Page 35 | The mushroom poisoning in Vic.... I am gripped

Dustyblue · 2023-08-09T03:58:28+00:00

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. [[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-09/poisonous-mushroom-deaths-victoria-leongatha-explainer/102703430 Three people died from suspected mushroom poisoning after sharing a meal. Here's what we know - ABC News]]

SarahSaysYes · 15/08/2023 18:43

Whinge · 15/08/2023 18:15

The only source I can find for that is the Daily Mail which doesn't fill me with confidence. Even more as as they claim

'It’s very common for people to go mushroom picking around that area.'

Which seems unlikely, as mushroom foraging really doesn't seem like something that many Australians participate in.

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I have no real opinion on whether the Daily Mail’s assertion is true or not but do remember that Australia is a continent as well as a country - it’s massive and has a lot of different regions with different wildlife, plants and climates. In the area I’m from nobody would ever go mushroom picking, but there are certainly regions in which I would believe it. I wouldn’t necessarily believe it from the DM though 😂

SarahSaysYes · 15/08/2023 18:47

stealtheatingtunnocks · 15/08/2023 15:46

Posted this on the wrong thread. Wrong woman doing wrong things in the wrong way!

A bbq and some cold salads in regional Victoria in the middle of winter? Not standard, no.

Bruisername · 15/08/2023 18:49

If she was an experienced forager the obvious defence is that she used foraged mushrooms and made a mistake.

much better defence than the mystery Asian shop and that defence would surely be in mind for anyone planning a mushroom murder

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 15/08/2023 18:57

Even if it were a foraging error, the outcome is very suspect. What are the chances that in random servings, she and her kids completely beat the odds, while the four oldsters all were poisoned? Astronomical. As a juror I wouldn't buy it.

MaggieFS · 15/08/2023 19:16

With regards to the "wall art" it's got the kids' names and what look like height markings on it. Perhaps, knowing they were moving and the height markings needed painting over, perhaps she said 'hey kids, go for it - one and only chance to practice graffiti'.

Kids draw all sorts, I don't read anything so sister into those.

Bruisername · 15/08/2023 19:34

Well the kids didn’t eat it so that’s not suspicious

if she was truly admitted to hospital maybe the dose was only enough to kill and more deadly for older people - as the youngest who ate it she had the better chance.

i hope they get to the bottom of it for the kids sake because it’s a terrible cloud to be under

Whinge · 15/08/2023 19:37

Well the kids didn’t eat it so that’s not suspicious

They did, Erin said they had the leftovers the next day but she scraped the mushrooms off.

Oh course it's perfectly normal to feed leftovers to your children when everyone who ate the meal the night before fell ill...

Bruisername · 15/08/2023 19:38

The timeline on the dm says they are it the same day the others were admitted to hospital so possible that Erin didn’t know yet (if dm is right of course)

but yes is forgotten the leftovers. Why would she feed the leftovers to the kids if she knew it was poisoned

Bruisername · 15/08/2023 19:41

Unless the poison was in something else…

also, if she did do it then can you trust her to have taken the right leftovers in to hospital

Talista · 15/08/2023 19:49

velvetandsatin · 14/08/2023 09:23

"If you find wild mushrooms at home, be sure not to touch them with bare hands. Remove them using gloves or tools and place them in a plastic bag in your rubbish bin."

Death Cap mushrooms (act.gov.au)

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This is nonsense on sticks. You can touch death caps with your bare hands with no issues whatsoever. I've done it myself with zero ill effects.

IveHadItUpToHere · 15/08/2023 20:10

I think part of the problem with 24hr news is that some media fill it with nonsense and don't bother to check information or get more than one source or any of the other practises that actually mean you can trust their reporting.

I don't find the 'they both went foraging' story any more or less unlikely than the stories 'friends' have been consistently leaking that are then corrected/amended a day later. I'll be honest the coverage of this case is making me immensely grateful for the BBC. They may be slower with some stories but they do still attempt to fact check.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 15/08/2023 20:15

Whinge · 15/08/2023 19:37

Well the kids didn’t eat it so that’s not suspicious

They did, Erin said they had the leftovers the next day but she scraped the mushrooms off.

Oh course it's perfectly normal to feed leftovers to your children when everyone who ate the meal the night before fell ill...

Yeah. This wasn't the brightest move.

I wonder if she's trying to generate a defense of being mentally incompetent or ???

Wrenjeni · 15/08/2023 22:13

tenuous link but the greengrocers who were featured in the local newsletter that Erin used to run (posted at the start of the thread) advertise mushroom foraging events on their Facebook page.
so it is ‘a thing’ locally

alwaysonadiet1 · 15/08/2023 22:22

Wrenjeni · 15/08/2023 22:13

tenuous link but the greengrocers who were featured in the local newsletter that Erin used to run (posted at the start of the thread) advertise mushroom foraging events on their Facebook page.
so it is ‘a thing’ locally

Also, a photo of mushrooms taken by Simon Patterson was on a local newsletter in 2016.

WannaBeRecluse · 15/08/2023 23:07

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 15/08/2023 18:57

Even if it were a foraging error, the outcome is very suspect. What are the chances that in random servings, she and her kids completely beat the odds, while the four oldsters all were poisoned? Astronomical. As a juror I wouldn't buy it.

I'd consider it possible. The kids didn't eat the mushrooms reportedly (scrapped it off). Older people might be more vulnerable to the effects of the poison. They have older bodies that aren't as robust as younger ones. I'd want to hear medical testimony about that.

If it's true that they foraged, maybe an error was made. I don't know what the legal repercussions of an error like that would be. Is it manslaughter or just an unfortunate accident legally?

