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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
Morestrangerthings1 · 09/08/2023 11:09

TroysMammy · 09/08/2023 09:49

I was told during a fungus foray by an expert on identification that even if you put a poisonous or mushroom next to an edible one but only eat the edible ones they would still be tainted by the poisonous ones.

Sensibly after identification we all discarded our findings.

Yes, I thought this would be the case.

JenWillsiam · 09/08/2023 11:09

Strictlyfanoftenyears · 09/08/2023 11:03

Eh?

Stupid is an ableist slur. I’m not on board with that.

WannaBeRecluse · 09/08/2023 11:11

PriamFarrl · 09/08/2023 10:54

I react to stress and grief in an odd way too. I become very practical. Doesn’t make me guilty.

Could it be that the mushrooms were in a sauce or as a side that she didn’t have, rather than in the meal.

It's shock. Unless someone has been in a truly shocking situation, you can be in a place far beyond tears when it happens. Happened to me too, no real tears as such.

Morestrangerthings1 · 09/08/2023 11:11

FuppingEll · 09/08/2023 10:45

I really hate to see people trying to guess guilt from how someone behaves. I'm a fecking weirdo sometimes in times of stress, god knows what the baying mob would make of me if anything ever happened to someone close to me. People aren't robots, they don't always act predictably. I'm sure the truth will come out in time but until then I don't think everyone needs to pull apart the woman.

I completely agree with you.

Wrenjeni · 09/08/2023 11:13

I agree with not judging based on appearances but facts alone are very suspicious.

WannaBeRecluse · 09/08/2023 11:17

Wrenjeni · 09/08/2023 11:13

I agree with not judging based on appearances but facts alone are very suspicious.

It sounds like it does need investigating but we only know what the media is reporting. We just need to let the police do their jobs.

Lunde · 09/08/2023 11:21

Anotherchristianmama · 09/08/2023 08:17

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

Yes the "Destroying Angel" mushroom was the culprit!

LozzaChops101 · 09/08/2023 11:21

It’s a great season for mushrooming so far in the UK! I’d never pick anything I wasn’t 100% sure of though. Porcini, chanterelles, chicken of the woods.

What a bonkers case though, and a horrific way to die.

Mummyoflittledragon · 09/08/2023 11:23

Dustyblue · 09/08/2023 08:05

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".

For me, the way I see it is how does what this woman saying and doing make me feel. Do I feel moved by what she says? In this case, I don’t. Not at all. She seems to be making what she thinks are all the right movements but she doesn’t seem to believe what she’s saying. I find the wiping her eyes and checking her hands for tears odd. We touch and rub our eyes to conceal deceit. This is slightly different. Idk.

I find the closing of her eyes and head shaking odd when she’s talking about her devastation at the death of her in laws. I tried to do it whilst talking about wonderful people, who are dead and I can’t. I have to open my eyes to make it real. I am obviously not a body language expert but I’ve completed acting training. So it’s much easier for me to get myself into this state than the average person (whilst in a relaxed environment on my sofa) so that’s my 2 penneth there.

Had I acted like that in class, which obviously I did at times, especially in the beginning as it is natural to try to force things, I would have been told I wasn’t believable.

I cannot say she’s definitely guilty or anything, it’s just how that interview makes me feel. Add it to the evasiveness and how she makes the situation all about her, it doesn’t look good for her.

rockpoolingtogether · 09/08/2023 11:26

The she talks way too much. If I had accidentally just poised 4 people, firstly I wouldn't b by my car or having driven somewhere. And I wouldn't be able to speak and make statements.

WannaBeRecluse · 09/08/2023 11:28

rockpoolingtogether · 09/08/2023 11:26

The she talks way too much. If I had accidentally just poised 4 people, firstly I wouldn't b by my car or having driven somewhere. And I wouldn't be able to speak and make statements.

You don't know how you'd react until you are in that situation. I always thought I knew how I'd react to a particular situation until I was in it. Through numbing shock I was able to identify a body and give a full and detailed statement. You really can go to a whole other place at these times.

MillWood85 · 09/08/2023 11:34

What a horrendous story. And a horrendous way for those poor people to die.

Liver failure is not something I'd wish on anyone seeing my Dad die of liver cancer this year. It is brutal, painful and medications often don't work.

Made me feel quite sick reading that story. To even consider that anyone could have done this deliberately? Mind blowing.

Fancylike · 09/08/2023 11:35

I’m also fascinated by this situation. Not going to judge her response, but if she has deliberately poisoned them and been stupid enough to google anything about it in the last year, she’ll be caught.

Paperbagsaremine · 09/08/2023 11:36

YourNameGoesHere · 09/08/2023 10:33

That interview is like some terrible hallmark film scene, she's not even crying and yet pretending to wipe away tears?

The whole thing is very suspicious especially the fact her ex husband nearly died last year and that she appears not have eaten the same meal as all of her guests, what host does that?

I will not hear a word against Hallmark films, they're the product of honest hard work that provide light entertainment for a lot of people!

Dustyblue · 09/08/2023 11:39

@Mummyoflittledragon That is very illuminating. I can see what you mean.

In any case, I think we'll find out soon enough. At a guess.

OP posts:
MentholLoad · 09/08/2023 11:40

SarahSaysYes · 09/08/2023 11:07

When someone v close to me was involved in a life-changing accident, I copped it from two sides. One party said I was too emotional and needed to take it on the chin; another said that did I not realise how serious this was and that the victim still might die? Everyone has their own opinion on what constitutes an appropriate response.

