Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023

[TootsieFootsie]

As long as she paid by card, her purchases can be verified no problem. And I think police will be able to access her bank records to check that out - as she is a POI/suspect and cooked the meal. They'll need to do that as part of the verification process.Moo

From what I've read recently, Asian grocery stores are one of the few places left that are sticking to cash only.

Not sure how true that is, I haven't been to one for awhile now and we don't have any in my town, as far as I know.
So many shops closing here and new ones popping up all the time.

Along with quite a few empty stores that didn't make it through the covid lockdowns.

 

[LadyL]

They automatically take a large selection of bloods when a patient presents with gastroenteritis, particularly so close to the fatalities in close associations.

Mushroom cook says she bought fungi from Asian grocer and her children ate the lunch leftovers

Erin Patterson told police she, too, was sick from the beef Wellington lunch that police suspect killed her former in-laws and another relative.

www.watoday.com.au

I don't think blood tests can prove or disprove the existence of stomach pains and diarrhea but I could be wrong - I'm not a nurse JMO

 

[kittythehare]

she dumped it after her husband asked her if that's what she used to poison them - she didn't mention anything about it being broken - she said she panicked - so it wasn't 'normal dumping'

as far as motive - I'm sticking with Munchausens with maybe a side order of revenge and possibly greed too since her children are likely in their grandparent's wills and that would benefit her, even if only to save on college funds - she could also have been planning in the back of her mind how to finally get rid of the husband after his parents were gone in which case her children would inherit even more - if I were him, I'd be checking that my car brakes haven't been tampered with etc.

JMO

posted that before the latest news broke..

 

[Ellery84]

At the very least, she's guilty of obstructing a criminal investigation. I assume that's a crime in Australia as it is in the U.S.

Oh it certainly is a crime here. I think it’s called “perverting the course of justice” or some such name.

 

[kittythehare]

they're testing for toxicity in a suspected poisoning case.

They will also take stool samples to eliminate biological cause or identify it, if it's present.

 

[LadyL]

That act alone doesn’t make her guilty of course, but there is a silver thread that touches upon it.
If she wanted to get rid of it why not toss it in her regular council bin. I even see people giving away appliances they don’t want anymore on local Facebook pages etc. I definitely raise an eyebrow to it going to the tip.

The dehydrator needs to be considered in light of ‘dehydrated mushrooms’ that have been mentioned in news articles.

well she would argue that she didn't want anyone else to become sick if the dehydrator had poison remnants inside it

but I see your raised eyebrow and also raise a side-eye

 

[ch_13]

Plus I didn't mention that I have had food poisoning a couple of times in my life.

Once was from a french restaurant when we were on a trip. I ate prawns.

We tried to head home but I just got so bad I needed to lie down and have a toilet near.

We checked into a Motel. The toilet was blocked up LOL. I don't remember all the details because I felt like hell.

We didn't hear in the news about anyone else getting sick and didn't do anything about it.

The other time was after having breakast at a backpackers. It was just bacon, eggs and toast. I think it was likely traces from the crockery or utensils.
Didn't hear of anyone else getting sick.

Maybe some people can eat what everyone else eats and not be affected ?

No. I'm sorry, but this isn't correct.

What you're describing is a foodborne pathogen: salmonella, e. coli, listeria, etc. These can indeed infect some people while others may not have any symptoms because their immune system was able to successfully fight off the bug.

However, in this case the victims ingested a poison, mostly likely the amatoxin found in death cap mushrooms. If you consume a large enough dose you will become extremely ill and may likely die. Your immune system can't fight off a poison.

 

[Ellery84]

At the very least, she's guilty of obstructing a criminal investigation. I assume that's a crime in Australia as it is in the U.S.

Oh it certainly is a crime here. I think it’s called “perverting the course of justice” or some such name.

 

[JBowie]

Well unfortunately for her the 3 most important aspects are still red flags.

She conveniently can not identify the shop' she purchased the mushrooms from.......

And she did indeed dispose a food dehydrator immediately after the poisoning.

Eating a part of it doesn't give her a pass either...
her symptoms where extremely mild curiously.

Meanwhile her guests died and one nearly died.

I knew she had eaten it but was struggling to find a rep source.

Thank you @PrimeSuspect!

... And her kids were at the movies, not at the meal.

So now, one by one, the lies are being walked back.

(... And she removed the mushrooms when the kids ate the leftovers.)

Hmmmm.

 

[jepop]

I could see that happening if the attack on her was totally without provocation and she was entirely innocent and shocked..

she might well have..
also possible she did it to stop anybody else placing poison in it in an attempt to blame her.

