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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
Whinge · 14/08/2023 13:26

Apologies, she didn't give it to the investigators, she gave it to the hospital toxicologists for examination.

I guess I just find it odd she gave them leftover food rather than the packaging.

reesewithoutaspoon · 14/08/2023 13:31

Because if she had dehydrated and ground the death cap up into powder, you wouldn't have to add it to the original dish, you could easily hide it in a sauce or gravy.
A single death cap can kill an adult, which would dehydrate down to barely a teaspoon of powder,

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 13:34

She's not a good liar.

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 13:42

Relatives of the deceased have said there are several inconsistencies in her statement, according to 7 news.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around her stating: The Patterson children ate the leftovers from the lunch the following night. That was well after the visitors were turning up at hospital with food poisoning symptoms, or so it appeared then, and she would have know about that surely.

I think she must have cooked two beef Wellingtons... One nice, one not so nice.

IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 13:47

Sorry I didn't mean I didn't understand why the police were talking about the dehydrator. I completely understand why they are looking for spores, fingerprints, dna, etc. especially since she dumped it so close to the fatal lunch.

I meant I don't understand why her ex jumped to talking about the dehydrator in the hospital where his relatives were ill/dying. She said the ex asking about it prompted her to dump the dehydrator but why did her ex assume it was dried mushrooms that caused the issue and not fresh ones?

Whinge · 14/08/2023 13:54

I meant I don't understand why her ex jumped to talking about the dehydrator in the hospital where his relatives were ill/dying. She said the ex asking about it prompted her to dump the dehydrator but why did her ex assume it was dried mushrooms that caused the issue and not fresh ones?

Indeed. Why mention the dehydrator at all. If you heard your family members were seriously ill you would definitely ask about the food, but i'm not sure you would get down to specifics about whether a dehydrator was used. Personally if I heard it was beef wellington I would blame the meat being off rather than jumping to being poisioned by mushrooms.

tothesea · 14/08/2023 13:57

It kinda points towards her ex already having his suspicions about her.

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 13:57

I meant I don't understand why her ex jumped to talking about the dehydrator in the hospital where his relatives were ill/dying. She said the ex asking about it prompted her to dump the dehydrator but why did her ex assume it was dried mushrooms that caused the issue and not fresh ones?

She said she was talking about the dehydrator with the teenage children at the hospital. Why would you?

Ms Patterson said she was at the hospital with her children "discussing the food dehydrator" when her ex-husband, the son of the dead couple, asked: "Is that what you used to poison them?"

reesewithoutaspoon · 14/08/2023 13:57

Yeah, that's a bit odd. You wouldn't automatically jump to mushroom poisoning, would you? Surely you would assume it was food poisoning caused by spoiled food or improper food hygiene or cooking.
Symptoms don't start until 6 hours or so and it's nausea,diarrhoea, and general gastric upset. then this kind of clears up and you think you are over it, but the liver is being irreparably damaged by the toxin.

tothesea · 14/08/2023 14:00

If she is innocent she’s made a right mess of things. Tell the whole truth from the start otherwise you look guiltier and guiltier.

YourNameGoesHere · 14/08/2023 14:01

tothesea · 14/08/2023 13:57

It kinda points towards her ex already having his suspicions about her.

It would certainly seem he had some suspicions about her most likely after his hospitalisation last year. Otherwise immediately jumping to them being poisoned is odd.

Whinge · 14/08/2023 14:02

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 13:57

I meant I don't understand why her ex jumped to talking about the dehydrator in the hospital where his relatives were ill/dying. She said the ex asking about it prompted her to dump the dehydrator but why did her ex assume it was dried mushrooms that caused the issue and not fresh ones?

She said she was talking about the dehydrator with the teenage children at the hospital. Why would you?

Ms Patterson said she was at the hospital with her children "discussing the food dehydrator" when her ex-husband, the son of the dead couple, asked: "Is that what you used to poison them?"

Ah yes, I missed that in the article. It seems like an odd thing to be discussing at the hospital, especially as she also claims she was really unwell. It's unlikely the children were the first to mention the dehydrator, as they don't like mushrooms.

AutumnCrow · 14/08/2023 14:06

I think I kind of get this.

The hospital staff start to suspect possible Amonita mushroom poisoning, given the symptoms. They need to rule out that possibility if they can, or treat preventatively if they can't.

Erin P takes the remains of the food to the hospital lab / toxicology for testing.

Questions start to be asked of the family about mushrooms either before or while the testing takes place. Do you as a family, or does anyone in the family, regularly pick wild mushrooms, forage for funghi, prepare mushrooms at home?

The family members start to talk about Erin's fancy dehydrator and what she uses it for.

Erin disposes of the dehydrator as far away as she can, as quickly as she can.

