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

[Scooby-Doo]

Maybe because they were estranged and fighting over financial affairs.

Yes, but wouldn't that make you more want to turn up? You might be worried, what's being said, etc, There could be some arguing, comments being made without you knowing, etc..

I think some people who are separated/divorced would prefer to turn up as well, If your ex was inviting your parents ?

If you couldn't make it, change it to another time

Rather than just let an ex organise everything, and have lunch with them

Especially when the Wilkinsons have never been to her house previously

 

[Detechtive]

Yes, but wouldn't that make you more want to turn up? You might be worried, what's being said, etc, especially with in-laws? There could be some arguing, comments being made without you knowing etc..

I think some people who are separated/divorced would prefer to turn up as well? Rather than just let their ex organise everything, and have lunch with the ex-in-laws and relatives?

Especially when the Wilkinsons have never been to her house previously

I really don't think so.

 

[Megnut]

It may have been vengeance on her part. She was so angry at him and this would really hurt him. IMO

True.

But it's also possible that, until he didn't show, she expected he would.

She must have had at least one more grey plate. I doubt she was going to serve two meals on orange plates.

JMO

 

[Kemug]

I think the only way we'd learn of motive in such cases is if the accused breaks down under interrogation and comes clean.

I'd love to know a professional psychological diagnosis of Patterson's personality. If she's high on the psychopathic scale then she would likely never come clean.

I'd be very interested to hear from people throughout her life of any instances of jealousy, revenge, greed or similar.

 

[Kemug]

Yes. I think that it could be this or that,.
I expect some different scenarios may be introduced in this trial (perhaps by SP, the kids, or the devices) rather than everything was peachy so there was no reason.

They just may not be relying on any one specific motive.

RSBM
As far as I'm aware, there is no law that says there can be only one motive.

 

[MrsAddick]

Would be very interesting to understand Erin’s psychological profile…

Certainly sounds like she considers herself to be quite clever and able to manipulate others and bend them to her will. Presumably this logic would extend to her not being caught.

I’m guessing she likes to be in control, is not risk-averse, in fact enjoys risk (air traffic control, high-value property transactions, or moving cross country on her own.

She calls the shots - a decisive decision-maker who largely relies on her own judgement/intuition which she considers to be above-average.

Simon is completely passive and usually just goes along with whatever. She enjoys that control but also resents how passive he is - maybe she thinks she could have done better.

Imagine, then Simon starts to try to take a tiny inch of control back (says ‘no’ a few times, sets some boundaries, tells his accountant that they are separated). Perhaps his parents have been in his ear to cut ties with her…would this be enough to rattle her fragile sense of self (the careful crafted narrative she has created around her identity)?

I could see how a very insecure person (with no real friends) might feel threatened, maybe even ‘under attack’…in their own kind they justify a need to ‘fight back’ for self-preservation or take revenge for being ‘slighted’.

Total armchair psychologist speculation here!!

 

[drsleuth]

5m ago14.34 AEST
Simon Patterson picked up children from school and drove them to hospital, court told

Simon Patterson is continuing to give evidence about picking up his children from school on 31 July – two days after the lunch.

He says he told them they needed to be tested because they had consumed leftovers of the lunch meal, and he was driving them to Monash children’s hospital in Melbourne.

Simon says the children told him they had eaten steak, mashed potato and beans as leftovers from the lunch. His daughter said they didn’t eat mushrooms. He says it was “well known” in the family his daughter did not like mushrooms.

The children were admitted and found not to be ill but kept overnight, the court hears.

Simon says she was in a room nearby to the children at the Monash medical centre.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

Key Event
7m ago

The trial resumes, Simon Patterson's testimony continues​

By Judd Boaz​

Nanette Rogers has continued her questioning of Simon Patterson, estranged husband of Erin Patterson.

The questioning has resumed detailing the day after the lunch, when Mr Patterson picked up his children from school to bring them to hospital for tests and asked them about what they had eaten.

The children responded that they had eaten steak, green beans and mashed potato, but no mushrooms.

Mr Patterson confirms his children were found not to be ill at Monash, but were kept overnight.

He tells the court that while the children were being admitted to hospital, they saw Erin being brought into the hospital on a trolley.

He says there was no sign of vomiting or diarrhoea from Ms Patterson when he saw her.

Mr Patterson says one of his children raised the topic of mushrooms in the hospital.

He says during their time in hospital Erin had mentioned conducting a blind taste test with mushroom-infused muffins with her children, using a dehydrator.

"It felt like news to me that she dehydrated food," Mr Patterson says.

He tells the court he was not aware that Erin owned a dehydrator.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

2.38pm

Children taken to hospital for observation, found not to be ill​

​

The jury and Simon Patterson have returned to courtroom 4 after an hour-long lunch break.

