Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #8 *Arrest*

[drsleuth]

2m ago16.52 AEST
At about 2am, test results showing Gail’s liver function was worsening triggered her transfer to the intensive care unit, the court hears.

Morgan says doctor Chris Webster at Leongatha hospital informed her Erin Patterson had presented to the hospital and discharged herself.

There is no cross-examination.


2m ago16.52 AEST
The trial has concluded on day six of Erin Patterson’s murder trial.

Here’s what the jury heard today:

1. Ian Wilkinson, the survivor of the mushroom lunch, described his relationship with Erin as “friendly” and “amicable.” He said the pair were more “like acquaintances”. Ian and Heather were very happy and excited about being invited to the lunch, the court heard.

2. Ian told jurors when the four lunch guests arrived at Erin’s house on 29 July 2023, Heather and Gail went to inspect her pantry. He recalled Erin was “very reluctant” about this.

3. Recalling the beef wellington lunch, Ian said Erin plated the dishes. He told jurors Erin rejected an offer by Heather and Gail to help plate the individual beef wellingtons. Ian said Erin ate off a “orangey-tan” plate that was different to the grey plates the four guests used.

4. Ian testified that after the lunch, Erin told the guests she had a “life-threatening” cancer. He said Erin told them about a diagnostic test which had found a tumor. The defence suggested Erin had told the guests she had a suspected cancer. Ian rejected this and said Erin was “fairly clear that the [cancer] diagnosis was given.”

5. The jury also heard about how the lunch guests were treated in hospital. While Don and Gail Patterson were at Dandenong Hospital, the toxicology department raised the possibility of death cap mushroom poisoning because of the delayed onset of symptoms.

We’ll be back at 10.30am tomorrow. Thanks for following along.

Erin Patterson trial day six – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Detechtive]

What an horrific end for these poor people. It is akin to torturing them before death.

At any point she could have confessed to “foraging” the mushrooms and had a chance at turning this around and saving them. It’s chilling to think she watched them die slowly over several days and kept the information to herself.

The thing that strikes me and I imagine would also strike jury members, is that, whether you’re religious or not (I’m not), these people just sound like the best people. Fantastic in-laws, fantastic community people, just normal nice wholesome people. Not that bad people deserve anything more, I think it makes it even harder to understand or empathise with the perpetrator in cases where these lovely humans were just going about their daily lives not harming people, and they were caught up in some alleged unhinged murder plot…

 

[SouthAussie]

Reading this awful testimony, I can hardly breathe.
Those poor victims, what they went through, and after looking forward to this lunch, happy to be invited. It's heart wrenching.
If this woman indeed planned this horror (and I lean to believing she did, given what we've learned so far), she's an utter monster. Despicable.

To think she could have helped them at any point. Any point at all. Deliberate or not. "I foraged mushrooms, it could have been them!"

 

[katydid23]

Not sure if already posted but I just read this..

With good supportive care, the mortality for amatoxin poisoning may be reduced from 50-60% to less than 5%.

Surely even in the event it was accidental, the lack of Erin’s candour and honesty is now grounds for at least manslaughter?

I'm still not seeing any way it was accidental. She had been 'practicing' sneaking powdered mushrooms into meals for months.

She dried out some foraged mushrooms. And she was known to have a lot of experience foraging. Reportedly, the Death Caps look very different than the safe edible mushrooms in that area. She had to know they were not safe.

If she thought they were safe edible mushrooms, why the big secret? If I made home cooked Beef Wellington with freshly foraged local mushrooms, I'd boast to my guests. Her guests were also experienced foragers so it's unusual that Erin didn't discuss it with them IF she really thought they were safe and edible mushrooms.

IMO, the fact that she kept that a secret, before and after they all got sick, tells me it wasn't accidental. IMO

If it was accidental, she would have been sick that night too.

 

[drsleuth]

4.45pm

‘Not enough for four’: Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal​

By​

Dr Beth Morgan, a registered doctor and an advanced infectious diseases’ trainee, was the last witness to give evidence today in the trial of accused triple murderer Erin Patterson.

Morgan was the overnight medical registrar at Monash Health the night Don and Gail Patterson were taken there to be cared for.

That night, she was taking referrals from the emergency department for medical patients who do not require surgery and need to be in hospital for longer than four hours (which means they cannot stay in the emergency department).

Morgan said the initial history for the couple included mention of 30–40 episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea that had started since midnight the night before.

She said Don had mild abdominal pain on his right side. He was quite sweaty and light-headed, she recalls, but oxygen saturation appeared normal for someone without respiratory issues.

“Donald himself was quite alert. He did appear sweaty and was quite distressed by the presentation, but his vital signs were relatively stable at that time; he was not febrile, as in, he didn’t have a fever,” Morgan said.

