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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
ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 14/08/2023 18:30

It defies belief that if it were random bad luck on getting the death cap, the luck would have run entirely against the oldsters and entirely in favor of the cook and her two offspring.

Wonder which serving the husband would have received had he shown up. Bet he's wondering that, himself.

Anotherchristianmama · 14/08/2023 18:41

VanGoghsDog · 14/08/2023 17:19

Beef Wellington isn't a pie, and it's not made of cheaper cuts of meat. It's fillet steak coated in a mushroom paste, layered with prosciutto (my mum didn't do that bit), filled with fois gras and encased in puff pastry.

Show quote history

Gosh, that's posh!

CheekyHobson · 14/08/2023 18:56

Every other site is quoting verbatim the hospital press release, which states simply a fifth person presented for a short period and was discharged.

CheekyHobson · 14/08/2023 19:00

Every other site is quoting verbatim the hospital press release, which states simply a fifth person presented for a short period and was discharged.

Whoops, that was meant to be a quote in my last post! There are likely patient privacy reasons that the hospital cannot release more than very scant details of what occurred, especially in the context of a police investigation. Generally a medical facility cannot disclose any details of what treatment a patient received.

I should also note that 'symptoms' are reported by a patient. 'Signs' are observed by a doctor. So there is a difference between 'a patient presented with symptoms of food poisoning' and 'a patient reported with signs of food poisoning'.

oakleaffy · 14/08/2023 19:19

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 15:10

Or two Beef Wellingtons. One for the guests, and the other for her and for the children the night after and to give a sample of to the hospital.

Bingo!

ladeluge · 14/08/2023 19:34

The only people who know exactly what was cooked and served are either dead or critically ill.

It might not have been mushroom coated Wellington pie at all. Look - over there!

tothesea · 14/08/2023 19:43

Well Erin isn’t dead or critically ill is she.
She is in fact the only one who knows what was in it.

ladeluge · 14/08/2023 19:46

tothesea · 14/08/2023 19:43

Well Erin isn’t dead or critically ill is she.
She is in fact the only one who knows what was in it.

Correct, but I am sure (or hope) you got what I meant from my post. What Erin says was cooked cannot be corroborated, because......

Choux · 14/08/2023 19:48

If poor Ian recovers we might get some info that doesn't quite tally with what Erin is saying.

alwaysonadiet1 · 14/08/2023 19:53

Choux · 14/08/2023 18:23

This has made the BBC 6 o'clock News!

I'm in London and fascinated!

tothesea · 14/08/2023 20:00

Correct, but I am sure (or hope) you got what I meant from my post. What Erin says was cooked cannot be corroborated, because......

Right I see what you mean but he only be able to say..well it was a beef pie of some sort, had a mushroom flavour.
Only Erin knows if she put deadly mushrooms in it or not.

tothesea · 14/08/2023 20:02

But yes it could have been a different meal altogether ..you’re right.
Gah ! Getting too invested!

tothesea · 14/08/2023 20:04

She could have made them mushroom tea for all we know

TastyPastry · 14/08/2023 20:07

But if you have the brains to hatch an elaborate plan to deliberately poison four, maybe five people at a single catastrophic event, you know you are likely to be the prime suspect. Surely you would cover your tracks better and not hang on to the equipment that would prove it was you.

If I was guilty, I'd have dumped the dehydrator months ago. If I was innocent and my estranged husband started pointing the finger at me I might panic and dump it. Particularly if I started to suspect he might have set me up.

LylaLee · 14/08/2023 20:10

FairyBreadQueen · 14/08/2023 17:57

Beef wellington was a staple for me growing up. My mother just made individual ones made with rounds of fillet. With our names picked out in puff pastry on the top.

The first time I ever came across one large beef wellington sliced was when I came to the UK.

The name thing is really sweet

Whinge · 14/08/2023 20:14

Particularly if I started to suspect he might have set me up.

I don't see any evidence that shows he might have set her up. She mentioned the dehydrator first.

IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 20:30

I don't think the ex's friend who keeps leaking to the media is helping him tbh. That 'friend' is the only one who has said Erin wanted to get back with her ex. They also seem to be the one who leaked about the ex's previous stomach illness with an implication it was linked. T
But then it was confirmed that the ex's illness was not related to poisoning.
The 'friend' is deliberating leaking information that they feel points towards Erin's guilt. If I was the ex, I'd be telling them to keep quiet.