Woman who cooked suspected poisoned meal details where she bought mushrooms

The woman who cooked a meal that is believed to have contained poisonous mushrooms and led to the deaths of three people gives a lengthy written statement to police detailing her account of what happened, and revealing she was hospitalised after the incident.

www.abc.net.au

I agree, in that I can see that as a believable reaction to hostility from the ex, which is what I am getting at. And I wonder if behind the facade there has been hostility from the ex for some time. Perhaps passive aggressive in that his friend seems to have been the mouth-piece for the press the last week or so as to suspicions regarding cause of ex's 2022 illness or poisoning by green potatoe or whatever was reported. If she has experienced hostility and suspicions like this from him before, as a pattern, then that makes her reaction with the dehydrator more understandable, Imoo. Just speculation. Moo

 

[MadDoc]

From what I've read recently, Asian grocery stores are one of the few places left that are sticking to cash only.

Not sure how true that is, I haven't been to one for awhile now and we don't have any in my town, as far as I know.
So many shops closing here and new ones popping up all the time.

Along with quite a few empty stores that didn't make it through the covid lockdowns.

Yes, a lot of Asian grocery stores accept cash transactions only. As do many farmer's markets.

 

[LadyL]

Possibly because she was so taken aback at his attack on her almost immediately..

Woman who cooked suspected poisoned meal details where she bought mushrooms

The woman who cooked a meal that is believed to have contained poisonous mushrooms and led to the deaths of three people gives a lengthy written statement to police detailing her account of what happened, and revealing she was hospitalised after the incident.

www.abc.net.au

not seeing a connection

 

[Gardenista]

Erin Patterson, woman at centre of suspected Leongatha mushroom poisoning admits lying to police

Shock twist after mushroom poisoning as woman who cooked meal speaks

The woman who prepared a mushroom meal, which is thought to have caused the deaths of three individuals, says she purchased the mushrooms from both a supermarket and an Asian grocery store and was hospitalised herself after eating the meal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Jess M.]

I agree, in that I can see that as a believable reaction to hostility from the ex, which is what I am getting at. And I wonder if behind the facade there has been hostility from the ex for some time. Perhaps passive aggressive in that his friend seems to have been the mouth-piece for the press the last week or so as to suspicions regarding cause of ex's 2022 illness or posioning by green potatoe or whatever was reported. If she has experienced hostility and suspicions like this from him before, as a pattern, then that makes her reaction with the dehydrator more understandable, Imoo. Just speculation. Moo

IMO she disposed of the dehydrator because it could have incriminated her.

 

[LadyL]

Mushroom cook says she bought fungi from Asian grocer and her children ate the lunch leftovers

Erin Patterson told police she, too, was sick from the beef Wellington lunch that police suspect killed her former in-laws and another relative.

www.watoday.com.au

The statement says that when her four guests were hospitalised, Patterson told the Department of Health where she had purchased the mushrooms, and confirmed that samples recovered from the Asian grocery store in containers with handwritten labels were the same as the type she had purchased months before.

So LE went and got a sample from the accused Asian store and showed them to Erin and she 'confirmed"..yeah yeah yeah...they are the same as the ones I bought months ago.


Interesting nobody else has died from mushroom poisoning from this store???
Hand labelled batches would assume easy cross contamination.

Good old look there..not here.

and wouldn't she still have the packaging in the trash unless the garbage pickup had already occurred?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I agree, in that I can see that as a believable reaction to hostility from the ex, which is what I am getting at. And I wonder if behind the facade there has been hostility from the ex for some time. Perhaps passive aggressive in that his friend seems to have been the mouth-piece for the press the last week or so as to suspicions regarding cause of ex's 2022 illness or posioning by green potatoe or whatever was reported. If she has experienced hostility and suspicions like this from him before, as a pattern, then that makes her reaction with the dehydrator more understandable, Imoo. Just speculation. Moo

His spokesman friend doesn't seem to like Erin one bit.

 

[JBowie]

It is quite puzzling how she was released after one night in hospital, but 3 others died and one is still critical. I’m really interested in what Ian has to say when he hopefully recovers.

One thought: she could have been faking symptoms.

And, in light of these recent revelations, how about the "I just can’t fathom what has happened" bit that she said on camera to the media?

 

[Jess M.]

His spokesman friend doesn't seem to like Erin one bit.

I wonder why?

 

[JBowie]

A packet of licorice would do the job. Or a colonoscopy pre op treatment.

A packet of Lexettes would be better.

 

[Jess M.]

One thought: she could have been faking symptoms.

And, in light of these recent revelations, how about the "I just can’t fathom what has happened" bit that she said on camera to the media?

Even though she is much younger, I would have thought if she had of eaten any of the toxic. mushrooms, it wouldn't have taken 2 full days for her to have got sick?