Simon has started to provide evidence again, discussing his children on the day after the beef Wellington lunch – July 30, 2023.

Simon Patterson arrives at court on Thursday.Credit: Jason South

His two children needed to be checked out at the hospital because they’d had the leftovers of the lunch, Simon explained to the jury.

When asked what they had eaten, Simon said the children told him they had eaten steak, mashed potatoes and beans. One of the children then said she hadn’t had mushrooms because she didn’t like mushrooms.

Simon took the children to Monash Children’s Hospital where they were admitted for observation. T

They were both found not to be ill, but they were kept overnight just in case. At that time, Erin Patterson was in a different part of the Monash Medical Centre.

Simon said the children spent the day there until it was time for them to sleep. In that time, he did not notice any signs of frequent diarrhoea or vomiting.

“There was no sign to me of diarrhoea or vomiting, and I guess by that moment, like obviously I wasn’t with her when she was in the toilet. She went to the toilet. [It was] not the frequent toileting that she’d been telling me that she’d been experiencing before,” Simon said.

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

now14.43 AEST
Simon Patterson says he observed Erin in her hospital room and while she did go to the toilet there didn’t appear to be signs of “urgency”.

“There was no sign to me of diarrhoea and vomiting,” he tells the court.

“She went to the toilet once. Not the frequent toileting she had been telling me about.”

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

2.44pm

‘She didn’t dehydrate food when we lived together’: Simon says his wife dehydrated mushrooms​

​

Simon Patterson has just told the jury that on August 1, 2023, while the family was at Monash Medical Centre, Erin told him she had dehydrated mushrooms and mixed different amounts of fungi in a batch of muffins.

She’d made the muffins to do a blind taste test for one of her children, he told the court, who did not like mushrooms.


Erin Patterson and Simon Patterson.Credit: Jason South

“She found it interesting that [the child] actually preferred the muffin that did have some mushrooms in it,” Simon said.

Simon told the jury it was news to him that Erin dehydrated food. “She didn’t dehydrate food when we lived together,” Simon said.

This recollection was the final piece of evidence in chief. Erin Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, will now have an opportunity to cross-examine Simon.

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Bats]

Would be very interesting to understand Erin’s psychological profile…

Certainly sounds like she considers herself to be quite clever and able to manipulate others and bend them to her will. Presumably this logic would extend to her not being caught.

I’m guessing she likes to be in control, is not risk-averse, in fact enjoys risk (air traffic control, high-value property transactions, or moving cross country on her own.

She calls the shots - a decisive decision-maker who largely relies on her own judgement/intuition which she considers to be above-average.

Simon is completely passive and usually just goes along with whatever. She enjoys that control but also resents how passive he is - maybe she thinks she could have done better.

Imagine, then Simon starts to try to take a tiny inch of control back (says ‘no’ a few times, sets some boundaries, tells his accountant that they are separated). Perhaps his parents have been in his ear to cut ties with her…would this be enough to rattle her fragile sense of self (the careful crafted narrative she has created around her identity)?

I could see how a very insecure person (with no real friends) might feel threatened, maybe even ‘under attack’…in their own kind they justify a need to ‘fight back’ for self-preservation or take revenge for being ‘slighted’.

Total armchair psychologist speculation here!!

Munchausen syndrome?
Total armchair speculation from me too!

 

[BreakingNews]

She did a factory Reset remotely, while it was in LE's possession??? That is a bold move!!!!

Wonder how they worked out she did it?

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago

Cross-examination of Simon Patterson begins​

By Tim Callanan​

Simon Patterson is now being cross-examined by Erin Patterson's defence lawyer Colin Mandy SC.

Mr Mandy asks Mr Patterson if his friendship with Ms Patterson was strong after their separation, but prior to late 2022.

Mr Patterson says he's not sure that "strong" is the word he would use, but he accepts that he may have said that in a previous interview with police.

"It's not wrong. That relationship went up and down over that time," he says.

He confirms he and Erin Patterson and their children took numerous trips together after their separation, including overseas holidays.

Mr Mandy then raises the inheritance that Erin Patterson received after her grandmother passed away.

Mr Patterson agrees that Erin Patterson was very generous with the money she received and that she bought the property that Mr Patterson lives in.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago

Loans given to Simon Patterson's siblings​

By Judd Boaz​

Mr Mandy asks Simon Patterson about loans given to his siblings, from a pool of money that included Ms Patterson's inheritance.

Mr Patterson says the loans were given with an understanding they would be repaid in a similar fashion to a mortgage, but with no strict repayment schedule.

Mr Mandy asks if it would be fair to say that money has never been a significant motivating factor in Ms Patterson's life decisions, and Mr Patterson agrees.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrsAddick]

I'd be very interested to hear from people throughout her life of any instances of jealousy, revenge, greed or similar.