Janieforever · 14/08/2023 21:18

IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 20:30

I don't think the ex's friend who keeps leaking to the media is helping him tbh. That 'friend' is the only one who has said Erin wanted to get back with her ex. They also seem to be the one who leaked about the ex's previous stomach illness with an implication it was linked. T
But then it was confirmed that the ex's illness was not related to poisoning.
The 'friend' is deliberating leaking information that they feel points towards Erin's guilt. If I was the ex, I'd be telling them to keep quiet.

I don’t think the ex needs help, maybe other than to try to get his wife convicted if he thinks she did it.

I think it’s hugely far fetched to suggest he’s to blame. I get fully that some people struggle with the fact women can murder and will always try to find a man to blame. But it’s leap too far for me.

we will see. But yeah, I’d put good money on it he has had his family murdered.

Original poster
Dustyblue · 14/08/2023 22:05

Going back to when these people arrived at hospital, and I've read conflicting reports on who went to Korumburra or Leongatha before being transferred (neither hospital has an emergency department & the 1st is barely a GP clinic, but I digress)- surely one or more of them would've been conscious.

Eg, I was hospitalized for gastro once, and they swiftly asked what I'd eaten in the past 24 hours. So.. that would've been some evidence right there, before they became critical and died (or kept on life support)?

I'm hoping they all gave 'statements' whilst they could!

OP posts:
IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 22:11

Janieforever · 14/08/2023 21:18

I don’t think the ex needs help, maybe other than to try to get his wife convicted if he thinks she did it.

I think it’s hugely far fetched to suggest he’s to blame. I get fully that some people struggle with the fact women can murder and will always try to find a man to blame. But it’s leap too far for me.

we will see. But yeah, I’d put good money on it he has had his family murdered.

Show quote history

I didn't suggest the ex had killed his family. I said his friend that is leaking isn't helping. All the leaks are feeding into ever more scandalous rumours. It would be better for the friend to keep a dignified silence. The ex could release their own statement but has chosen not to. Their friend should respect that imo. Ultimately there are DCs at the centre of this and if it was a tragic accident then the adults will still need to find a way to co-parent them.

FallingStar21 · 14/08/2023 22:43

YourNameGoesHere · 14/08/2023 11:01

I definitely get the impression she thinks she can say anything she likes about the meal itself because she knows everyone else who was there cannot contradict her.

Show quote history

I'm thinking the same, and even if they were helping themselves to it she could have easily made sure to have "the last" plate for herself.

Choux · 14/08/2023 23:03

Ultimately there are DCs at the centre of this and if it was a tragic accident then the adults will still need to find a way to co-parent them.

In my view the only part of this that was an accident is that she meant to just make them a bit ill as they were trying to get her and her husband to divorce. But she got the dose wrong and killed them.

If I was her ex I would be working out how to get those kids away from her long term.

FallingStar21 · 14/08/2023 23:10

@YourNameGoesHere and @Whinge Precisely, makes no sense at all. Firstly, she purchased dried mushrooms months ago from some Asian shop - and sure enough she "doesn't remember" even an approximate location of it. Then dehydrator gets mentioned and of course she is innocent, so instead of readily handing it over to police as evidence of it not being used, she goes out of her way to dump it.
For those asking how the conversation about the dehydrator came about, I'd bet my money she's just made that up entirely, so that she can explain away the dumping part.

velvetandsatin · 15/08/2023 00:50

IveHadItUpToHere · 14/08/2023 20:30

I don't think the ex's friend who keeps leaking to the media is helping him tbh. That 'friend' is the only one who has said Erin wanted to get back with her ex. They also seem to be the one who leaked about the ex's previous stomach illness with an implication it was linked. T
But then it was confirmed that the ex's illness was not related to poisoning.
The 'friend' is deliberating leaking information that they feel points towards Erin's guilt. If I was the ex, I'd be telling them to keep quiet.

The firend didn't leak about the period last year when Simon Patterson was in an induced coma for 16 days, that was in a SM post online the SP made to inform his mates of what had happened to him that the press dug up.

Lunde · 15/08/2023 01:05

DigbyTheDigger · 14/08/2023 17:19

I think the use of the word 'pie' is a red herring, and it's just got tacked on as a description for a dish being encased in pastry.

or it could be something like the Beef Wellington Pot Pie (recipe below)
https://www.giftofhospitality.com/beef-wellington-pot-pie/

If this was deliberate I would go with the 2 jugs of gravy theory where the dodgy one was placed on the table for the guests to share whereas there was a different jug for her, and later the kids

Beef Wellington Pot Pie Recipe | Gift of Hospitality

Beef Wellington Pot Pie is comfort food at its finest. It's packed with tender pieces of short rib and topped with a flaky puff pastry crust.

https://www.giftofhospitality.com/beef-wellington-pot-pie

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