Morgan said some tests indicated that he could be suffering tissue hypoxia or organ damage. “I was quite concerned that there was evidence of liver damage at this time,” Morgan said.

The doctor told the jury she was concerned that Don wasn’t suffering from a gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning, so she called the toxicology registrar, who requested additional information about what was consumed at the lunch on July 29, 2023.

“I initially told him that there was a beef Wellington containing mushrooms that had been consumed. It was also along with an orange cake for dessert,” she said.

The toxicology registrar expressed concern about the delayed onset of symptoms, some 12 hours after lunch, which could indicate a serious toxin syndrome. “At that point, he suggested that if it was related to mushrooms, it was possibly caused by the ingestion of the amanita phalloides mushroom,” she said.

Amanita phalloides is commonly known as the death cap mushroom.

At that time, Morgan said they had no evidence that anyone else was experiencing the metabolic acidosis, kidney injury, or liver injury that Don was, so they did not access silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

Don was given a liver protective drug and was later admitted to the ICU.

Morgan told the jury that Gail, who a different registrar assessed, had regular vital signs, and it was determined she was suffering from food poisoning and was admitted to a short-stay unit.

Gail also eventually came into the care of Morgan, who suspected she may have been suffering from severe gastroenteritis or suspected mushroom poisoning.

After follow-up tests on Gail showed worsening metabolic acidosis and elevated lactate levels, Morgan spoke to the toxicology registrar and a decision was made to administer the silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

The pharmacist told Morgan there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

“I expressed that we’re probably going to need this for at least four patients, and unfortunately, the pharmacist advised us that we didn’t have that available to us at Monash Health, but they were going to obtain it from an external hospital.″⁣

A decision was made by 7.20am to transfer Ian and Heather Wilkinson to Dandenong Hospital.

Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal: Trial day six, as it happened

Of the four guests who dined on beef Wellington at Erin Patterson’s house in 2023, only one survived. On Tuesday, that guest – Ian Wilkinson – will tell his story for the first time when he takes the stand as a witness in the cook’s murder trial.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Detechtive]

I'm still not seeing any way it was accidental. She had been 'practicing' sneaking powdered mushrooms into meals for months.

She dried out some foraged mushrooms. And she was known to have a lot of experience foraging. Reportedly, the Death Caps look very different than the safe edible mushrooms in that area. She had to know they were not safe.

If she thought they were safe edible mushrooms, why the big secret? If I made home cooked Beef Wellington with freshly foraged local mushrooms, I'd boast to my guests. Her guests were also experienced foragers so it's unusual that Erin didn't discuss it with them IF she really thought they were safe and edible mushrooms.

IMO, the fact that she kept that a secret, before and after they all got sick, tells me it wasn't accidental. IMO

If it was accidental, she would have been sick that night too.

I definitely don’t think it was accidental. I’m just pointing out that even if it was (which is her defence) she’s still culpable for manslaughter considering they likely perished due to her obstructing with her lies.

 

[drsleuth]

4.45pm

‘Not enough for four’: Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal​

By​

Dr Beth Morgan, a registered doctor and an advanced infectious diseases’ trainee, was the last witness to give evidence today in the trial of accused triple murderer Erin Patterson.

Morgan was the overnight medical registrar at Monash Health the night Don and Gail Patterson were taken there to be cared for.

That night, she was taking referrals from the emergency department for medical patients who do not require surgery and need to be in hospital for longer than four hours (which means they cannot stay in the emergency department).

Morgan said the initial history for the couple included mention of 30–40 episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea that had started since midnight the night before.

She said Don had mild abdominal pain on his right side. He was quite sweaty and light-headed, she recalls, but oxygen saturation appeared normal for someone without respiratory issues.

“Donald himself was quite alert. He did appear sweaty and was quite distressed by the presentation, but his vital signs were relatively stable at that time; he was not febrile, as in, he didn’t have a fever,” Morgan said.

Morgan said some tests indicated that he could be suffering tissue hypoxia or organ damage. “I was quite concerned that there was evidence of liver damage at this time,” Morgan said.

The doctor told the jury she was concerned that Don wasn’t suffering from a gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning, so she called the toxicology registrar, who requested additional information about what was consumed at the lunch on July 29, 2023.

“I initially told him that there was a beef Wellington containing mushrooms that had been consumed. It was also along with an orange cake for dessert,” she said.

The toxicology registrar expressed concern about the delayed onset of symptoms, some 12 hours after lunch, which could indicate a serious toxin syndrome. “At that point, he suggested that if it was related to mushrooms, it was possibly caused by the ingestion of the amanita phalloides mushroom,” she said.

Amanita phalloides is commonly known as the death cap mushroom.

At that time, Morgan said they had no evidence that anyone else was experiencing the metabolic acidosis, kidney injury, or liver injury that Don was, so they did not access silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

Don was given a liver protective drug and was later admitted to the ICU.

