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Original poster

The mushroom poisoning in Vic.... I am gripped

989 replies

Dustyblue · 09/08/2023 04:58

This has been all over the news. I live one town over from Leongatha and believe me, it's the talk of the towns.

We have loads of mushrooms around our place but wouldn't dream of eating them. About 90% of foraged mushrooms in Australia are poisonous.

Then again, you do get groups of people who think they know what they're doing, and perhaps they do.

Meanwhile this is suss-as.

Three people died from suspected mushroom poisoning after sharing a meal. Here's what we know - ABC News

Three dead and another fighting for life: What we know so far about suspected mushroom poisonings in Victoria

Police continue to investigate three suspected mushroom poisoning deaths after a family lunch last month in Leongatha in Victoria's east. Detectives have not laid any charges, but say the woman who served the meal remains a suspect. Here's what we know...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-09/poisonous-mushroom-deaths-victoria-leongatha-explainer/102703430

OP posts:
Thread gallery
42
Lunde · 09/08/2023 19:56

Nicknamesforviolet · 09/08/2023 19:29

Is it possible she dehydrated the mushrooms ground them up and sprinkled/mixed them in with the food so they didnt know they were in there? I don't know much about dehydrating.

Yes - my dd's godmother is an experienced forager and regularly gifts us "Mushroom Bouillon" that is made from dried ground mushrooms, sea salt and herbs. If you mixed into soup or stew you would never know that there were mushrooms in it

yokuscrocus · 09/08/2023 20:18

It's notoriously difficult to asses whether someone is guilty or not from their demeamour

Look at it this way - assume for the sake of argument she's innocent -

she's suffered a major trauma because she's had her mother in law who she says she was close to and two friends die in quick succession. That's traumatic enough.

Add to that it was after a lunch she cooked - so she's got the personal overlay of 'did I do something wrong here?' and that trauma.

Then she's got the whole world thinking she's an Agatha Christie villian cooking up death for her friends and family. So she probably thinks (Even if she is innocent) that she needs to "act" innocent and this is important for her legally and socially.

Then on top of all that, she comes home to be doorstepped by the media which if you've never had this happen to you or see it close quarters is really intrusive and shocking. the cameras are in your face and your mind is a whirl about the appropriate way to look, whether you should answer etc.

Pack all that together and most non-media/non-celeb people who are not used to dealing with the media are going to come across out of character and possibly very strangely.

It's very harsh to write her off as guilty based on that video.

CathyorClaire · 09/08/2023 20:30

It's notoriously difficult to asses whether someone is guilty or not from their demeamour

Yes. Agree with this.

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted because people didn't think she reacted as she 'should'.

The innocent Christopher Jeffries was vilified after his arrest in a murder case based on the way he looked.

I'm reserving judgement on this one.

As an aside I'm quite surprised villainously poisonous mushrooms routinely seem to be tasty enough to get eaten without question.

I didn't fancy foraged fungi anyway but there's no way I'd risk anything other than a bog standard box of buttons now.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 09/08/2023 20:36

yokuscrocus · 09/08/2023 20:18

It's notoriously difficult to asses whether someone is guilty or not from their demeamour

Look at it this way - assume for the sake of argument she's innocent -

she's suffered a major trauma because she's had her mother in law who she says she was close to and two friends die in quick succession. That's traumatic enough.

Add to that it was after a lunch she cooked - so she's got the personal overlay of 'did I do something wrong here?' and that trauma.

Then she's got the whole world thinking she's an Agatha Christie villian cooking up death for her friends and family. So she probably thinks (Even if she is innocent) that she needs to "act" innocent and this is important for her legally and socially.

Then on top of all that, she comes home to be doorstepped by the media which if you've never had this happen to you or see it close quarters is really intrusive and shocking. the cameras are in your face and your mind is a whirl about the appropriate way to look, whether you should answer etc.

Pack all that together and most non-media/non-celeb people who are not used to dealing with the media are going to come across out of character and possibly very strangely.

It's very harsh to write her off as guilty based on that video.

Exactly. It's not as if she is an uninvolved bystander, even if she is innocent of homicide. At best, 3 people have died on her watch and probably as a result of her cooking. Anyone would be totally traumatised and guilt-stricken, so no wonder she 'acts guilty'- she is probably guilty in the sense of causing the deaths, even if it was an accident.

MentholLoad · 09/08/2023 20:53

yokuscrocus · 09/08/2023 20:18

It's notoriously difficult to asses whether someone is guilty or not from their demeamour

Look at it this way - assume for the sake of argument she's innocent -

she's suffered a major trauma because she's had her mother in law who she says she was close to and two friends die in quick succession. That's traumatic enough.

Add to that it was after a lunch she cooked - so she's got the personal overlay of 'did I do something wrong here?' and that trauma.

Then she's got the whole world thinking she's an Agatha Christie villian cooking up death for her friends and family. So she probably thinks (Even if she is innocent) that she needs to "act" innocent and this is important for her legally and socially.

Then on top of all that, she comes home to be doorstepped by the media which if you've never had this happen to you or see it close quarters is really intrusive and shocking. the cameras are in your face and your mind is a whirl about the appropriate way to look, whether you should answer etc.

Pack all that together and most non-media/non-celeb people who are not used to dealing with the media are going to come across out of character and possibly very strangely.

It's very harsh to write her off as guilty based on that video.

and her kids have been taken away from her

LindorDoubleChoc · 09/08/2023 20:55

Are there honestly people on this thread who think she's innocent? I am amazed by that!

