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

[MsMarple]

I wouldn't expect the daughter to have gone foraging, or the son for that matter. The daughter isn't the one on trial.

Sorry, I was replying to your link where a family friend said:

“The Patterson family would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,” the source said.

I was just wondering if the foraging was more of a solo hobby for Erin rather than a family affair.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Sorry, I was replying to your link where a family friend said:

“The Patterson family would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,” the source said.

I was just wondering if the foraging was more of a solo hobby for Erin rather than a family affair.

Oh, okay. Well the friend may have been referring to Erin and Simon, or maybe Simon's parents also went with them?

 

[Detechtive]

I agree. Even though I am not making any excuses whatsoever for Erin Patterson's actions, I can see that Simon was quite a hypocrite after Erin gave his siblings interest free loans to purchase homes and then he quibbles over paying a medical bill for his son. On top of that he was only paying $38 per month for his 2 children, which is a paltry amount. Whether he had been accessed on Erin's bank balance, I don't know.

I see it differently. The money was never Erins money. They were married, it was "their money". Even if it was an inheritance, it still should have been their money - this is how the law treats it during marriage.

She wouldn't have been assessed by child support to get $38 per month if her income wasn't higher than his, considering she was the majority custodian.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I see it differently. The money was never Erins money. They were married, it was "their money". Even if it was an inheritance, it still should have been their money - this is how the law treats it during marriage.

She wouldn't have been assessed by child support to get $38 per month if her income wasn't higher than his, considering she was the majority custodian.

Yes, because they have never divorced, Simon hasn't received a pay out I assume.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

So she admitted to police that she foraged specifically for death caps? I think not.

No, She admitted that she had been foraging. That's what I meant to say in my previous post.

 

[drsleuth]

Expert says Erin Patterson's medical files suggest she was ill — as it happened

Erin Patterson is on trial charged with the murders of three relatives who died after eating a meal she prepared which contained poisonous mushrooms. Follow the trial in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

Key Event
2m ago

We'll hear more from the mycologist​

By Judd Boaz​

Mycologist Tom May was called into the witness box on Tuesday, and gave the court a detailed overview of the toxic death cap mushrooms.

He also revealed he was the user who posted the location of death cap mushrooms in Gippsland to a website in 2023, just months before the deadly lunch.

To follow along with the opening of Dr May's testimony, you can read our blog from yesterday, which covered each moment in the courtroom as it happened.

 

[drsleuth]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/erin-patterson-trial-live-updates-from-morwell-court/live-coverage/2b9110af7759d006a800bf76bb848d28?amp

LIVE

Erin Patterson trial: Live updates from Morwell court​

Erin Patterson’s test results showed no evidence of death cap mushroom poisoning, a doctor has revealed, as the trial continues in Morwell.

 

[drsleuth]

Erin Patterson murder trial day 11 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

7m ago10.35 AEST
What we learned

While we wait for things to begin, here’s what the jury heard on day 10 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial:

1. Dr Laura Muldoon, who treated Erin at Monash medical centre, said the mushroom cook appeared “clinically well” on 31 July – two days after the lunch.

2. Medical testing showed Erin had no signs of liver toxicity before she was discharged from Monash medical centre on 1 August, the court heard.

3. Jurors were shown a photo of the remains of the fateful beef wellington meal. The photos show a pastry encasing a brown paste. There are also leftovers of the brown paste in the photo.

4. An internationally renowned mushroom expert, Dr Thomas May, told the court he posted a post of death cap mushrooms he had spotted on a walk to the “citizen science” website iNaturalist. He said the post included several photos, latitude and longitude and geo-coordinates, but not the specific street.

 

[MsMarple]

All my posts will be from abc.net.au unless otherwise noted.

Expert says Erin Patterson's medical files suggest she was ill — as it happened

Erin Patterson is on trial charged with the murders of three relatives who died after eating a meal she prepared which contained poisonous mushrooms. Follow the trial in our live blog.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MsMarple]

Mushroom expert Tom May is back in the witness box​

By Judd Boaz​

Defence lawyer Sophie Stafford is resuming her cross-examination of mycologist Tom May.

When we adjourned yesterday afternoon, Ms Stafford was taking Dr May through images of different mushrooms.

She raises an article written previously by Dr May that explains the limitations in identifying mushrooms based off just a photo.

He confirms this is the case.

 

[MsMarple]

Mushroom expert picks out deathcaps​

By Kristian Silva​

The composite image Dr May is shown by Ms Stafford contains 10 pictures of mushrooms, in varying colours.

Some are big, some are small. Some are in the wild and some appear to be on a bench. Dr May said he was able to identify two of them as being death caps.

