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

[LadyL]

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

the key is to spice/season it
nobody eats it without seasoning

 

[Kemug]

I am sort of wondering if Ian managed to survive because men are usually bigger, stronger, whatever. So Don might have also survived if he hadn't had one and a half serves?

 

[Kemug]

I think a couple of you posted that Erin was angry with Simon because "he refused to come to his own death"! So funny - but probably more than a grain of truth in it.

 

[Kemug]

the key is to spice/season it
nobody eats it without seasoning

I'll still pass, thanks!

 

[JLZ]

Well, we'll have to see how the defence use it...

I think Ian will probably confirm that Erin told them all about the cancer diagnosis. And I don't think the defence are disputing she's lied, either way....

Ooh ooh ooh this is a good one. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the accused set in motion a devilish plan to manipulate this family for years into the future. Why would she do that if she knew they would be dead within days? The lie proves that she is innocent.

 

[katydid23]

Shepherd’s pie would be ideal. Doesn’t normally contain mushrooms so wouldn’t immediately make the hospital suspect mushrooms and test, but still enough plausible deniability where she could say “oh yeah I threw a few foraged mushrooms in” if they did find them without sounding totally nuts.

As opposed to say, a cake, where they’d be far more suspect if found.

I agree. That would have been smarter.

Everything about this crime sounds compulsive and impulsive to me - like she had the idea and just could not wait to act (allegedly).

JMO

I'm confused myself about this ----it does sound compulsive and obsessive---but impulsive? I'm not sure because it is also very pre-meditated and organised with long term preplanning.

She allegedly, possibly, drove to a sighting of Death Caps and foraged. And bought the dehydrator back then as well. Then made the toxic mushroom powder and stashed it away until needed?

So obsessive, compulsive, sinister but also pre-meditated and organised. But wildly stupid and ill advised.

 

[MsMarple]

and now I'm confused again
is nightshade a bush with purple coloured berries?
and potatoes, tomatoes etc. are vegetables from the same family?

Yes. We have nightshade growing behind our house and it’s really hard to dispose of. The berries are a bright purple and quite pretty. Just a berry or two can be fatal.

Other nightshade vegetables are potatoes which can easily create solanine when they turn a greenish color. Somewhere there’s a story about an entire family being poisoned by solanine when potatoes in a root cellar turned.

 

[LadyL]

Where's the laugh emoji when I need it?

just click emojis and scroll down

Yes. We have nightshade growing behind our house and it’s really hard to dispose of. The berries are a bright purple and quite pretty. Just a berry or two can be fatal.

Other nightshade vegetables are potatoes which can easily create solanine when they turn a greenish color. Somewhere there’s a story about an entire family being poisoned by solanine when potatoes in a root cellar turned.

is it when they are not ripe enough that they can be toxic?
but then fried green tomatoes wouldn't be a thing ...

or do they ripen, then turn a greenish colour after that?

 

[Little Jack]

Yes. We have nightshade growing behind our house and it’s really hard to dispose of. The berries are a bright purple and quite pretty. Just a berry or two can be fatal.

Other nightshade vegetables are potatoes which can easily create solanine when they turn a greenish color. Somewhere there’s a story about an entire family being poisoned by solanine when potatoes in a root cellar turned.

some of my potatoes turned green so I peeled them and made the non green parts into soup. I guess I didnt realize it could be that toxic !

 

[Little Jack]

just click emojis and scroll down


is it when they are not ripe enough that they can be toxic?
but then fried green tomatoes wouldn't be a thing ...

or do they ripen, then turn a greenish colour after that?

Potatoes can turn green if exposed to sun light is my understanding but since I ate them I dont think anyone should consider me a reliable authority..

 

[katydid23]

And she might have got away with a foraging mistake….. but instead she doubled down on the lie about the source of the mushrooms with her revised statement.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/erin-patterson-gives-new-account-of-deadly-meal-that-killed-three-in-suspected-mushroom-poisoning/news-story/f258a1c0bb9756bfa16d58a60e34f058

In my opinion she had every opportunity to admit to foraging the mushrooms but chose instead to misdirect the investigators and deflect blame to the “Asian grocery stores.”

The “I panicked and lied” story doesn’t wash with me.
It will be interesting to learn about her digital trail, maybe there will be some interesting internet searches that suggest planning and premeditation?

Yes, I'd think there would be some interesting digital trails of searches, etc...HOWEVER, allegedly EP remotely wiped and RESET her cell phone while it was in LE custody---and before they were able to download it.

 

[Porky1]

Weird strategy. If Erin didn't invite everyone over to tell them about the cancer she doesn't have, what was the purpose of the lunch? Mushrooms? I don't know that the defense wants to lead with that.

They'd maybe be better off saying she was so worried about having cancer, thinking she did have it.

Because without that, why did she invite them??????

Do you think that she wanted the connection? Perhaps they were all at arms length, even at church, and she wanted to reconnect, which is why the invitation was also extended to Heather and Ian. She was looking for an excuse and exaggerated the potential medical issue. Lonliness, feeling ousted…

There is no information to date about close friends, perhaps she was worried that she would lose them as issues were causing distance and tension between her and Simon.

After reading about her generous loans, perhaps the potential pain wasn’t just directed at Simon but also his siblings. Also, the possible re-coup of those loans due to inheritance.

Iam 90% on prosecution side but Iam trying to look at this objectively now that it’s reached the trial, in the hope it was a terrible accident.

Imho, it does seem like Simon started a very significant, escalating dispute, over a petty child support arrangement. He bit the hand that fed him.