Morgan told the jury that Gail, who a different registrar assessed, had regular vital signs, and it was determined she was suffering from food poisoning and was admitted to a short-stay unit.

Gail also eventually came into the care of Morgan, who suspected she may have been suffering from severe gastroenteritis or suspected mushroom poisoning.

After follow-up tests on Gail showed worsening metabolic acidosis and elevated lactate levels, Morgan spoke to the toxicology registrar and a decision was made to administer the silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

The pharmacist told Morgan there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

“I expressed that we’re probably going to need this for at least four patients, and unfortunately, the pharmacist advised us that we didn’t have that available to us at Monash Health, but they were going to obtain it from an external hospital.″⁣

A decision was made by 7.20am to transfer Ian and Heather Wilkinson to Dandenong Hospital.

Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal: Trial day six, as it happened

Of the four guests who dined on beef Wellington at Erin Patterson’s house in 2023, only one survived. On Tuesday, that guest – Ian Wilkinson – will tell his story for the first time when he takes the stand as a witness in the cook’s murder trial.

www.theage.com.au

BBM : I did wonder if they would have had enough Silibinin to treat 4 patients. I've never even seen it, it is certainly not stocked in rural hospitals IMO

https://www.austin.org.au/Assets/Files/Silibinin_2021_Final[1].pdf

Roughly each patient would need about 4 vial a day for up to six days! ( going on the minimum weight of 60kgs )

So 24 vials / patient x 4 patients = 96 vials all up plus 4 vials for the loading dose, about 100 vials at a minimum

 

[SouthAussie]

I definitely don’t think it was accidental. I’m just pointing out that even if it was (which is her defence) she’s still culpable for manslaughter considering they likely perished due to her obstructing with her lies.

Absolutely. If it was intentional it was murder, if it was accidental it was manslaughter. imo

Due to the simple fact that she deliberately withheld lifesaving information.

imo

 

[Eloise]

And all this while Erin could have owned up to "foraging" mushrooms which would have given the medical staff some clue, but she denied it.

Yeah this is damning, to me. Because if the defence want to push the angle that it was an accident, then this is not really consistent with someone who was totally innocent. Surely, even if you were mortified or embarrassed that you'd done such a thing, you'd speak up because it could mean getting the right treatment? You'd also be concerned for yourself, and your children. Just my thoughts.

 

[SouthAussie]

The thing that strikes me and I imagine would also strike jury members, is that, whether you’re religious or not (I’m not), these people just sound like the best people. Fantastic in-laws, fantastic community people, just normal nice wholesome people. Not that bad people deserve anything more, I think it makes it even harder to understand or empathise with the perpetrator in cases where these lovely humans were just going about their daily lives not harming people, and they were caught up in some alleged unhinged murder plot…

More even than fantastic community people. Fantastic world people.


He told mourners how Don initially gave up a science research and teaching career in Australia to carry out missionary and teaching work with Gail overseas, in Botswana and China, before ultimately moving to Korumburra where he taught at the secondary college for 25 years.

“We were home schooled in Botswana, mum getting lessons sent from Australia, and I always say I reached my academic peak in grade 4, which is no reflection on the teachers that followed but on mum’s ability as a teacher.”

Simon’s brother Matt read out tribute letters to his parents from people in China, Botswana, the UK and locally whose lives had been touched and enhanced by meeting with, living with and being taught by Don and Gail.

Memorial service brings home depth of Korumburra tragedy - South Gippsland Sentinel Times

“YOU were my favourite teachers and my precious friends,” said a former student from China. “They were two of the kindest, most loving, caring and influential grandparents you could ever hope to have,” said one of Don and Gail Patterson’s...

www.sgst.com.au

 

[Detechtive]

4.45pm

‘Not enough for four’: Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal​

By​

Dr Beth Morgan, a registered doctor and an advanced infectious diseases’ trainee, was the last witness to give evidence today in the trial of accused triple murderer Erin Patterson.

Morgan was the overnight medical registrar at Monash Health the night Don and Gail Patterson were taken there to be cared for.

That night, she was taking referrals from the emergency department for medical patients who do not require surgery and need to be in hospital for longer than four hours (which means they cannot stay in the emergency department).

Morgan said the initial history for the couple included mention of 30–40 episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea that had started since midnight the night before.

She said Don had mild abdominal pain on his right side. He was quite sweaty and light-headed, she recalls, but oxygen saturation appeared normal for someone without respiratory issues.

“Donald himself was quite alert. He did appear sweaty and was quite distressed by the presentation, but his vital signs were relatively stable at that time; he was not febrile, as in, he didn’t have a fever,” Morgan said.

Morgan said some tests indicated that he could be suffering tissue hypoxia or organ damage. “I was quite concerned that there was evidence of liver damage at this time,” Morgan said.

