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

[MaxDecimus13]

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.

A lot of people are under the impression that because Erin is regarded as academically intelligent, that she would have been extremely clever in committing this crime. This is mistaken in my view.

There are enough nuggets of information from this case that prove otherwise. You've pointed out an obvious one, even if she was innocent and in a panic you'd have to be pretty dumb to not see how bad it would look using your card to dispose of something important.

The other glaring one is the lie about the liposuction at the clinic. This suggests to me she is clever but not very thorough, a quick check could have stopped her from a very embarrassing and ultimately damaging lie.

Then there are all sorts of presumed lies like the Asian grocer that she still refuses to back down from.

With this in mind, it is entirely plausible that she did some things to cover her crimes up but overlooked others or thought they wouldn't be found or be important etc.

 

[MaxDecimus13]

Somehow I don't envisage EP as being someone concerned with the rules of disposal.

I'm not sure how this tip system works or why she went there as none of it makes sense.

Since she was devious and scheming, there must have been a reason.

IMO she would have wanted those contaminated plates and the whole dinner service, cutlery, anything the visitors had used or touched out of her house for fear of accidental cross contamination. Did she place each plate on a layer of cardboard, pack them up and ditch them? How do we know what she threw away ? Was it photographed, captured by CCTV? Was it reclaimed and scrutinised? Why go to the tip at all and not do something else.

She had no need to get rid of 'cardboard' at all unless perhaps she'd incidentally purchased a large household item that comes in swathes of cardboard such as a flat pack wardrobe or something. At which point the volume of cardboard becomes too unmanageable for a regular household recycling bin.

The original article on this said there was also a black binbag IIRC.

 

[Monstradamus]

A lot of people are under the impression that because Erin is regarded as academically intelligent, that she would have been extremely clever in committing this crime. This is mistaken in my view.

There are enough nuggets of information from this case that prove otherwise. You've pointed out an obvious one, even if she was innocent and in a panic you'd have to be pretty dumb to not see how bad it would look using your card to dispose of something important.

The other glaring one is the lie about the liposuction at the clinic. This suggests to me she is clever but not very thorough, a quick check could have stopped her from a very embarrassing and ultimately damaging lie.

Then there are all sorts of presumed lies like the Asian grocer that she still refuses to back down from.

With this in mind, it is entirely plausible that she did some things to cover her crimes up but overlooked others or thought they wouldn't be found or be important etc.

She seems to be socially unaware, and underestimates people, ie. police, health authorities, child safety.
JMO

 

[Jake18]

A lot of people are under the impression that because Erin is regarded as academically intelligent, that she would have been extremely clever in committing this crime. This is mistaken in my view.

There are enough nuggets of information from this case that prove otherwise. You've pointed out an obvious one, even if she was innocent and in a panic you'd have to be pretty dumb to not see how bad it would look using your card to dispose of something important.

The other glaring one is the lie about the liposuction at the clinic. This suggests to me she is clever but not very thorough, a quick check could have stopped her from a very embarrassing and ultimately damaging lie.

Then there are all sorts of presumed lies like the Asian grocer that she still refuses to back down from.

With this in mind, it is entirely plausible that she did some things to cover her crimes up but overlooked others or thought they wouldn't be found or be important etc.

She may have been intelligent but she was terrible at getting rhe medical details correct. It’s true that ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late - but it doesn’t present with an elbow lump.

She didn’t check when the symptoms of DC mushroom poisoning actually start, so had so-called symptoms starting 7 hours or so before the guests. They were still well at the time she was using the car seat as a cork whilst dropping off her son’s friend and going to subway. This information about symptom onset is not hard to find online.

She wore white pants when she supposedly had explosive diarrhoea. She expected people to believe she’d deliberately driven 90 min away for a hobby event whilst in the throes of violent diarrhoea.

She tried to pass off samples of urine as samples of stool to an experienced nurse.

She didn’t seem to realise there was a test for DC toxins and tried to dispose of evidence when the guests were correctly diagnosed

 

[Two SCents]

A lot of people are under the impression that because Erin is regarded as academically intelligent, that she would have been extremely clever in committing this crime. This is mistaken in my view.

There are enough nuggets of information from this case that prove otherwise. You've pointed out an obvious one, even if she was innocent and in a panic you'd have to be pretty dumb to not see how bad it would look using your card to dispose of something important.

The other glaring one is the lie about the liposuction at the clinic. This suggests to me she is clever but not very thorough, a quick check could have stopped her from a very embarrassing and ultimately damaging lie.

Then there are all sorts of presumed lies like the Asian grocer that she still refuses to back down from.

With this in mind, it is entirely plausible that she did some things to cover her crimes up but overlooked others or thought they wouldn't be found or be important etc.

Might she fit that old adage - "all brains, no common sense"?

 

[MaxDecimus13]

Might she fit that old adage - "all brains, no common sense"?

Definitely.

I'd also suspect it is mixed in with arrogance and thinking she is cleverer than she is.

 

[Detechtive]

She seems to be socially unaware, and underestimates people, ie. police, health authorities, child safety.
JMO

I don’t think it’s autism.

