GUILTY Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 *Arrest* #19

[ch_13]

BBM

No point throwing out the plates then

Even if Erin believed that the authorities would never suspect poison, she had a very good reason to throw out the plates...She needed to avoid cross-contamination. She wouldn't want to take the slightest chance that her kids could come in contact with even one spore of the fungi.

I believe that's why she made that post-lunch trip to the tip. Not just to dispose of the plates, but also the cookware, Tupperware, utensils and anything else that might have touched the mushrooms.

I think her initial plan was just to say, "I ate the meal and my kids ate it, and we're fine. So the lunch couldn't be the cause." It was only after she heard that the doctors suspected amanita toxin did she start worrying about how she could be linked to the deaths. It was then she switched to plan B and went into the hospital claiming she was ill.

 

[Two SCents]

Even if Erin believed that the authorities would never suspect poison, she had a very good reason to throw out the plates...She needed to avoid cross-contamination. She wouldn't want to take the slightest chance that her kids could come in contact with even one spore of the fungi.

I believe that's why she made that post-lunch trip to the tip. Not just to dispose of the plates, but also the cookware, Tupperware, utensils and anything else that might have touched the mushrooms.

I think her initial plan was just to say, I ate the meal and my kids ate it, and we're fine. It was only after she heard that the doctors suspected amanita toxin did she start worrying about how she could be linked to the deaths. It was then she switched to plan B and went into the hospital claiming she was ill.

But she kept the dehydrator for months, not even throwing it out on the first trip straight after the lunch

 

[Detechtive]

Even if Erin believed that the authorities would never suspect poison, she had a very good reason to throw out the plates...She needed to avoid cross-contamination. She wouldn't want to take the slightest chance that her kids could come in contact with even one spore of the fungi.

I believe that's why she made that post-lunch trip to the tip. Not just to dispose of the plates, but also the cookware, Tupperware, utensils and anything else that might have touched the mushrooms.

I think her initial plan was just to say, I ate the meal and my kids ate it, and we're fine. So the lunch couldn't be the cause. It was only after she heard that the doctors suspected amanita toxin did she start worrying about how she could be linked to the deaths. It was then she switched to plan B and went into the hospital claiming she was ill.

Totally agree. It's the only scenario that makes complete sense, IMO

 

[Goosewhisperer]

Is there any evidence they tested other food in her pantry?

 

[ch_13]

But she kept the dehydrator for months, not even throwing it out on the first trip straight after the lunch

Well, it's not like the kids were going to start dehydrating things on their own. So I don't think she was as worried about cross-contamination there. Plus we know she's frugal. Maybe she didn't want to throw out such an expensive piece of equipment. At least not until she started to panic.

In the end, a lot of Erin's actions are simply unexplainable. I mean, she paid for the disposal with a bank card. According to her, she threw out the dehydrator because she was concerned it would be used as evidence of her guilt. So, even if you think she's 100% innocent, to use a traceable payment method makes no sense.


Edit - I actually have another theory....Maybe she just forgot about it. After all, she had dehydrated the mushrooms months before. The dehydrator may have been sitting in the back of the pantry somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. With everything that had to be taken care of to execute her plan, maybe disposing of the dehydrator just slipped her mind until she suddenly remembered it was still in her home.

 

[Monstradamus]

But she kept the dehydrator for months, not even throwing it out on the first trip straight after the lunch

Expensive piece of equipment, that.
Once the doctors were onto the cause of poisoning quickly (which she assumed they wouldn't be) she was forced to get rid of it perhaps?

 

[Two SCents]

Well, it's not like the kids were going to start dehydrating things on their own. So I don't think she was as worried about cross-contamination there. Plus we know she's frugal. Maybe she didn't want to throw out such an expensive piece of equipment until she started to panic.

In the end, a lot of Erin's actions are simply unexplainable. I mean, she paid for the disposal with a bank card. According to her, she threw out the dehydrator because she was concerned it would be used as evidence of her guilt. So, even if you think she's 100% innocent, to use a traceable payment makes no sense.

Agree, many many things don't make sense.

 

[LinasK]

From 5 minutes on in this video, some of Erin Patterson's computer searches on other poisons is shown.