Erin calls it 'panic', and tells Asian grocery story.

reesewithoutaspoon · 14/08/2023 14:06

I just think it's all a bit odd. if I had served a meal then my guests had got really sick, I would be rooting around the bins for packaging, offering leftovers for testing, I would be bending over backward to find the cause, not dumping dehydrators and then feeding my kids the leftovers the next day.

And if she did use dried mushrooms she bought from a store as she now claims, then why would she be using a dehydrator or think it had anything to do with the illness?

Whinge · 14/08/2023 14:13

AutumnCrow · 14/08/2023 14:06

I think I kind of get this.

The hospital staff start to suspect possible Amonita mushroom poisoning, given the symptoms. They need to rule out that possibility if they can, or treat preventatively if they can't.

Erin P takes the remains of the food to the hospital lab / toxicology for testing.

Questions start to be asked of the family about mushrooms either before or while the testing takes place. Do you as a family, or does anyone in the family, regularly pick wild mushrooms, forage for funghi, prepare mushrooms at home?

The family members start to talk about Erin's fancy dehydrator and what she uses it for.

Erin disposes of the dehydrator as far away as she can, as quickly as she can.

Erin calls it 'panic', and tells Asian grocery story.

If this is the case why take just the food, surely she would also take in the packaging and dehydrator (if it was used) to help with the investigation.

She claims she was worried about losing her children, so took the dehydrator to a tip. Why would she think the dehydrator would lead to her losing the children, unless it was actually going to provide evidence that she had used posionous mushrooms. But they she contidicts herself, as she also says the mushrooms she bought were dried, and if that's the case did she even use the dehydrator for the meal?

Not mention while all this was going on she fed the left overs to her children.

The more she says the more confusing the story becomes. Confused

Choux · 14/08/2023 14:17

I think she is going to have to change the story again and say that she IS a forager and dries mushrooms and there may have been some traces of her dried mushrooms in the gravy or whatever it was. Because that dehydrator is going to have traces of death cap. Otherwise why dump it?

This statement is the police letting her say things they can later prove to be lies so that they can get a better case against her. And if they don't already have her trash, I bet there are people combing the local landfill site to find it so they can find the packaging from all the ingredients of that meal. Remember how long they searched a uk tip looking for the remains of Corrie mckeague? Yes a body is bigger but I recall he had been missing weeks or even months before they started searching the tip.

YourNameGoesHere · 14/08/2023 14:20

Well quite whinge her story is all over the place.

In one breath she's worried about losing her children so dumping a dehydrator that she apparently didn't actually use which surely wouldn't cross your mind unless you knew that would be evidence but in the next she's feeding these same children food she at that stage knew had made others very unwell and could potentially kill them??

MaggieFS · 14/08/2023 14:21

tothesea · 14/08/2023 13:57

It kinda points towards her ex already having his suspicions about her.

Or her ex setting her up.

Whinge · 14/08/2023 14:22

MaggieFS · 14/08/2023 14:21

Or her ex setting her up.

Show quote history

If he was trying to set her up then why would she dump the dehydrator?

IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 14:24

She took in the leftovers so why bin the dehydrator? If the poison is in the meal, the dehydrator doesn't matter from a guilt pov. Even if she dehydrated them herself, she can still say she didn't know they were deadly.
I guess you might throw it away so you didn't accidentally use it again.
Has anyone suggested a motive? I read an article that said she was much wealthier than her ex so it doesn't seem to be about money if she did it.

MaggieFS · 14/08/2023 14:24

And adding to the list of 'things mumsnet has made me google'... food dehydrators. I've just realised the picture I had had in my head was a liquidiser. A dehydrator isn't a small nor cheap but if kit to just lob in the tip, is it.

MaggieFS · 14/08/2023 14:25

@whinge, good q, I can't keep up with who said what. I thought it possible he dumped it, but I think she's said she has?

Whinge · 14/08/2023 14:28

MaggieFS · 14/08/2023 14:25

@whinge, good q, I can't keep up with who said what. I thought it possible he dumped it, but I think she's said she has?

She definitely dumped it, and admits she lied to the investigators about it.

In the statement, Ms Patterson admitted she lied to investigators when she told them she had dumped it at the tip "a long time ago".

If he thought she had poisoned the dinner guests with it, then surely he would have given it in as evidence.

Fancylike · 14/08/2023 14:35

Hmmm, it doesn’t make sense for her to mention the dehydrator but what if one of the kids raised it while they were all trying to work out what had happened. A “mum, what about those mushrooms you were dehydrating the other day?” would unexpectedly put her in it in front of her ex too.

AutumnCrow · 14/08/2023 14:35

It seems she's desperately retrofitting things - badly. Agree with pp that the police are just letting her run her mouth off now.