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

[Dustyblue]

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

Going crazy, I think

My kids will only eat mushrooms if I've blended it up in the sauce, but they would eat the food and just eat around the mushrooms, I assume that would be enough, to erm, do the deed, as it were?

Isn't it all incredibly fascinating and horrific? The pain they must have endured.

I'm terrified of wild picked mushrooms and wouldn't touch them. My DM has picked a particular mushroom in the wild and swears she knows what she's doing (grows under pine trees, no idea what it is), it has to be pickled though to be edible. She's still alive, so I assume she knows what she's doing. I refused to touch them though.

@AutumnCrow - we've always had serving dishes on the table (Eastern European descent). My ex in-laws plated up (British descent).

So mixed bag really.

I personally find plated up a bit rude. For something like a steak or pie it makes sense to plate it up, but put the rest of the veggies, salads etc on the table for everyone to help themselves to! You have NO idea how hungry I am. Or if I like those veg.

There have been a couple of well-publicised incidents in the past few years of new migrants accidentally poisoning themselves/their families due to mistaking the poisonous death cap mushrooms for edible mushrooms they were used to foraging for in their countries of birth.

@AutumnCrow Lunch etiquette here is likely same as anywhere I think? Could plated up or sharing dishes etc.

I can understand cooking a meal you don't wish to eat. I've done that with, say, a Xmas lunch for 15. After cooking & tasting all day, sweating over the stove, the last thing you want is to freaking well eat it!

But this was lunch for 4. Just saying.

Looks pretty obvious what happened!

The husband almost dying last year.
The dehydrator being found at the tip.
The interview where she is very emotional but talks only about how she feels and nothing factual.

The 'evidence' seems to be stacking up. Police have confirmed she is a suspect.

Motive - dish was made before ex husband declined the invitation? Divorce settlement wasn't going to be enough so she needed the in laws assets added in? She's just a psychopath who wanted to see if she could get away with it?

Going shithouse means going really badly.

like she meant ‘I am going really badly/everything in my life is awful right now’

Blimey!

Have they actually established that the food dehydrator was hers? I was under the impression that it was just found at the tip and they are testing it to see if it is hers and if it’s related.

seems like she was trying to do away with her husbands entire extended family so her kids can inherit everything.

those poor kids. Lost 3 maybe 4 family members, dad almost died last year and now mum will go to jail.

Thanks, @Neodymium - dunno why I thought that. Must be half asleep.

The inheritance angle is (grimly) fascinating, if he STBXH and kids are the beneficiaries of these awful deaths.

The survivor needs a liver transplant to survive long-term.

It seems deeply suspicious that she didn’t eat any herself, her ex had serious stomach issues in the past, she took the food dehydrator to the tip after preparing the mushrooms - that’s a lot of suspicious coincidences. Those poor kids.

I'm not great at reading body language, so it's interesting to see other people's take on it.

My DP is much better at gauging people than I am. He watched her interview and said "Oh yeah, she did it".

I've been following this on reddit/australia and I must say it does look very suspicious.

I also must say I have no actual idea and that's what the police are for.

Gosh, I'd not heard about this in the UK, I don't eat mushrooms, DP does, and picks field mushrooms (UK). I hate it, really really worries me. His friend made a mistake and nearly killed himself with mushrooms a couple of years ago. I've asked DP to stop now as it just worries me too much. It's not worth it.

Does anyone know about death caps, is there something edible that's easy to mistake death caps for, or are they one of the deadly and obvious ones?

I heard a little while ago that the author of the Horse Whisperer nearly killed himself and family with mushrooms, he's interviewed about it here https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/nicholas-evans-poisonous-mistake

I just watched that interview by her car, it was, umm. Interesting.

Indeed, I think the police will figure this out. Soon.

I’ve been fascinated by this. I can’t understand why anyone would be so daft as to pick and eat wild mushrooms 😳 so dangerous!

I am not entirely sure it’s a sign of her guilt that she and the dc didn’t eat the same meal. My dh absolutely HATES mushrooms, literally cannot stand them, even if cooked a meal and then he or I picked them out he still wouldn’t eat the meal so I’d have to do something completely separate for him. I’ve actually met quite a lot of people that feel that way about mushrooms so I don’t think it’s that uncommon.

All very odd.

@Xrays I feel that way about mushrooms, but as a result I wouldn't ever cook with them. I wouldn't be able to taste anything as I went along, for a start! Actually, that's a point - how much death cap is deadly, would tasting a sauce or whatever be enough for some symptoms?

I did think it's possible one of the diners turned up with some mushrooms that they'd picked and donated to the meal? I could see me quickly frying some in butter or something and putting in a serving dish for the other people in that situation.

But you'd say that immediately wouldn't you if something like this happened!

Death caps are not currently in season- there is absolutely no way that they could have been fresh. They could only have been dried. And only some of the dinner party were served them. Following with interest how that's explained....

The thing is, if you want to kill people, would you really choose to do it by inviting them round to a meal where they all eat something poisonous and you don't? Surely it's guaranteed to bring suspicion straight down on you?

Oh. Wow.

I'm sure this was an episode of Midsommer murders.

The mum she never had because her mum died four years ago, what milled her mum?

Anyway what a interesting interview Netflix are buying the rights to this for sure!

Everyone reacts differently to tragedy but I must say the video is suss. Her tears were not real but crocodile tears, her words were all about her and her feelings towards the victim. She refused to answer any questions about the meal at all.