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

[Bats]

It is clever, or just uncaring?

Well certainly uncaring by both Simon and Erin. Clever work by the defence is what i was meaning.
Obviously, everything Mr Mandy asked has a specific purpose which will all be pulled together at the end.

It doesn't hurt to play devil's advocate sometimes.

If you ask....What did the prosecution get out of Simon to show Erin intentionally poisoned her guests? ...Are you any closer?

 

[MrsAddick]

It's one of those things many people experience where they look back in hindsight and realise those times when you were ill after you ate together, and it all comes into focus.

I'm finding it difficult not to think that people looking at Simon as somehow responsible is a form of victim blaming, and I am wondering if it's because the gender roles are reversed here, with the accused being a woman. I can't imagine if it were a man in this situation that people would be in any way blaming the woman.

This woman is accused of annihilating Simon's family.

It really wasn't Simons fault in any way that he didn't suspect she was trying to poison him or his family.

I agree with you. The man seems very genuine and honest. At worst, you could accuse him of being a bit too trusting and naive. I guess this is where my comment came from but sadly I’m cynical and prone to skepticism (to be fair, I lean that way regardless of gender).
Everyone can be experts after-the-fact. I’ve seen no evidence at all to suggest Simon did anything wrong.

 

[tmar]

Months/years later, can it be proven? Perhaps if there were biopsies done, and the samples still existed.
But isn't it also possible that he was poisoned by a different substance?
The above from @Spectrix, from previous thread.

Regarding SP's illnesses, very early, here, I remember a discussion, that the illness ?/possibly may have been due to high quantities of the 'night shade' group of vegetables.

Anyone else remember this, or am I 'dreaming'?

 

[JLZ]

That wouldn't make sense, considering she didn't use big chunky bits of mushrooms in the Beef Wellington(s). A duxelle is a paste of mushrooms. The mushroom paste is blitzed together for application to all (individual or otherwise) Beef Wellingtons.
It would not stand to reason that everyone who ate them except her died or were seriously ill, in this case, because individual mushrooms were not used in the different pies. A duxelle excludes this possibility.

That is a different point.

However, to take up what you say about duxelles: I think it probably was made in more than one batch, one of them deadly, the other not. The question is whether there could be an innocent reason for doing it that way. Conceivably she could have miscalculated the quantity needed.

 

[Spectrix]

But isn't it also possible that he was poisoned by a different substance?
The above from @Spectrix

Regarding SP's illnesses, very early, here, I remember a discussion, that the illness ?/possibly may have been due to high quantities of the 'night shade' group of vegetables.

Anyone else remember this, or am I 'dreaming'?

Yes, "nightshades" was mentioned but the only information I can find is very vague.
It was not a direct quote from Simon himself, the person was referred to as "a source"

"Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin," a source told The Herald Sun.
"There were times he had felt... a bit off and it coincided when he spent time with her."
That source also suggested the attempted poisoning was through nightshade plants, which includes vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicums and eggplants.

Note that the newspaper appears to have suggested "nightshades plants" (tomatoes/potatoes etc) but the source may have been referencing something like Deadly Nightshades (Atropa Belladonna) which is found in parts of Australia and has been used throughout history as a poison.
It's not like you poison people with tomatoes.

 

[arrogantcat]

It'll be interesting to see what the defense claims. If they are going to say that she picked them by mistake, then they'll have to say what mushroom species she mistook them for.

Apparently, the edible fungi that's closest in appearance to the death cap is the paddy straw mushroom, but those only grow naturally in Asia. Which is why many of the accidental poisoning cases occur in immigrant communities.

From what I can tell, there doesn't seem to be an edible mushroom that grows in Victoria and is a death cap look-alike.

I suppose it's possible that a misshapen death cap could have been mistaken for another species. But to have made the same mistake 12 times? Seems hard to fathom.

She might say she thought they were puffballs - young death caps can sometimes resemble them. That’s the only plausible lookalike I can think of.

Intentionally foraging for puffballs is… possible, but pretty unlikely imo. They’re like nature’s tofu — no real flavour of their own — and can have a bit of an odd texture when cooked.

But she could say that’s what she thought she was picking.

 

[Spectrix]

She might say she thought they were puffballs - young death caps can sometimes resemble them. That’s the only plausible lookalike I can think of.

The prosecution seem to be suggesting that EP visited two specific locations where Death Caps had been sighted, within days of them being geotagged on iNaturalist.org

I don't think it's likely she was there looking for puffballs.

Death Caps vs Puffballs -

 

[arrogantcat]

It's not like you poison people with tomatoes.

Well - unless they have a nightshade allergy.

Given the vague source for this claim I think it’s very possible that SP was attributing his sickness to this - a suspected allergy, or perhaps even a known allergy, and a suspected accidental ingestion of a nightshade vegetable. They can be very hard to avoid when eating processed food or in restaurants etc.