I recall when the Murduagh murders happened in the south of the US that this same phenomenon existed. He didn’t understand human emotion. He didn’t anticipate that Mallory’s parents having lost their child would no longer participate in social heirachal thinking because he doesn’t think like a human.

It’s where all psychopaths come undone, imo. She doesn’t feel panic and concern like normal humans so she can’t anticipate that happening with other humans. Chris Webster didn’t care about her sensibilities and follow the social script because lives were on the line. IMO

 

[Monstradamus]

Might she fit that old adage - "all brains, no common sense"?

Definitely.

 

[Twick]

I don’t think it’s autism.

I recall when the Murduagh murders happened in the south of the US that this same phenomenon existed. He didn’t understand human emotion. He didn’t anticipate that Mallory’s parents having lost their child would no longer participate in social heirachal thinking because he doesn’t think like a human.

It’s where all psychopaths come undone, imo. She doesn’t feel panic and concern like normal humans so she can’t anticipate that happening with other humans. Chris Webster didn’t care about her sensibilities and follow the social script because lives were on the line. IMO

That’s an interesting take on Murdaugh. Have you expanded it in his thread? I’d like to read more of it.

 

[Susjay]

Finding this all a bit vexatious - but that’s just me.

 

[Susjay]

I don’t think it’s autism.

I recall when the Murduagh murders happened in the south of the US that this same phenomenon existed. He didn’t understand human emotion. He didn’t anticipate that Mallory’s parents having lost their child would no longer participate in social heirachal thinking because he doesn’t think like a human.

It’s where all psychopaths come undone, imo. She doesn’t feel panic and concern like normal humans so she can’t anticipate that happening with other humans. Chris Webster didn’t care about her sensibilities and follow the social script because lives were on the line. IMO

I do see Aspergers and co-morbidities. Lots of adults I know, including my daughter fit. But they are not murderers or horrible people.

 

[MIG214222]

1. She kept the striped plate, which Heather spoke about before heading to hospital.

Edit- Adding the info in as apparently she spoke about the plates with Simon prior to the ride to hospital, Ian was not present at the time. She then raised the observation again on the way to hospital with Ian present,

R v Patterson (Ruling 5) [2025] VSC 106 - BarNet Jade

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1. In his statement dated 16 August 2023,[24] Simon Patterson stated:

1. above BBM.
Hello @packetgravy,

(IM), there's no evidence in (your) sources or anywhere else whatsoever that Heather Wilkinson spoke about the 'striped plate' with anyone, prior to her vicious, cruel & untimely death.

• Striped plate image provided by Victorian Supreme Court, source: See the evidence used to convict Erin Patterson in the mushroom murder trial - ABC News, Tue 8th Jul, 2025:

"The images also showed some of the plates in Patterson's kitchen.

During the trial, Ian Wilkinson gave evidence that guests were served on white plates, while Erin ate her meal from a small orange plate.

Erin Patterson said she had served the meals on a variety of plates — some white, some red and black. A rainbow-striped plate was identified in the trial as one made at kindergarten by Patterson's daughter."



Another 'striped-herring', I'd suggest, introduced by liar-liar-your-pants-R-onpatterson, as she flailed about (under oath) trying to save her sad-sack-sorry-a & divert attention from her murderous actions.

As always Ms, Ms
Edit - removed a superfluous bracket

 

[Deleted member 363451]

DBM

 

[Deleted member 363451]

Is there a source for this or is it speculation?

DBM

 

[Detechtive]

That’s an interesting take on Murdaugh. Have you expanded it in his thread? I’d like to read more of it.

I haven’t, sorry. I only joined WS for the Erin Patterson matter after lurking for a few months

I’ve met quite a few psychopaths in my line of work /study but they’re on a gradient. Some mask better than others.

Murdaugh was up there with Erin, IMO. By that, I mean, masterful at close social manipulation and social hierarchy influence, obviously in Murdaughs case it was wider reaching due to his generational social and cultural influence - Erin was more of an introverted loner, but both are similar in their arrogance and cluelessness when it comes to genuine human grief/emotion. Many psychopaths better mask this behaviour. Interestingly I think Erin is more sophisticated and intelligent than Murdaugh but their absolute grandiosity is very similar, IMO.

I don’t want to derail this thread with this unrelated crime, but I found the comparisons very interesting personally. I remember when I watched the documentary on Murdaugh, I was aghast that they were surprised that Mallory’s parents weren’t toeing the social line, I predicted exactly what would come next because Mallory’s parents suffered the most traumatic emotion a human can - the loss of a child. Anyone who truly understands this level of love knows that when that happens, all social norms go out the window. There’s no greater grief and it becomes a zero sum game. Their backs are against a wall and nothing can eclipse it. They’ve got nothing to lose at that point which makes them extraordinarily powerful. Psychopaths don’t know this level of love and connection so they can’t predict it.

Murdaugh also took the stand
When Erin was taking the stand I wasn’t shocked because she’s such a narcissistic person who is used to being able to manipulate others, but I was still a little shocked that she, like Murdaugh, thought it was a good idea.