For sure @Kemug. I suspect you’re bang-on with those traits.

I’m not convinced she meets the psychopath profile.

Think it’s way more likely that at some point she buckles under the pressure in a tsunami of tears…then does a complete 180 on her entire story and attempts to play the world’s biggest victim-card (classic covert narcissism). Concocts another elaborate story to match this new reality and thinks people with actually buy it.

 

[drsleuth]

3.01pm

How Erin and Simon Patterson spent an inheritance from her grandmother​

​

Erin’s defence lawyer Colin Mandy, SC, has started to cross-examine his client’s estranged husband.

Mandy is asking Simon about his relationship with Erin, their shared love of travel, and their friendship after they separated in 2015.

Colin Mandy: You agree with the proposition that your friendship remained strong until late 2022?

Simon Patterson: Look, it depends. It’s not wrong. Our relationship went up and down over the time.

The jury heard Simon and Erin Patterson had travelled with their children to South Africa, Botswana, Darwin and South Australia after separating before Mandy pivoted towards questions about the pair’s property decision and the funds Erin inherited from her grandmother.

Most of the disbursements from the estate she inherited, the jury heard, were paid into a joint account Erin and Simon had together. They used some of the funds to purchase a home in Quinninup, in Western Australia’s south-west.

They also loaned hundreds of thousands of dollars to Simon’s siblings, Matthew, Nathan, and Anna, including to purchase property.

Mandy: And the terms of those loans were that there was no interest paid on them, other than indexation to inflation.

Simon: That’s right.

Mandy: And the other term of those loans was that there was no payment schedule; people were free to pay the loans back when they were ready.

Simon: They were arranged so that there was no there was no legal hold, I guess, to force them to pay the money back. But the arrangements were that ... they’d be paid back at the same kind of amounts that they’d be paying back a mortgage if it were a mortgage.

Simon said money was not “the most important motivation” to either of them.

Mushroom cook’s husband Simon gives evidence on marriage struggles, plate colour, cancer claims: Trial day two, as it happened

The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand on day two of the mushroom murder trial. Here’s how the day unfolded.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MrJ]

Definitely screams narcissism IMO. I have no idea what the motive is just as all of us don’t but it could have been to hurt Simon as she perceived him to be causing her narcissistic injury by saying to the accountant that they were separated. IMO it could demonstrate a pathological desire to control hence poisoning being a process she alone can dictate on whether it not it happens. All jmo

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago15.08 AEST
Mandy is asking Simon about his relationship with Erin.

He asks if Erin was “generous” with the $2m she received as an inheritance when her grandmother died in 2006.

Simon says the money was used to help the couple buy a property in Quinninup, in Western Australia.

Mandy says Erin also assisted Simon’s siblings with interest-free loans. Simon agrees these helped his siblings buy properties.

“Money’s not been the most important motivation to either Erin or me,” he says.

Mandy is now taking Simon back to the early days of the couple’s relationship.

He asks about them travelling to Korumburra during a trip with other friends and visiting the town’s Baptist church. Simon agrees up until that time he knew Erin to be an atheist.

Mandy asks if Erin was “moved by the sermon”. Simon recalls her leaving the church building and looking “upset”.

“She was actually moved by what was happening during the communion part of the service, not the sermon.”

now15.10 AEST
Mandy is pressing Simon on his use of the word “amicable” to describe the separation. Simon says the couple did not engage lawyers as part of their separation.

Mandy asks Simon about an attempt to reconcile in 2018 when they had visited South Africa with their children. Simon agrees this was not successful.

Erin’s mother died in 2019 and left her estate to her two children, the court hears. Erin used this inheritance to buy a property in Mount Waverley, in Melbourne and her home in Leongatha.

Mandy says that despite the separation, both houses were bought under the couple’s name as a joint title. Simon agrees it was a sign of “good will”.

Erin Patterson trial day three – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrsAddick]

1m ago

Loans given to Simon Patterson's siblings​

​

By Judd Boaz​

Mr Mandy asks Simon Patterson about loans given to his siblings, from a pool of money that included Ms Patterson's inheritance.

Mr Patterson says the loans were given with an understanding they would be repaid in a similar fashion to a mortgage, but with no strict repayment schedule.

Mr Mandy asks if it would be fair to say that money has never been a significant motivating factor in Ms Patterson's life decisions, and Mr Patterson agrees.

Erin Patterson doesn't have 'high self-esteem', murder trial hears — as it happened

The jury in Erin Patterson's murder trial hears the accused tried to persuade her estranged husband to attend the lunch where four guests ate meals containing death cap mushrooms. Look back on how the hearing unfolded in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

Generous loans to family members - a sign of altruism or an opportunity to demonstrate power or hold leverage over someone?

What do we think?