Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #9 *Arrest*

[Spectrix]

Yes, I had originally assumed it would be the traditional style (pictured) in which case isolating the mushroom mince/paste/duxelle for herself and children would have been quite difficult and fraught with danger. Much easier to make them as individual pasties.

I wonder if she marked the pastry, like bakeries do with pies?

I'm certain that was the case. Most who bake are familiar with marking or decorating certain baked goods to differentiate one flavour from another, so to speak.

We are lead to believe that there were 6 (or possibly 7) individual wellingtons made, and that only 4 (or possibly 5) were tainted with death caps.

4x tainted for each of the guests, perhaps 1x extra in case Simon changed his mind about coming to lunch.
1x clean wellington for Erin, and 1x extra she claimed she fed to the kids later.

 

[Ellery84]

Did her mother die of cancer?

Yes.

 

[Ellery84]

Yes, I had originally assumed it would be the traditional style (pictured) in which case isolating the mushroom mince/paste/duxelle for herself and children would have been quite difficult and fraught with danger. Much easier for that purpose to make them as individual pasties.

I wonder if she marked the pastry, like bakeries do with pies?

BBM

Yes, I would assume she did mark her own pastry.

To my knowledge this hasn’t been asked.

 

[Ellery84]

I'm certain that was the case. Most who bake are familiar with marking or decorating certain baked goods to differentiate one flavour from another, so to speak.

We are lead to believe that there were 6 (or possibly 7) individual wellingtons made, and that only 4 (or possibly 5) were tainted with death caps.

4x tainted for each of the guests, perhaps 1x extra in case Simon changed his mind about coming to lunch.
1x clean wellington for Erin, and 1x extra she claimed she fed to the kids later.

I think the kids had the eye fillet steak, cooked in a frypan. I think it was the same eye fillet steak Erin used to make the beef Wellington dishes.

So she’s used the same meat ingredient, but we know it’s not the meat that made the guests ill, it was the death cap mushrooms.

 

[JLZ]

I am trying to get my head around why that seems plausible?

From what we have discovered through the trial - she allegedly "lured" them all there with a fake cancer diagnosis and then poisoned them. Why would you allegedly lure those people to your house to kill yourself with a horrifying painful torturous death while the lunch guests were all at home living their best lives?

No, that's not the scenario. It turned on her having an actual condition that she falsely believed to be terminal cancer. I don't think that's viable now and hence the scenario falls to the ground.

I don't have a plausible theory whose expression wouldn't breach sub judice.

 

[Detechtive]

dbm

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I know about hypochondriacs - my mother enjoyed poor health, as they used to say.

My mother was also one.

 

[Ellery84]

The location of Erin’s son’s flying lesson was actually in Tyab, Victoria.

She, according to her son’s evidence, drove both ways without using the bathroom.

The Kids

Podcast Episode · The Trial of Erin Patterson · 09/05/2025 · Subscribers Only · 19m

podcasts.apple.com

 

[JBowie]

Yes, I had originally assumed it would be the traditional style (pictured) in which case isolating the mushroom mince/paste/duxelle for herself and children would have been quite difficult and fraught with danger. Much easier for that purpose to make them as individual pasties.

I wonder if she marked the pastry, like bakeries do with pies?

Further to the above, EP claims to have scraped of the mushroom paste from the pies that she fed the children. Why on earth would you make such pies with mushrooms if you then had to open them up and scrape the paste off?

This is where her already implausible story falls completely apart for me. I am convinced that what was served up to the children was not in the form of Beef Wellington, but separate portions of steak, along with the beans and potatoes.

 

[SouthAussie]

Further to the above, EP claims to have scraped of the mushroom paste from the pies that she fed the children. Why on earth would you make such pies with mushrooms if you then had to open them up and scrape the paste off?

This is where her already implausible story falls completely apart for me. I am convinced that what was served up to the children was not in the form of Beef Wellington, but separate portions of steak, along with the beans and potatoes.

I am pretty sure you are right. Neither child mentioned a thing about pastry. Just meat, beans, and potatoes. IIRC

I would think that if beef wellington was kept afterwards, the pastry would be soggy due to the duxelle anyway. I can't imagine keeping wrapped beef wellingtons - only the leftover meat, leftover duxelle, and leftover pastry separately.

 

[Spectrix]

I think the kids had the eye fillet steak, cooked in a frypan. I think it was the same eye fillet steak Erin used to make the beef Wellington dishes.

So she’s used the same meat ingredient, but we know it’s not the meat that made the guests ill, it was the death cap mushrooms.

Perhaps, but there still had to be extra wellingtons, because Erin directed the Police on where to find the leftovers to test. This was when she was still claiming that she'd sourced the mushrooms from Woolworths and a Chinese grocer.

On July 31, a police officer found remnants of beef Wellington leftovers in Ms Patterson's rubbish bin, as authorities began investigating the source of suspected poisoning suffered by the lunch guests.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Further to the above, EP claims to have scraped of the mushroom paste from the pies that she fed the children. Why on earth would you make such pies with mushrooms if you then had to open them up and scrape the paste off?

This is where her already implausible story falls completely apart for me. I am convinced that what was served up to the children was not in the form of Beef Wellington, but separate portions of steak, along with the beans and potatoes.

She knew that her kids didn't like mushrooms, so apart from the obvious reason, she wouldn't have made the same Beef Wellington's for them.