IMO

 

[Detechtive]

1. above BBM.
Hello @packetgravy,

(IM), there's no evidence in (your) sources or anywhere else whatsoever that Heather Wilkinson spoke about the 'striped plate' with anyone, prior to her vicious, cruel & untimely death.

• Striped plate image provided by Victorian Supreme Court, source: See the evidence used to convict Erin Patterson in the mushroom murder trial - ABC News, Tue 8th Jul, 2025:

"The images also showed some of the plates in Patterson's kitchen.

During the trial, Ian Wilkinson gave evidence that guests were served on white plates, while Erin ate her meal from a small orange plate.

Erin Patterson said she had served the meals on a variety of plates — some white, some red and black. A rainbow-striped plate was identified in the trial as one made at kindergarten by Patterson's daughter."

View attachment 609453

Another 'striped-herring', I'd suggest, introduced by liar-liar-your-pants-R-onpatterson, as she flailed about (under oath) trying to save her sad-sack-sorry-a & divert attention from her murderous actions.

As always Ms, Ms
Edit - removed a superfluous bracket

You are a good sleuth indeed - my spidey ears pricked up when I read about the alleged striped plate testimony.

 

[Detechtive]

She may have been intelligent but she was terrible at getting rhe medical details correct. It’s true that ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late - but it doesn’t present with an elbow lump.

She didn’t check when the symptoms of DC mushroom poisoning actually start, so had so-called symptoms starting 7 hours or so before the guests. They were still well at the time she was using the car seat as a cork whilst dropping off her son’s friend and going to subway. This information about symptom onset is not hard to find online.

She wore white pants when she supposedly had explosive diarrhoea. She expected people to believe she’d deliberately driven 90 min away for a hobby event whilst in the throes of violent diarrhoea.

She tried to pass off samples of urine as samples of stool to an experienced nurse.

She didn’t seem to realise there was a test for DC toxins and tried to dispose of evidence when the guests were correctly diagnosed

The elbow lump morphing into Ovarian cancer is farcical. IMO

 

[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.

There's also the matter that the lab techs only found the DC remnants in the vents of the dehydrator after taking it apart. She probably cleaned it out thoroughly, IMO.

 

[Detechtive]

I do see Aspergers and co-morbidities. Lots of adults I know, including my daughter fit. But they are not murderers or horrible people.

I think she is definitely socially anomalous, and she told me she had Aspergers / High Functioning Autism, and I could kind of see it, but, as you probably know with your daughter, most Aspies/HFA are honest to a fault, blunt in ways that oftentimes has dire social consequences and causes great distress to the ASPIE/ASD individual, in addition to being quite bad at being manipulative due to not fully understanding social cues, and or, having a moral disdain for manipulation.

Conversely, Erin was definitely brash, blunt at times, and socially inappropriate, but not in the way Autistic or Aspergers people are, in my opinion. Highly manipulative, also. One of the quotes from an Air Traffic Controller colleague said she "managed to wrap men around her little finger" - I don't think I've ever heard that said of anyone with Autism. All of her traits fit ASPD instead, in my (non psychologist/psychiatrist) opinion.

 

[Detechtive]

That drug can be used for many things besides alcohol withdrawal:

Some common uses of diazepam include:

• Treating anxiety: Diazepam is frequently prescribed for anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and social phobia. It can also help manage the physical symptoms associated with anxiety like sweating, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping.
• Managing muscle spasms: Diazepam is effective in relaxing tense muscles and reducing muscle spasms and spasticity associated with neurological disorders like cerebral palsy and stiff-man syndrome.
• Controlling seizures: While not typically used as the sole treatment for seizures, diazepam can be used as an adjunct therapy for seizures and to interrupt episodes of increased seizures (such as cluster or breakthrough seizures). It's crucial to follow a healthcare provider's instructions for dosage and administration, notes Children's Minnesota.
• Addressing alcohol withdrawal symptoms: It can help reduce symptoms like anxiety, muscle spasms, and insomnia during alcohol withdrawal.
• Pre-operative sedation and conscious sedation: Diazepam can be used before medical or dental procedures to induce relaxation, anxiety relief (anxiolysis), or amnesia.

I would like to clarify this - she sent that message to a family member of mine.

Candace Sutton did NOT have our permission to publish this, and as usual, her terrible reporting has taken this completely out of context.

She actually said in the message (attached) - A WHOLE YEAR AFTER her mother died, (Mother died in January 2019, the message was sent in Feb 2020) that she found a drug stash including valium and a bottle of Morphine! So, she claimed to be "going through" her mothers things a year later (i don't believe this - will expand at a later date).

The reason she said this, was because my family member was struggling with migraines and anxiety and was talking about needing valium. Erin did this with this family member to "connect" and "relate", she lied to this family member about many things in order to groom the family member.

At the time her mother was prescribed Valium, she was in palliative care. It was NOT for alcohol withdrawal or alcoholism or anything of the sort. Her mother was at end of life.

Watermarked because of the dodgy journalists who keep publishing our private conversations without permission.