I'm not going to jump to any conclusions until the evidence is all in. It is still innocent till proven guilty.

Morestrangerthings1 · 15/08/2023 23:28

IveHadItUpToHere · 15/08/2023 20:10

I think part of the problem with 24hr news is that some media fill it with nonsense and don't bother to check information or get more than one source or any of the other practises that actually mean you can trust their reporting.

I don't find the 'they both went foraging' story any more or less unlikely than the stories 'friends' have been consistently leaking that are then corrected/amended a day later. I'll be honest the coverage of this case is making me immensely grateful for the BBC. They may be slower with some stories but they do still attempt to fact check.

just follow the abc news (Australian broadcasting commission). It’s much more likely to be correct. It’s our version of the bbc.

Forget news .com sky seven etc., they are big on updating bullshit and love sensationalising the ‘news.’

velvetandsatin · 15/08/2023 23:37

TerrorAustralis · 15/08/2023 15:18

Yes, I’ve read the thread and the articles. It’s not hard to understand that in Australia many people aspire to own investment properties. It’s common and the government (unfortunately) actively encourages it through tax breaks. Some of those properties that she owns will be rented out. There’s no advantage to owning multiple properties if they are not rented. Nowhere in that article does it categorically state that she lived in the house.

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Nowhere in that article does it categorically state that she lived in the house.

The very first line of the article says: "The former home of the woman who prepared the lunch in a suspected fatal mushroom poisoning..."

Below the headline, it says: "The former home of the woman who prepared the lunch in a suspected fatal mushroom poisoning..."

Beneath a photo of the kitchen: "The kitchen of Erin Patterson’s former Korumburra home."

It has been repeatedly reported that EP inherited a considerable sum of money from her parents after their deaths in 2019 and bought several properties.

The pictures contain the names and heights of her two children. So it is reasonable to assume they did do the drawings in the house they once lived in.

velvetandsatin · 16/08/2023 00:04

Talista · 15/08/2023 19:49

This is nonsense on sticks. You can touch death caps with your bare hands with no issues whatsoever. I've done it myself with zero ill effects.

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Perhaps you've been lucky. Perhaps they are erring on the side of caution - but nevertheless, that is the advice from the health department in the ACT.

The health department in Victoria issues a milder warning re touching them: "Children should not touch wild mushroom with their bare hands and animals should be kept away from them."

Given a single mushroom can contain many times over the amount of toxin that would prove fatal, and ingesting only a small piece is enough to kill an adult, and many experts advise not to handle them with bare hands or place them next to other mushrooms that are edible, it would seem sensible to follow that advice.

Honeychickpea · 16/08/2023 00:26

Bruisername · 15/08/2023 19:38

The timeline on the dm says they are it the same day the others were admitted to hospital so possible that Erin didn’t know yet (if dm is right of course)

but yes is forgotten the leftovers. Why would she feed the leftovers to the kids if she knew it was poisoned

If she didn't live in the house, she must have taken the leftovers to her own home to feed to her kids. Seems a bit odd.

maratara · 16/08/2023 01:26

Almost caught up with thread, but I have made a heap of Beef Wellingtons. I would certainly not be heading to the Asia grocer for the mushrooms to make the duxelle. I presume she means shitake - but you REhydrate them not DEhydrate them. And they are not what you use for beef wellington.

wandawaves · 16/08/2023 01:26

stealtheatingtunnocks · 15/08/2023 15:46

Posted this on the wrong thread. Wrong woman doing wrong things in the wrong way!

Yes. Australians only know how to chuck a few snags/shrimp on the barbie.

Janieforever · 16/08/2023 07:46

Well. Now apparently one of the deceased said something to a paramedic that the paramedic felt needed to be reported to the police. From the mail so not sure if true, but they do appear to have lawyers reviewing their articles from comments like “the mail does not suggest she poisoned them” etc. And her original lawyer is no longer representing her, but no comment on the new one, if there is one.

I think there is much more to come on this. She says her ex said to her “is that what you used to poison them” about the dehydrator. That’s a really odd thing to say, and would indicate that’s what he and his family thought. That she’d poisoned them.

Talista · 16/08/2023 08:00

velvetandsatin · 16/08/2023 00:04

Perhaps you've been lucky. Perhaps they are erring on the side of caution - but nevertheless, that is the advice from the health department in the ACT.

The health department in Victoria issues a milder warning re touching them: "Children should not touch wild mushroom with their bare hands and animals should be kept away from them."

Given a single mushroom can contain many times over the amount of toxin that would prove fatal, and ingesting only a small piece is enough to kill an adult, and many experts advise not to handle them with bare hands or place them next to other mushrooms that are edible, it would seem sensible to follow that advice.

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I follow an online mushroom ingestion poisons advice group staffed by some of the world's leading mycologists. They stress explicitly and repeatedly that you cannot get poisoned by touching a mushroom. And in fact identifying a mushroom properly is impossible without touching it. There's a lot of unnecessary fear around mushrooms - some plants on the other hand can and will do you serious harm from touching!

IveHadItUpToHere · 16/08/2023 09:50

maratara · 16/08/2023 01:26

Almost caught up with thread, but I have made a heap of Beef Wellingtons. I would certainly not be heading to the Asia grocer for the mushrooms to make the duxelle. I presume she means shitake - but you REhydrate them not DEhydrate them. And they are not what you use for beef wellington.

I read this as though you'd been making lots of them whilst reading the thread. I think I'm too tired to follow anything today 😄

IveHadItUpToHere · 16/08/2023 09:52

@Morestrangerthings1 thanks for the tip. I'll check abc.