 

[JBowie]

Perhaps, but there still had to be extra wellingtons, because Erin directed the Police on where to find the leftovers to test. This was when she was still claiming that she'd sourced the mushrooms from Woolworths and a Chinese grocer.

On July 31, a police officer found remnants of beef Wellington leftovers in Ms Patterson's rubbish bin, as authorities began investigating the source of suspected poisoning suffered by the lunch guests.

But did the police actually find Beef Wellington pies, or just a mess of leftover meal ingredients? IMO, without photographs of the evidence as found, we cannot say for sure.

 

[JBowie]

She knew that her kids didn't like mushrooms, so apart from the obvious reason, she wouldn't have made the same Beef Wellington's for them.

Hence her story about scraping away the mushroom paste is bogus.

 

[Spectrix]

But did the police actually find Beef Wellington pies, or just a mess of leftover meal ingredients? IMO, without photographs of the evidence as found, we cannot say for sure.

The information we have is that:

• Erin claimed to have scraped the mushrooms off an extra Beef Wellington for the kids.
• Remnants of Beef Wellington were said to be found in her bin.
• There is CCTV of Hospital staff inspecting a leftover Beef Wellington retrieved from her bin.

The notion of an extra Beef Wellington isn't exactly an obscure thought, is it? Whether the kids ate it or not.
Maybe there was a leftover untainted wellington, maybe there was a leftover poison wellington which was intended to be Simon's and was later binned. Maybe both.

Court shown footage of doctor photographing leftover Beef Wellington​

The footage is of Dr Foote handling the leftover Beef Wellington that had been retrieved from Erin Patterson's bin on July 31, 2023.
Dr Foote, wearing gloves, can be seen pulling a dark-coloured substance out of a brown Woolworths paper bag, presumably the filling of the Beef Wellington. Then she retrieves a larger piece, the outer pastry of a Beef Wellington.

Edit - added source from ABC News

 

[JBowie]

Maybe there was a leftover untainted wellington, maybe there was a leftover poison wellington which was intended to be Simon's and was later binned. Maybe both.

I would think anything meant for Simon to consume would have contained death cap toxin and my understanding is that wasn't the case with the recovered leftovers -- the stuff that she was happy to tell police where to find.

Dr Foote, wearing gloves, can be seen pulling a dark-coloured substance out of a brown Woolworths paper bag, presumably the filling of the Beef Wellington. Then she retrieves a larger piece, the outer pastry of a Beef Wellington.

Good find. I would love to see that footage.

 

[Spectrix]

I would think anything meant for Simon to consume would have contained death cap toxin and my understanding is that wasn't the case with the recovered leftovers -- the stuff that she was happy to tell police where to find.

That is exactly my thought, since she volunteered that info to police almost immediately (yet she dumped the dehydrator).

My own suspicion is that she checked herself out of hospital in order to go home and flush any of the toxic leftovers, and stage the clean leftovers for the police to find.

However, can you find any solid info on whether or not the leftovers actually had the toxin?
I thought they didn't, but I've been searching and haven't been able to confirm.

 

[Tortoise]

That is exactly my thought, since she volunteered that info to police almost immediately (yet she dumped the dehydrator).

My own suspicion is that she checked herself out of hospital in order to go home and flush any of the toxic leftovers, and stage the clean leftovers for the police to find.

However, can you find any solid info on whether or not the leftovers actually had the toxin?
I thought they didn't, but I've been searching and haven't been able to confirm.

Yes, if the reporting is accurate -

4.05pm
The jury is now being told about the forensic evidence in the case.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, said fingerprints found in the dehydrator matched those on Erin Patterson’s left hand. An analysis of the leftover beef Wellington taken from Erin’s bin, and vegetable matter taken from the dehydrator – discovered at the tip – also found signs of death cap mushrooms.

[...]

Erin Patterson's lawyer tells jury mushroom poisoning deaths were 'a terrible accident' — as it happened

A Supreme Court jury hears opening submissions in the trial of Victorian woman Erin Patterson, who is accused of using a poisoned meal to murder three relatives. Look back at how it unfolded on our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Spectrix]

Yes, if the reporting is accurate -

4.05pm
The jury is now being told about the forensic evidence in the case.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, said fingerprints found in the dehydrator matched those on Erin Patterson’s left hand. An analysis of the leftover beef Wellington taken from Erin’s bin, and vegetable matter taken from the dehydrator – discovered at the tip – also found signs of death cap mushrooms.

Brilliant, thanks. I think that's taken from the opening statements. Hopefully we'll hear solid evidence from forensic toxicologists later in the case to confirm.

 

[JBowie]

4.05pm
The jury is now being told about the forensic evidence in the case.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC, said fingerprints found in the dehydrator matched those on Erin Patterson’s left hand. An analysis of the leftover beef Wellington taken from Erin’s bin, and vegetable matter taken from the dehydrator – discovered at the tip – also found signs of death cap mushrooms.

I wonder if that reporting by the ABC is entirely accurate. If it is, then it's contrary to what I have been led to believe to date.

My understanding has been that only the dehydrator contained indications of the toxin and that she denied its existence and tried to dispose of it because she knew it would (or possibly would), whereas she was quite happy to direct police to the leftovers in the garbage bin on the basis that no toxin would be found in that stuff.