(Still bitter btw)

💐

MentholLoad · 09/08/2023 11:41

WannaBeRecluse · 09/08/2023 11:28

You don't know how you'd react until you are in that situation. I always thought I knew how I'd react to a particular situation until I was in it. Through numbing shock I was able to identify a body and give a full and detailed statement. You really can go to a whole other place at these times.

💐

AutumnCrow · 09/08/2023 11:44

Fancylike · 09/08/2023 11:35

I’m also fascinated by this situation. Not going to judge her response, but if she has deliberately poisoned them and been stupid enough to google anything about it in the last year, she’ll be caught.

That's a good point.

ChurlishGreen · 09/08/2023 11:50

Mummyoflittledragon · 09/08/2023 11:23

For me, the way I see it is how does what this woman saying and doing make me feel. Do I feel moved by what she says? In this case, I don’t. Not at all. She seems to be making what she thinks are all the right movements but she doesn’t seem to believe what she’s saying. I find the wiping her eyes and checking her hands for tears odd. We touch and rub our eyes to conceal deceit. This is slightly different. Idk.

I find the closing of her eyes and head shaking odd when she’s talking about her devastation at the death of her in laws. I tried to do it whilst talking about wonderful people, who are dead and I can’t. I have to open my eyes to make it real. I am obviously not a body language expert but I’ve completed acting training. So it’s much easier for me to get myself into this state than the average person (whilst in a relaxed environment on my sofa) so that’s my 2 penneth there.

Had I acted like that in class, which obviously I did at times, especially in the beginning as it is natural to try to force things, I would have been told I wasn’t believable.

I cannot say she’s definitely guilty or anything, it’s just how that interview makes me feel. Add it to the evasiveness and how she makes the situation all about her, it doesn’t look good for her.

But you would have been acting out a conventional idea of grief to an acting class, the way a thriller writer will make someone innocent in a murder plot behave according to conventional ideas of innocent behaviour — crying, grief-stricken, unable to eat, blaming themselves, etc etc.

Real life is just messier, and grief and shock express themselves in more unexpected ways. When my beloved grandad died in my teens (he was essentially my third parent, always lived with us), the whole family got the giggles in the car on the way to the funeral, promptly infected grandad’s other son and our cousins, and we all spent the whole service trying not to laugh and failing — the pews were shaking. We would have looked heartless and frivolous to a neutral observer, but we were heartbroken. Just also laughing like drains.

I only know what I’ve read on here about this case, and have no idea about this woman’s guilt or innocence, but I’d be wary of making deductions from anyone’s behaviour in the public eye in this kind of scenario. Guilt or innocence doesn’t always look the way it would in a film.

aeaeae · 09/08/2023 11:58

FFSWhatToDoNow · 09/08/2023 10:09

I haven’t eaten meat for 30+ years but regularly make it for others, including guests. (Tend to stick to low and slow recipes or steak to avoid any risk of poisoning.) I absolutely wouldn’t be eating the same as everyone else, and depending on DD’s food sensitivities, she might not either. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t eat meat either and also cook it for my DC and guests, however meat is not the same as mushrooms. Non vegetarians tend to expect meat, mushrooms are not the same. Unless the guests were vegetarian or vegan, of course, and she and her DC aren’t - I could understand that.

velvetandsatin · 09/08/2023 11:59

I think the fact the incident is being investigated very thoroughly by the police, and that a dehydrator has been found in the local tip and is being forensically anaylsed, and that death cap mushrooms are out of season, so presumably would have had to have been foraged for and dehydrated in Autumn, and not purchased along with the mushrooms she says she bought from the local shop... the children have been removed from her for their safety... The ex-husband, who was also supposed to attend the lunch but could not make it at the last minute, was hospitalised last year, was in a coma and in ICU... And that dodgy interview, as well... It is not looking good for her.

AriannasGuitarCase · 09/08/2023 12:07

I would never judge anyone's body language as I'm ND so aware that actions don't always correlate to words

But IF she is guilty... I think you can microdose Death Cap mushrooms to build up tolerance to them, so theoretically, she could have eaten the same meal as the others

DailyMaui · 09/08/2023 12:08

QueenOfWeeds · 09/08/2023 09:17

This is so French. I love it.

My mum lives in France near lots of woods and we once went mushroom foraging. We took what we were ABSOLUTELY certain were safe mushrooms to the pharmacist and and he was aghast. Non! Non! Non! He's quite dramatic anyway, but this made for weeks of village chats about how les Écossais almost killed themselves!

bluetongue · 09/08/2023 12:08

JanieEyre · 09/08/2023 08:16

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?

Nothing surprises me. Some criminals are really dumb.

Stuff like putting a body in a garden waste wheelie bin or a murderer that wore a balaclava but had his very distinctive tattoos on show and the whole thing got caught on CCTV.

In Adelaide right now there’s a woman charged with murdering both her elderly parents with insulin.

Hell plenty of people on remand don’t seem to realise all prison phone calls are recorded.

Pinkywoo · 09/08/2023 12:08

Watching the video I was willing the journalist to say "actually it's Ian in hospital, not Don" just to see her reaction. I can't imagine mixing up two people who were basically family like that, and she did it more than once so not just a slip of the tongue.