Then there's her other searches for poisons detailed here:

R v Patterson (Ruling 1) [2025] VSC 102 - BarNet Jade

The smart way to search, annotate and share Australian legal judgments, decisions and statutes!

jade.io

Don't anyone try to tell me that she didn't poison Simon on all of those occasions previously.

There were 5 previous attempts- 3 of which she was charged with.

 

[LinasK]

It was a Carbonara


"She said she was going to use them in a carbonara but when she opened them they had a very strong smell. She put them in a Tupperware container," Ms Cripps said.

One juror dismissed, 14 remain in mushroom murder trial

A juror has been discharged from the Erin Patterson trial, after reports emerged that he had been discussing the case with family and friends.

www.abc.net.au

But her first attempt with Simon was a "Penne Bolognese". It was listed in one of the articles.

 

[Two SCents]

But her first attempt with Simon was a "Penne Bolognese". It was listed in one of the articles.

But her first attempt with Simon was a "Penne Bolognese". It was listed in one of the articles.

My reply was to this part of Little Jack's post....

"Am i remembering this correctly- didnt Erin say that shed been going to use the mushrooms for a bolognase but they smelled too strong so she saved them for something else?"

It was specifically in reference to what she claimed about the mushrooms she supposedly bought from the "Asian grocer" in the lead up to the fatal event.

 

[Twick]

Well, it's not like the kids were going to start dehydrating things on their own. So I don't think she was as worried about cross-contamination there. Plus we know she's frugal. Maybe she didn't want to throw out such an expensive piece of equipment. At least not until she started to panic.

In the end, a lot of Erin's actions are simply unexplainable. I mean, she paid for the disposal with a bank card. According to her, she threw out the dehydrator because she was concerned it would be used as evidence of her guilt. So, even if you think she's 100% innocent, to use a traceable payment method makes no sense.


Edit - I actually have another theory....Maybe she just forgot about it. After all, she had dehydrated the mushrooms months before. The dehydrator may have been sitting in the back of the pantry somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. With everything that had to be taken care of to execute her plan, maybe disposing of the dehydrator just slipped her mind until she suddenly remembered it was still in her home.

Maybe thought she could sell it secondhand if there was no suspicion on her?

 

[LinasK]

Of course nobody really knows if someone is guilty or not guilty of a crime until the court hands down a judgement.
We know for one thing that Erin is a multiple murderer and an outright liar.
Whether she tried to kill Simon five times by putting poison in his tucker is up for debate and everyone is allowed to have an opinion on this and that's what I'm doing now.
Personally, I think it's good to have people come up with a different viewpoint and angle.

Her previous attempts on Simon establish a pattern of behavior. Since she killed 3 people and attempted to murder a 4th, it's not a stretch to believe that she made previous attempts on Simon with poison and that she wouldn't have killed him on this occasion as well. Poison is her M.O., she just switched poisons. Just because it's not admissible in court, doesn't mean that we haven't learned about her attempts, and we're no longer under Sub Judice, so we are free to discuss them.

 

[LinasK]

Do you know where it says the hospital asked Erin to produce the leftovers.
That would have certainly put the wind up her.
But I believe she did say she fed her kids the leftovers.
So did she chuck them out or feed them to her kids with the death caps scraped off?

What she fed her children wasn't the leftovers from the lunch with mushrooms scraped off- it was extra beef from the family sized packages of beef she bought. There were 2-5 packs. They got non-poisoned portions.

 

[LinasK]

Did the police pick up the leftovers like Dr Webster asked?
If she had already got rid of the leftovers and police weren't able to collect them, then why did Erin go to court saying she fed leftovers to the kids or did she say she fed them to the kids sometime before police arrived.

And just another thing, I take it there will be no appeal. Is that right?

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
https://www.abc.net.au › news › erin-patterson-mushro...
11 June 2025 — Erin Patterson has rejected a suggestion from prosecutors that she lied about feeding her children leftover meat from a deadly beef Wellington lunch.

The bottom line is that she lied about what she is calling "leftovers". The leftover beef wasn't from the ones she used in making the deadly Beef Wellingtons. The children never got sick because they didn't actually get the same meal. She threw the leftover Beef Wellingtons (Simon's portion and hers) into the trash.

 

[drsleuth]

Well, it's not like the kids were going to start dehydrating things on their own. So I don't think she was as worried about cross-contamination there. Plus we know she's frugal. Maybe she didn't want to throw out such an expensive piece of equipment. At least not until she started to panic.

