GUILTY Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 *Arrest* #18

[Jake18]

brought over from previous thread:

owlmama​

Member​

JoinedJun 17, 2025

Why on earth was this evidence not included in the trial?

For those that can't access the link, there is CCTV footage of her at the tip around 3.30pm on the day of the lunch. She dumps a bunch of flattened cardboard into the cardboard bin, then carries a non flattened box over. And apparently also dumps a garbage bag. It's not exactly clear what she disposed of, but the suggestion is that it is the plates etc from the lunch. Whatever it was, she certainly wasn't at home binging on leftover cake.

I suppose the other CCTV footage was allowed in, because it covered (refuted) evidence given in her statement to Police. The trip to subway was when she said she already had explosive diarrhoea (car seat as s cork) and the service station trip was at the time she claimed she had multiple episodes of diarrhoea.

Whereas the trip to the dump after the meal didn’t incorporate a time period where she was saying she was doing something else, or claimed to be unwell. She hadn’t invented the vomiting after orange cake then. It would have been different, I think, if the black bin bag had been found and searched.

 

[infodumptruck]

Erin was angry because her husband filed taxes as a separated spouse. Consequently, Erin no longer qualified for "married" tax deductions. She then started harassing her husband's family to coerce him into re-filing and falsely claiming that they were still married and living together. When they told her they were staying out of it, she decided to kill them.

He then listed himself as single on his tax return. This move had significant implications for Erin’s financial affairs, since it stopped her claiming various tax breaks available to married people.

Silly question, but what tax breaks/deductions?

AFAIK in Australia we don’t really have any - From my own experience, only my Medicare levy was impacted?

(Unless they mean FTB, which we can deduce from the child support assessment that she was not even eligible for FTB A or B, as her taxable income exceeded $117k)

 

[Lisa4]

Great news here.

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial has made her case "virtually appeal-proof" and it will be difficult for her to successfully challenge her convictions, a legal expert says.

Eta. Won't that be a HUGE relief for the families. Hope it proves true and I think it will. So grateful for their sakes.

Eta2 - I don't doubt she will try but hoping either her own legals advise her not to, or it is thrown straight out.

(I just clipped the first sentence of a longer article, not pay walled.)

Mushroom cook murder convictions 'appeal-proof': expert

The judge in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial has made her case "virtually appeal-proof" and it will be...

www.9news.com.au

 

[Deleted member 363451]

So from a previous visit, we know that Erin visited the tip a minimum of 6 times in a 10 month period. 2 of these visits were only 2 days apart, so they are likely part of the same tip-run.

Of course, we have since found out today that she made at least one more visit: 30 minutes after the lunch ended. This is another extremely coincidental event. I even looked at the days, because I know that I usually go on the weekend, but in fact Erin usually went in the week.

From the Daily Mail article, it mentioned cardboard (including the dehydrator box) and a binbag. It doesn't seem likely the cardboard was hiding anything so why did she take it? Was it to make it look less conspicuous, did she care so little that she carried on doing errands or is it actually just a coincidence.

And one more thing: do Aussies really have to pay to go to the tip?

There was nothing coincidental about her going to the tip 30 minutes after the lunch IMO.

 

[MrJ]

Wow. The plates being dumped is huge evidence but I'm not surprised that the defense was able to exclude it from the trial. It is honestly a bit hard to tell what she's throwing away, I do believe it was the plates though. The fact they didn't fit is a tell. Plus all the other cutlery would have done that. She really is evil

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Wow. The plates being dumped is huge evidence but I'm not surprised that the defense was able to exclude it from the trial. It is honestly a bit hard to tell what she's throwing away, I do believe it was the plates though. The fact they didn't fit is a tell. Plus all the other cutlery would have done that. She really is evil

You could see in the last part of that footage that the box she carried in had some weight. It had to have been the plates IMO. Why on earth weren't the jury allowed to see that?

 

[Monstradamus]

So from a previous visit, we know that Erin visited the tip a minimum of 6 times in a 10 month period. 2 of these visits were only 2 days apart, so they are likely part of the same tip-run.

Of course, we have since found out today that she made at least one more visit: 30 minutes after the lunch ended. This is another extremely coincidental event. I even looked at the days, because I know that I usually go on the weekend, but in fact Erin usually went in the week.

From the Daily Mail article, it mentioned cardboard (including the dehydrator box) and a binbag. It doesn't seem likely the cardboard was hiding anything so why did she take it? Was it to make it look less conspicuous, did she care so little that she carried on doing errands or is it actually just a coincidence.

And one more thing: do Aussies really have to pay to go to the tip?

If the tip was so easily accessible, why did she order a skip bin to dispose of Phone A?

 

[MrJ]

If the tip was so easily accessible, why did she order a skip bin to dispose of Phone A?