Ms Stafford raises previous statements by Dr May, where he said the general public had a "poor" ability to identify mushrooms, which he confirms

 

[drsleuth]

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/erin-pattersons-murder-trial-more-witnesses-to-testify-as-alleged-mushroom-poisoning-case-continues-in-victoria/live-coverage/b5424642f9d69ad5701e86b34f1616f9

LIVE

Erin Patterson's murder trial: More witnesses to testify as alleged mushroom poisoning case continues in Victoria​

More witnesses will give evidence in Erin Patterson's murder trial on Wednesday as the alleged mushroom poisoning case continues for a third week in Victoria

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago10.48 AEST
The defence is continuing their cross-examination of Dr Thomas May, a mycologist or scientist specialising in fungi.

Erin Patterson’s defence lawyer, Sophie Stafford, is cross-examining May.

Under cross-examination, May agrees he has made conclusions in articles that the general public has a poor ability to identify mushrooms.

He also agrees there have been several incidents of misidentification of mushrooms.

“Accordingly, you encourage something you’ve likened to an apprenticeship, which takes a long time to accurately identify mushrooms in the wild,” Stafford says.

“That is correct,” says May.

Erin Patterson murder trial day 11 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[ch_13]

4. An internationally renowned mushroom expert, Dr Thomas May, told the court he posted a post of death cap mushrooms he had spotted on a walk to the “citizen science” website iNaturalist. He said the post included several photos, latitude and longitude and geo-coordinates, but not the specific street.

He posted the location as a warning. But allegedly the information he circulated was used as an instrument of murder.

That must be pretty chilling for him to realize that his report was potentially used in a way he could have never intended or imagined.

 

[MsMarple]

The court hears recap of death caps​

By Judd Boaz​

Ms Stafford runs down the list of characteristics of death cap mushrooms once again for the court, these being:

• whitish, yellow, pale brown or green cap
• white lamellae (gills)
• white spore prints
• volva (cup) present at base of stipe.
• annulus (ring) present on stipe.
• occurs under member of oak tree family.

Dr May said in identifying death caps, he would be looking for all of these characteristics to be present.

 

[MsMarple]

How Dr May determines mushroom identity​

By Judd Boaz​

Dr May tells the court he errs on the side of caution when identifying mushrooms and qualifies his identifications with terms like "high degree of probability" and "consistency" when it comes to official matters such as police requests.

He says in more casual settings, he will simply say what a mushroom is without qualification.

Ms Stafford presses him on what Dr May would do if a photograph was taken without showing certain features like gills.

"Then you would be in a position to say 'well I can't rule out death cap'?" she asks.

"Yes, that is the language I would use," he says.

 

[minusfour]

Would EP be facing any criminal charges if the police believed she had innocently made a mistake with these mushrooms? Some sort of negligence?

(I know she would have had to admitted to foraging immediately etc, lots would have to be different)

 

[drsleuth]

Patterson’s hospital tests indicate she did have diarrhoea, expert says

Erin Patterson is accused of killing three people with poisonous death cap mushrooms.

7news.com.au

Live

Erin Patterson mushroom trial: Accused triple murderer faces Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court​

Erin Patterson is accused of killing three people with poisonous death cap mushrooms.

Mushroom expert resumes cross examination​

Mycologist Thomas May has resumed cross examination

As Patterson’s trial resumed on Wednesday morning, the defence questioned May about an article he previously wrote on the identification of mushrooms.

The article contained images of mushrooms that had been provided by members of the public.

Defence: “The limitation here is that it is not always possible, depending on what is captured in the photograph, to positively identify the mushroom?”

May: “That is correct.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the defence showed various photos of mushrooms to May and asked if he could identify them.

May said each mushroom depicted had features of death cap mushrooms, but it was difficult to definitively confirm based on the photos.

May explained there are several features of a death cap mushroom he looks for to make an identification - such as characteristics of its cap and stem - which may not be clearly visible in photographs due to lighting or angles.

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago10.57 AEST
Lawyer Sophie Stafford takes Dr Thomas May through the visual features of a death cap mushroom which she says has a smooth cap, a white stem which usually has a visible ring and white gills.

May agrees that these are the features he is looking for when trying to identify if a species is a death cap mushroom.

He agrees a “spore print” and DNA testing can also be used to confirm if a mushroom is a death cap if a sample is available.

May says when providing advice to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre he will qualify his opinion.

He says when in the field, when seeing the mushroom in its environment, he will often feel more confident to identify a death cap.

Erin Patterson murder trial day 11 – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MsMarple]

Defence returns to gallery of mushrooms​

By Judd Boaz​

Ms Stafford produces a series of photographs of mushrooms seen growing in Victoria, including Gippsland.

She noted this would feature as an exercise yesterday, and says there are seven photos to go through.

All the photos are taken from iNaturalist, the citizen science website used for logging flora and fungi.

The defence says the first photo is of a stubble rosegill mushroom, which Dr May says he cannot confirm.