 

[katydid23]

The One Time she's done this, toiled over BW (so laborious it clouded her memory of foraging), to host a luncheon to tell four adults she's worried she might have cancer?

What story is the Defense going to run with? (Or maybe none. Maybe they won't put on a defense.)

She just really wanted to host all of a sudden? For funsies?

I think they will go with she was worried she MIGHT have it---she had a biopsy already [ I think I read that she did have a biopsy on her elbow lump?] ---although not sure we can make a connection between an elbow lump and ovarian cancer though---

But I do think the D Team is going to try hard to make that lie a little less of an outrageous lie---more like an understandable miscommunication---she didn't say she was diagnosed with it but she was being tested for it and wanted to update the family and get some advice etc.

I just hope Ian can clarify and show it for what it was.

 

[Megnut]

Death cap mushrooms aren't a good way to win friends and influence people.

 

[MsMarple]

just click emojis and scroll down


is it when they are not ripe enough that they can be toxic?
but then fried green tomatoes wouldn't be a thing ...

or do they ripen, then turn a greenish colour after that?

I’m not an expert so take this in a non expert way… I’ve mostly seen green in potatoes that are older or sprouting. I’ve found it helpful to store potatoes in a bag in a dark place.

I think a little green is tolerable, it’s mostly when potatoes are subjected to too much light and are getting old. Boiling doesn’t help but I’ve read that deep frying or roasting at high temps can reduce the solanine.

And while my understanding is green tomatoes contain more solanine than red it’s generally not high enough to be dangerous.

Obviously y’all should do your own research.

 

[katydid23]

Do you think that she wanted the connection? Perhaps they were all at arms length, even at church, and she wanted to reconnect, which is why the invitation was also extended to Heather and Ian. She was looking for an excuse and exaggerated the potential medical issue. Lonliness, feeling ousted…

There is no information to date about close friends, perhaps she was worried that she would lose them as issues were causing distance and tension between her and Simon.

But how does dosing them with Death Caps help with the distance and tension?

After reading about her generous loans, perhaps the potential pain wasn’t just directed at Simon but also his siblings. Also, the possible re-coup of those loans due to inheritance.

Yes, I do think that is an interesting theory---allegedly she wanted to instigate the inheritance payouts and recoup her loans?

Iam 90% on prosecution side but Iam trying to look at this objectively now that it’s reached the trial, in the hope it was a terrible accident.

Imho, it does seem like Simon started a very significant, escalating dispute, over a petty child support arrangement. He bit the hand that fed him.

I thought he was being petty at first---but someone, a couple people, posted about the reasoning behind him only owing 40 bucks a month---perhaps EP was bringing in so much cash from her rental properties that she was far ahead of Simon financially each month. That greatly reduces his financial responsibility in the family maybe?

 

[Annalize]

Like you, I don't think she would take any risk of poisoning herself. Funny, she knew to say she was in the bathroom every 20 minutes (when she wasn't), mirroring those who were actually poisoned. All you would have had to do is self-medicate (laxatives, diuretics), then play up symptoms. Based on the alleged crime, it would appear that everyone at lunch got food poisoning. Therefore no suspicion, for the very reason no one is going to poison herself.

I don't think there were ever two pots. Just one safe pot and a container of dried death cap (possibly still in the dehydrator) which could be spooned into each BW pastry. None left. All in the individual BWs. Save two that had none added. Hers. And Simon's no reason to add death cap powder to his because he wasn't coming.

No bowls, pots with death cap residue.

Just the empty dehydrator.

JMO

I think I read on this site that there were 6 trays recovered with the dehydrator, at the disposal facility. I can't seem to locate the reference post. I assumed they were individual baking trays.

 

[JLZ]

I thought he was being petty at first---but someone, a couple people, posted about the reasoning behind him only owing 40 bucks a month---perhaps EP was bringing in so much cash from her rental properties that she was far ahead of Simon financially each month. That greatly reduces his financial responsibility in the family maybe?

He said that his refusal of the bill was before he found out that he only had to contribute $40 a month. Once he discovered the amount, he told Erin and his family that he was coming back to the table and they would work it out.

 

[Porky1]

I think I read on this site that there were 6 trays recovered with the dehydrator, at the disposal facility. I can't seem to locate the reference post. I assumed they were individual baking trays.

To dry, you need to finely slice and spread out, otherwise it takes a ridiculous amount of time. Hence having many stackable trays. I tried to dry grapes with a food dehydrator and it took 14 hrs.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'll start with saying there is no excuse for murdering anyone.

Upon really thinking about this case and reading between the lines and the more we know of EP I think the signs were there from the beginning that the marriage was never going to work and her leaving and going back numerous times was her futile attempt to make the marriage work.

I believe she didn't just marry one person, she married the entire family plus their religious beliefs.

And no I don't believe she suddenly became converted to the religion. She did it in the hope that she would be accepted as a valued member of the family.

I don't think she ever felt valued or appreciated or accepted. Or loved.

I know this feeling because it's what I felt during my entire marriage and no amount of trying changed anything.

I think when she received the inheritance, she thought sharing it with other family members would change the way others perceived her.
Yes I think she tried to buy their affections.

Lending money to family or friends can lead to problems and even though EP said they can pay back when they could,
it can lead to family seeing you in a different light, and not the happy light she thought they would.

It could very well lead to those people wanting to keep their distance, maybe because of embarrassment out of not paying the money back sooner, rather than the feeling of gratitude and love she might have been expecting.

They do say don't lend to families

I think all this built up resentment in her, til even small signs of being left out festered away at her.