the alleged beef wellington poisoning in July 2023.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[BreakingNews]

11.02am

‘Conscious, voluntary and deliberate’: What the prosecution team must prove​

By​

The hearing is now under way.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale has started by reminding the jury of the four elements of murder and attempted murder using a jury checklist.

Beale is explaining that the checklists will be uploaded to the iPads that jurors will be provided access to.

The jury will be briefed on how to use the devices later in the hearing.


Beale is reminding the jury that the prosecution must prove each of the elements beyond reasonable doubt to find Erin Patterson guilty of murder.

Alleged mushroom cook didn’t ingest death caps, ‘no record’ she had cancer, jury told: Trial day one, as it happened

Erin Patterson is facing trial after pleading not guilty over a fatal mushroom lunch. Today, Nanette Rogers, SC, will present the prosecution’s case against Patterson.

www.theage.com.au

Wow, iPads for jurors! Haven't we come a long way since 1994 when I was a juror on a murder trial? Sort of counts out people with visual disabilities (don't get me started about voice computers) and oldies who aren't tec savy being on a jury.
JMOO

 

[Kemug]

The lies , odd behaviour , individual Wellingtons and a different plate ....

So many lies.

 

[jepop]

Did she actually feed the children some of the pies? I read that somewhere, but perhaps it isn't true?From memory she said something to the media about scraping the mushrooms off the pies for the children. You would think that considering she baked separate pies, she just wouldn't put mushrooms in the children's ones. Mark them as mushroom free on the pastry?
So many questions.

I don't think that's possible. The children would have been ill if they had ingested any food containing powdered death caps. Jmo.

 

[Kemug]

Those poor victims suffered so much!

 

[JennieM]

I don't think that's possible. The children would have been ill if they had ingested any food containing powdered death caps. Jmo.

If there was any possibility of contamination, she would want them tested at the hospital, as a mom she would be really panicked at any chance of her children falling ill. She made sure they didn’t come in contact with any of the death cap food, so she was sure they were not at risk and hence did not want them tested.

 

[drsleuth]

I still find these drawings & writings on the walls, so very odd

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/death-wall-inside-mushroom-chefs-house/news-story/a879b2505a32b22dc16214201659dab4

 

[JennieM]

Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, told the court on Wednesday during his opening submission that it was also not in dispute that Patterson had never been diagnosed with cancer.

The court previously heard Patterson told her lunch guests she had ovarian cancer.

[…]

Rogers also said that police never recovered a phone used by Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house.

Rogers said Patterson concocted the story regarding medical issues and her cancer to ensure the children were not present for the lunch.

[…]

After the meal, Patterson announced she had cancer, and asked whether she should tell the children. Patterson had earlier discussed with Gail that she had a biopsy and other tests taken regarding a lump she had found on her elbow.

The group agreed she should be honest with them and they prayed together about Patterson telling the children, Rogers said.

[…]

About four weeks before the beef wellington lunch, Patterson invited Simon and his parents, Don and Gail, to lunch.

Simon texted to say he could not come, and the meal passed without incident.

Erin Patterson concocted cancer diagnosis to ensure children missed fatal mushroom lunch, murder trial hears

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023

www.theguardian.com

 

[Detechtive]

"Rogers also said that police never recovered a phone used by Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house."

So, one phone was not ever recovered, and the one that was was factory reset while they were searching her home?

Again, wow.

 

[Porky1]

I only have 4 large plates, mainly because I don't have people over often and don't want extra crockery hanging around. Saying, this could have an innocent explanation.

I wonder which plate was planned for Simon?

 

[JLZ]

"Rogers also said that police never recovered a phone used by Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house."

So, one phone was not ever recovered, and the one that was was factory reset while they were searching her home?

Again, wow.

I'll wait to hear the evidence on that one. Remote reset and missing phone, they sound like the kinds of things police make mistakes about.

 

[Salah11]

I wonder which plate was planned for Simon?

Certainly not the smaller orange one

 

[JBowie]

Any strangers at all looking through my phone and I wouldn't feel comfortable using it, no matter who.

Neither would many people, however, if it's the police and you are innocent of killing 4 people and attempting to kill another one, then deleting the contents will not help your case in the slightest.

As SouthAussie has pointed out a few times, murderers often do not think through the after the event part.