In the end, a lot of Erin's actions are simply unexplainable. I mean, she paid for the disposal with a bank card. According to her, she threw out the dehydrator because she was concerned it would be used as evidence of her guilt. So, even if you think she's 100% innocent, to use a traceable payment method makes no sense.


Edit - I actually have another theory....Maybe she just forgot about it. After all, she had dehydrated the mushrooms months before. The dehydrator may have been sitting in the back of the pantry somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. With everything that had to be taken care of to execute her plan, maybe disposing of the dehydrator just slipped her mind until she suddenly remembered it was still in her home.

BBM : I also think this may have been the case. Or she thought she had cleaned it thoroughly??

She really started freaking out on the 2nd August, when she realised that everyone is onto her , the health Dept, The medical staff etc. Her lunch guests are seriously ill & dying.

She does a factory reset on phone B & heads off to dump the dehydrator..............

 

[LinasK]

Even if Erin believed that the authorities would never suspect poison, she had a very good reason to throw out the plates...She needed to avoid cross-contamination. She wouldn't want to take the slightest chance that her kids could come in contact with even one spore of the fungi.

I believe that's why she made that post-lunch trip to the tip. Not just to dispose of the plates, but also the cookware, Tupperware, utensils and anything else that might have touched the mushrooms.

I think her initial plan was just to say, "I ate the meal and my kids ate it, and we're fine. So the lunch couldn't be the cause." It was only after she heard that the doctors suspected amanita toxin did she start worrying about how she could be linked to the deaths. It was then she switched to plan B and went into the hospital claiming she was ill.

Exactly- she tried to have it both ways. First it couldn't be the mushrooms, we're fine, then I got sick too- I had diarhhea.

 

[Eloise]

She was very effective with her "craft". Enabled by her followers, she gained strength in numbers and enjoyed the audience.

Belittling others made her feel powerful in her lonely, inadequate fantasy world.

She's nothing but a bully. IMO.

Queen of Sheba no more.

I was concerned she might be a bit of a queen bee in jail, but from what the various media reports have led me to believe, it seems its the opposite and she's unpopular. I bet its a lot harder to make people dance to your tune when its in person and not behind a screen. JMO.

 

[Marg944]

Snipped ….

She does a factory reset on phone B & heads off to dump the dehydrator..............

So true…..

Erin Patterson murder trial day 26 as it happened: Mushroom cook says fear of estranged husband’s actions led to phone resets; details dumping food dehydrator at local tip after fatal lunch

Erin Patterson has told a court her estranged husband asked her if she had used a dehydrator to poison his parents, and admitted resetting her phone out of fear police would discover photos she had of foraged mushrooms.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Detechtive]

Well, it's not like the kids were going to start dehydrating things on their own. So I don't think she was as worried about cross-contamination there. Plus we know she's frugal. Maybe she didn't want to throw out such an expensive piece of equipment. At least not until she started to panic.

In the end, a lot of Erin's actions are simply unexplainable. I mean, she paid for the disposal with a bank card. According to her, she threw out the dehydrator because she was concerned it would be used as evidence of her guilt. So, even if you think she's 100% innocent, to use a traceable payment method makes no sense.


Edit - I actually have another theory....Maybe she just forgot about it. After all, she had dehydrated the mushrooms months before. The dehydrator may have been sitting in the back of the pantry somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. With everything that had to be taken care of to execute her plan, maybe disposing of the dehydrator just slipped her mind until she suddenly remembered it was still in her home.

I also think she probably planned on using it again for Death Caps if she didn't get Simon that time. IMO

 

[Detechtive]

But she kept the dehydrator for months, not even throwing it out on the first trip straight after the lunch

Death Cap Season is March-April-May-ish. She needed a few trips to collect enough to overkill 5 adults, IMO.

I also noticed in the death cap images she had on her phone, that only the caps, not the volva (base) were on the scales. She was going for higher concentration of toxic load IMO.

Scientific analyses have shown that the caps and gills of death cap mushrooms contain higher concentrations of amatoxins compared to other parts. For instance, α-amanitin levels are approximately 2.95 mg/g in the cap and 3.39 mg/g in the gills, whereas the stipe (stem) contains about 2.36 mg/g, and the volva (base) has even less at 1.03 mg/g

Amatoxin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org