If this was his working theory he would not have suspected poisoning and assumed a medical issue. But because of the whole ‘deadly nightshades’ mythos, it makes a great sensational quote for the tabloid press after the murders.

I suspect this is a red herring and, if he was poisoned, it was with something unrelated to nightshades entirely.

 

[Salah11]

She will still have to explain why she basically didn’t get sick and neither did her kids or the dog. That’s one hell of a stretch when the others were at deaths door within a day.

IMO

 

[arrogantcat]

The prosecution seem to be suggesting that EP visited two specific locations where Death Caps had been sighted, within days of them being geotagged on iNaturalist.org

I don't think it's likely she was there looking for puffballs.

Of course, but that doesn’t mean she can’t claim that’s what she thought she was picking.

She might say she went to these locations looking for an entirely different type of edible mushroom, but could not find any, so picked some ‘puffballs’ instead.

She only has to convince one jury member that there is doubt.

 

[Kemug]

She might say she thought they were puffballs - young death caps can sometimes resemble them. That’s the only plausible lookalike I can think of.

Intentionally foraging for puffballs is… possible, but pretty unlikely imo. They’re like nature’s tofu — no real flavour of their own — and can have a bit of an odd texture when cooked.

But she could say that’s what she thought she was picking.

Tofu - ugh. Disgusting. Like eating 20 year old scrambled egg.

 

[arrogantcat]

Death Caps vs Puffballs -

It is specifically *young* death caps that resemble puffballs. It’s a well known issue in foraging for the danger it presents.

This photo shows death caps. Note the young ones on the right.



These are puffballs:



I think it’s likely the defence might suggest that this is what she mistook them for. I’m not saying it’s true — simply that it would make a plausible line of defence.

 

[SouthAussie]

It is specifically *young* death caps that resemble puffballs. It’s a well known issue in foraging for the danger it presents.

This photo shows death caps. Note the young ones on the right.

View attachment 583423

These are puffballs:

View attachment 583424

I think it’s likely the defence might suggest that this is what she mistook them for. I’m not saying it’s true — simply that it would make a plausible line of defence.

Even for an experienced forager?


The mushroom cook behind the toxic beef wellington that poisoned four of her relatives was an experienced fungi forager, a source close to the family says.

A friend of the Patterson family said Erin was 'very good at foraging' and identifying different mushroom varieties.

'The Patterson family (including Erin and Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,' the friend said.

Mushroom cook was experienced fungi forager

The mushroom chef behind the toxic beef Wellington pie that poisoned four of her relatives was an experienced fungi forager, a source close to the family says.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[arrogantcat]

Even for an experienced forager?


The mushroom cook behind the toxic beef wellington that poisoned four of her relatives was an experienced fungi forager, a source close to the family says.

A friend of the Patterson family said Erin was 'very good at foraging' and identifying different mushroom varieties.

'The Patterson family (including Erin and Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,' the friend said.

Mushroom cook was experienced fungi forager

The mushroom chef behind the toxic beef Wellington pie that poisoned four of her relatives was an experienced fungi forager, a source close to the family says.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I guess that will be up to the jury to decide.

 

[Spectrix]

So yeah, I saw that Death Caps had been geotagged at two locations just near my home, so I visited both of them hoping to find a completely different kind of mushroom instead. And what do you know, I accidentally came home with Death Caps!
Then I accidentally dried them out and waited for the perfect moment to accidentally feed them to my Ex's whole family.
Weirdly, they all became violently ill from eating them, and three people died.
I ate the mushrooms as well, but somehow they didn't make me sick. In fact, they cured me of cancer!

 

[JBowie]

And if she is found guilty, and I don't see how she can't be, she won't be hosting any meals anyway for a long long time, if ever.

Pretty sure she wouldn't be put on prison kitchen duty, either.

 

[Porky1]

For me, the fake cancer diagnosis news is a little bit of extra information that points toward intent

The Prosecution are alleging it was fake but I don’t recall the defence responding as yet

 

[SouthAussie]

The Prosecution are alleging it was fake but I don’t recall the defence responding as yet

I think that the defence conceded it was a lie in their opening statement.

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

May 1, 2025

Hopefully, EP's medical records have been successfully subpoenaed. And it will be disclosed if she had been lying about her cancer diagnosis and other matters.

Is that still up for consideration? I thought that had been addressed in the opening statements:

Yesterday, Ms Patterson's lawyers conceded her cancer claim was a lie. [bbm]

Erin Patterson 'seemed' to love in-laws, estranged husband tells court

Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson appeared to have a loving relationship with her in-laws before they died after eating a poisonous beef Wellington she served them in her home, a court hears.

www.abc.net.au

• JBowie

• 
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[Megnut]

If the cancer was a lie, what was the purpose if the luncheon?

Doh.

JMO

 

[Bats]

If Erin and Don got along with each other very well, why would she invite him over so she could kill him?

Just throwing questions around