The doctor told the jury she was concerned that Don wasn’t suffering from a gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning, so she called the toxicology registrar, who requested additional information about what was consumed at the lunch on July 29, 2023.

“I initially told him that there was a beef Wellington containing mushrooms that had been consumed. It was also along with an orange cake for dessert,” she said.

The toxicology registrar expressed concern about the delayed onset of symptoms, some 12 hours after lunch, which could indicate a serious toxin syndrome. “At that point, he suggested that if it was related to mushrooms, it was possibly caused by the ingestion of the amanita phalloides mushroom,” she said.

Amanita phalloides is commonly known as the death cap mushroom.

At that time, Morgan said they had no evidence that anyone else was experiencing the metabolic acidosis, kidney injury, or liver injury that Don was, so they did not access silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

Don was given a liver protective drug and was later admitted to the ICU.

Morgan told the jury that Gail, who a different registrar assessed, had regular vital signs, and it was determined she was suffering from food poisoning and was admitted to a short-stay unit.

Gail also eventually came into the care of Morgan, who suspected she may have been suffering from severe gastroenteritis or suspected mushroom poisoning.

After follow-up tests on Gail showed worsening metabolic acidosis and elevated lactate levels, Morgan spoke to the toxicology registrar and a decision was made to administer the silibinin, the antidote to death cap mushroom poisoning.

The pharmacist told Morgan there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

“I expressed that we’re probably going to need this for at least four patients, and unfortunately, the pharmacist advised us that we didn’t have that available to us at Monash Health, but they were going to obtain it from an external hospital.″⁣

A decision was made by 7.20am to transfer Ian and Heather Wilkinson to Dandenong Hospital.

Doctor reveals mushroom antidote was in short supply after fatal meal: Trial day six, as it happened

Of the four guests who dined on beef Wellington at Erin Patterson’s house in 2023, only one survived. On Tuesday, that guest – Ian Wilkinson – will tell his story for the first time when he takes the stand as a witness in the cook’s murder trial.

www.theage.com.au

Surely they could have gotten enough for 4 if they knew early, heck my mechanic can get parts from hours away with very short notice.

 

[SouthAussie]

Surely they could have gotten enough for 4 if they knew early, heck my mechanic can get parts from hours away with very short notice.

Yes, the link says .... The pharmacist told Morgan there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

 

[Detechtive]

Yes, the link says .... The pharmacist told Morgan there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

Even if there wasn’t some locally, a care flight helicopter from Sydney etc, could have been arranged.

The more I hear the worse it appears. It’s one of the worst crimes I’ve ever heard of, particularly in Australia. And I haven’t ever seen crime groups who are nearly always united in their innocence and guilt!

Now I’m just left wondering why she wanted a trial… baffling

 

[drsleuth]

Surely they could have gotten enough for 4 if they knew early, heck my mechanic can get parts from hours away with very short notice.

I'm sure they eventually could have , but treatment may have been delayed until it was sourced.

 

[Detechtive]

I'm sure they eventually could have , but treatment may have been delayed until it was sourced.

Yeah, delayed also because they weren’t told the truth about what was happening by Erin.

Her behaviour is horrendous even if it was “a tragic accident “

 

[drsleuth]

I just really feel for all the medical staff, it really sucks being lied to when you could have helped your patients earlier & maybe taken some of their pain & suffering away.

 

[drsleuth]

Here is a Victorian Coroners case of accidental death by Death Cap Mushrooms & a public warning issued by the coroner.

https://coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-10/COR%202024%20002832%20Form%2038%20-%20Finding%20into%20Death%20without%20Inquest.pdf

 

[LadyL]

The broad categorization of narcissism into grandiose and vulnerable is key to this.

I think many people associate the term with the grandiose type. I believe that EP fits many of the traits of the vulnerable type.

EP's description of her life as a kid and her relationship with her mother is right in line with Prof Sam Vaknin's description of how narcissists are made (or make themselves, as he would put it). It's a coping mechanism.

what was that description?

 

[SouthAussie]

The medical staff certainly could have helped earlier if they knew what they were dealing with.


Doctors sometimes give patients, "a large dose of penicillin G," Brewer says. "They didn't know exactly how that worked, but they thought maybe it stimulated the liver." There is also a newer drug derived from the milk thistle plant called silibinin.

And in May 2023 they discovered that ICG (an iodide based dye that has been used in humans since 1956 to help diagnose diseases in the eye) seemed to be an antidote for Death Cap poisoning in lab tests.

New hope for an antidote to death cap mushrooms and other poison fungi

 

[JBowie]

Heather and Gail went to inspect her pantry. He recalled Erin was “very reluctant” about this.

Why would anyone be reluctant to open their pantry to relatives? Full of jars labelled with skull and crossbones maybe?