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 09/08/2023 20:58

LindorDoubleChoc · 09/08/2023 20:55

Are there honestly people on this thread who think she's innocent? I am amazed by that!

Oh I do so agree. A brief video of someone under enormous stress and carrying the weight of 3 deaths is 100% reliable evidence of guilt, and we should probably crack straight on with lynching her, instead of wasting money on a trial.

LindorDoubleChoc · 09/08/2023 21:06

Please don't be sarcastic. How come she didn't eat the same food and how come the children didn't?

Bruisername · 09/08/2023 21:09

we don’t know - ultimately we are not entitled to all of the available information. It’s up to the legal system to determine her guilt.

it’s a fascinating story but that’s all it is to the public and the papers. The facts will come out in court

reesewithoutaspoon · 09/08/2023 21:11

If she had foraged that day and mistakenly cooked a death cap, you would expect her to have eaten some too. Why would you go foraging otherwise? Add in the fact that the particular mushroom is not in season doesn't really add up to it being an accident.
I forage, a big part of that is finding edible mushrooms and cooking them, they are delicious. The people I know who forage just for the joy of finding, photographing and identifying them, don't cook them.

Hippywannabe · 09/08/2023 21:24

LylaLee · 09/08/2023 19:08

If we're sleuthing, then maybe the husband made HIMSELF ill a year ago, to lay the groundwork for this.

This was my theory too if she didn't do it!

Stravaig · 09/08/2023 21:29

There are some brilliantly devious minds on this thread!
I regret I cannot join you for lunch. Or dinner. Ever.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 09/08/2023 21:51

LindorDoubleChoc · 09/08/2023 21:06

Please don't be sarcastic. How come she didn't eat the same food and how come the children didn't?

It’s not a question of believing she is innocent (or guilty). It’s about having some awareness of all the miscarriages of justice that have occurred because people leapt to conclusions.

The media distorts the facts, to create the best story. The ex-husband’s gut problems are an example- they sound nothing like mushroom poisoning, if you read the details, but the headlines are clearly designed to suggest otherwise.

You’re being played by the media and you’re leaping to conclusions based on a tiny sample of the facts, presented to you in the most salacious possible way.

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 09/08/2023 21:54

Hippywannabe · 09/08/2023 21:24

This was my theory too if she didn't do it!

Show quote history

Yeah, maybe he supplied the mushrooms and then conveniently dropped out of lunch!

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 09/08/2023 21:56

Slightly off topic but I killed a Guinea pig and nearly killed the other with normal mushrooms. Who knew they were poisonous to piggies! Dd still brings it up ten years later. Dh found them having seizures in their run and raced them to the vet, one died en route and the other somehow survived.

Janieforever · 09/08/2023 22:17

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 09/08/2023 21:54

Yeah, maybe he supplied the mushrooms and then conveniently dropped out of lunch!

Show quote history

She said she bought them at the grocery shop. If he supplied them I think she’d say as they are pending divorce and she wants to keep the house,,,

SoggyDoggyWalks · 09/08/2023 22:30

Why more likely to be the eggs ‘in the UK’? UK eggs with the lion mark are very unlikely to have salmonella. I can’t prove it wasn’t the eggs, but they looked and smelt perfectly fresh. I am really sure it was the mushrooms, they can carry salmonella, listeria and staphylococcus and were probably less heated through than the eggs in my omelette. I was making myself a quick supper after work and probably wasn’t as thorough in cleaning them as I should have been.

LylaLee · 09/08/2023 22:30

Janieforever · 09/08/2023 22:17

She said she bought them at the grocery shop. If he supplied them I think she’d say as they are pending divorce and she wants to keep the house,,,

Show quote history

Maybe he disguised himself as the Saturday girl at the shop and slipped in the poisonous mushrooms into ex-wife's order as it was being bagged up...

MentholLoad · 09/08/2023 22:39

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 09/08/2023 21:51

It’s not a question of believing she is innocent (or guilty). It’s about having some awareness of all the miscarriages of justice that have occurred because people leapt to conclusions.

The media distorts the facts, to create the best story. The ex-husband’s gut problems are an example- they sound nothing like mushroom poisoning, if you read the details, but the headlines are clearly designed to suggest otherwise.

You’re being played by the media and you’re leaping to conclusions based on a tiny sample of the facts, presented to you in the most salacious possible way.

Show quote history

exactly this

Name99 · 09/08/2023 23:05

Mushroom deaths: Ex-husband of mum accused of carrying out deadly lunch makes bombshell claim that … mol.im/a/12390681 via https://dailym.ai/android

The ex husband is claiming she tried to poison him previously

UK Home | Daily Mail Online

MailOnline - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from MailOnline, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.

https://dailym.ai/android

MaggieFS · 09/08/2023 23:07

I can't read anything from the video. I think you can find whatever angle you want in there.

What I did notice was a load of reporters on her property! That's pretty poor. Allowed in Australia and not trespassing?

I would also like to know how it's known the four of them didn't eat something else together earlier in the day?

winewolfhowls · 09/08/2023 23:13

This story has really put me off mushrooms in any shape or flavour

Wrenjeni · 09/08/2023 23:14

My husband suggested mushroom risotto for dinner this evening

winewolfhowls · 09/08/2023 23:17

Did you get chips instead?!

stealtheatingtunnocks · 10/08/2023 00:59

The press should not ge harassing her like tat. There is due process, that needs to be followed. There are bereaved kids watching that.

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