Plates could be anything and anyone could dump them in her view but a phone would be much more suss imo

 

[Deleted member 367982]

Being in the upper echelon of killers in Victoria, for her crimes EP can expect to face 35 years in jail.
IMO there is a way to have that sentenced reduced to 25 non parole years which may not be popular amongst Websleuthers.
She could continuing wasting time and money protesting her innocence on one, two or three appeals, which I think will all fail.
The big reduction in prison comes if she admits to her crimes, gives the reasons for carrying them out, offers any genuine mitigating factors, offers to have assessments on her mental health before and after sentencing, take part in prison programs to rehabilitate murderers and of course do a dirty great big turnaround and show honest and genuine remorse.
In other words completely expose to the world admitting to the crimes she's committed.
During those 25 years in jail if she's still assessed as a potential murderer before getting out at 75 years of age, then keep her in jail for the remaining 10 or so years in which time she'll probably die.
Anyway, it's just my thoughts. I wonder what Ian Wilkinson would think of that because his thoughts would be far more relevant than mine.
At this stage EP's a cold, heartless killer and the chances of her being remorseful are next to nothing, but Ian is in a good position to know if a miracle could occur and if EP should be given that chance to get a lighter sentence.

 

[Lisa4]

You could see in the last part of that footage that the box she carried in had some weight. It had to have been the plates IMO. Why on earth weren't the jury allowed to see that?

I am far from a legal expert, but have been trying to learn from the others here!

Could it be that it would have "made her look bad" but there was no actual proof or evidence to back this up?

 

[Monstradamus]

I'm not sure if all councils are the same.... as rate payers we receive 3 free tip tickets a year, I'm regional NSW. Without the free tickets it is as you have explained with the weighbridge.

Free tips within my council area. But EP had weekly bin collections, so why would you go to the tip to drop a small amount of cardboard and a garbage bag, I wonder?

 

[Lisa4]

Dbm

 

[Lisa4]

great big turnaround and show honest and genuine remorse.

if a miracle could occur

I think the first quote would take the second.

 

[JBowie]

Jurors hotel booking bungle caused mushroom murder trial havoc

In the final days of their deliberations in Erin Patterson’s high-profile murder trial, jurors, police, prosecutors and media found themselves at the same hotel.

(Pay-walled for some)

Jurors hotel booking bungle caused mushroom murder trial havoc

In the final days of their deliberations in Erin Patterson’s high-profile murder trial, jurors, police, prosecutors and media found themselves at the same hotel.

www.smh.com.au

 

[JBowie]

Hometown mushroom warning before Erin Patterson ‘went foraging’​

It was no secret in Korumburra that dangerous mushrooms were in the midst of the region, with a warning issued in the days before the murderer was accused of looking for death cap mushrooms.

(pay-walled)

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/korumburra-community-warned-about-dangerous-fungi-just-when-erin-patterson-was-accused-of-looking/news-story/6ff2fd011babc81aad28976b9011a299

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Being in the upper echelon of killers in Victoria, for her crimes EP can expect to face 35 years in jail.
IMO there is a way to have that sentenced reduced to 25 non parole years which may not be popular amongst Websleuthers.
She could continuing wasting time and money protesting her innocence on one, two or three appeals, which I think will all fail.
The big reduction in prison comes if she admits to her crimes, gives the reasons for carrying them out, offers any genuine mitigating factors, offers to have assessments on her mental health before and after sentencing, take part in prison programs to rehabilitate murderers and of course do a dirty great big turnaround and show honest and genuine remorse.
In other words completely expose to the world admitting to the crimes she's committed.
During those 25 years in jail if she's still assessed as a potential murderer before getting out at 75 years of age, then keep her in jail for the remaining 10 or so years in which time she'll probably die.
Anyway, it's just my thoughts. I wonder what Ian Wilkinson would think of that because his thoughts would be far more relevant than mine.
At this stage EP's a cold, heartless killer and the chances of her being remorseful are next to nothing, but Ian is in a good position to know if a miracle could occur and if EP should be given that chance to get a lighter sentence.

A lobotomy might help...

 

[Porky1]

I'm not sure if all councils are the same.... as rate payers we receive 3 free tip tickets a year, I'm regional NSW. Without the free tickets it is as you have explained with the weighbridge.

It does vary between councils.

My Mum is in regional NSW in a large town and they have a number of free tip tickets, but no council curb side clean-ups. In the city, our council has four curb side pickups per year for larger items and we rarely use the tip now.

When the tip was less than 10kms away, we used it regularly.

We won’t know whether EP’s tip visit on the afternoon of the lunch was of significance, or not. It might have been part of her regular routine or she may have disposed of items linked to the lunch.

 

[brisbanemum]

Another interesting tidbit about the service station stop. Someone just posted on reddit that they are a frequent visitor to the service station. Apparently the door Erin went through for her “9 second stop” is actually a door leading to the *hallway* to the toilets. So to get to the actual toilet, she would have had to walk down that hallway and through another door.

 

[Porky1]

Depends on refuge centre. This is case at Homebush tip in NSW. This is not the case at Frankston tip In VIC

It’s bound to vary between city councils and regional, and states too. My closest tip is on the northern beaches of Sydney which had a car weight scale but the last time I used a rural tip, it didn’t have one, which is why we used it regularly as it was free and handy.

 

[Porky1]

Silly question, but what tax breaks/deductions?

AFAIK in Australia we don’t really have any - From my own experience, only my Medicare levy was impacted?

(Unless they mean FTB, which we can deduce from the child support assessment that she was not even eligible for FTB A or B, as her taxable income exceeded $117k)

As she is an Accountant, she would have been across every aspect of her finances, and how to minimise tax. In addition to ensuring that her benefits were claimed. Simons tax status would have 3 dependents until he changed to single, this also affects Medicare and Private Health insurance. I suspect their financial status was complex.