The mushroom poisoning in Vic.... I am gripped - Part 2

[ImustLearn2Cook]

Hi everyone, Aussie Mumsnetter here. As some have requested a new thread be started by an Aussie I decided to do it.

I am still gripped by this case and like many, I am awaiting updates of new information.

Will a matching donor for a liver for Ian be found soon? I hope he makes a full recovery.

Will he be able to shed new light on the lunch they all shared?

And of course is she guilty of deliberately poisoning them or was it an innocent mistake?

Interesting

Blimey!

Those poster who said the quiet on the part of the police was all about making a viable case were on the money I would think.

I know two police officers, one working on complex fraud cases who says it's a bugger's job getting everything in place to ensure that it makes it to court. Even then....

Those poster who said the quiet on the part of the police was all about making a viable case were on the money I would think.

Yes, this has been my view all along. It seemed to have gone cold, for us, the public - but they would have been working intensively these last several months.

Erin Patterson arrested this morning. No charges laid yet.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/erin-patterson-arrested-after-alleged-deadly-leongatha-mushroom-poisoning/news-story/3a189fbc1efdca4bcd952273ff26b0a0

Oh wow! Thanks for this update, it's been a long time coming!

I am particularly interested in the technology detector sniffer dogs they have brought in to the search of her house and property.

Erin Patterson arrested over suspected mushroom poisoning deaths in Victoria | Australian police and policing | The Guardian

Exactly. The cops will have been building a strong case, given this is not just a straightforward ‘here’s the murder weapon, here are her fingerprints, here’s the clear motive’ kind of case.

It will be interesting to see how things play out now. If it does go to trial, I imagine it will be a media circus.

Absolutely riveting I have to admit

That took long enough!

The day we've been waiting for has finally arrived!

Us MN sleuths had it right- we just had to wait for science and the law to catch up with us 😄

Cops supposed to be doing a press conference in about 15 mins... can't wait!

Horrible for her kids but no way should she get away with this. I was getting worried.

the court case is going to be interesting for sure.

Contains footage of the police conferance:

Erin Patterson interviewed by police over Leongatha mushroom poisoning deaths - ABC News

I am particularly interested in the technology detector sniffer dogs they have brought in to the search of her house and property.

Me too, @velvetandsatin. 'Elite federal sniffer dogs' sound like awesome hounds. I wonder if EP will change her story again if the dogs find another dumped or hidden item. 'It was all a bit of a payback prank that went horribly wrong', that kind of thing.

Having said that, a decent lawyer will tell her to say nothing, and avoid being drawn into (again) 'just telling your side of the story, Erin'.

As PP have said, I wonder if he story will change.

I wonder what evidence could have been compromised or disposed of since the poisonings. Did this level of searching happen at the time?

Evidence of prior planning, maybe - e.g. google searches or suchlike on an old laptop, phone or tablet?

Or maybe the tech is a bonus skill the dogs have and they're after other things that have been disposed of, like the remains of mushrooms. A used chopping board. More discarded kitchen stuff. That sort of thing? Finding anything else discarded now is going to look even more suspicious and put pressure on EP.

Looks like the police really want to nail this down, showing that the suspect planned to do it, and tried to cover it up. Intent with reckless disregard for human life, as opposed to it being an accident. Fancy them not being moved by her teary-eyed grief show ...

@echt thanks for updating the thread.
The poor family and the poor DCs. Regardless of the outcome, their lives have been devastated.
It's interesting about the police dogs. I didn't know they used them to find sim cards and electronics. My gran bred police dogs when I was little so I have a soft spot for them.

I think these dogs mainly look for SIM cards and phones when drug gangs are being investigated- the dealers constantly change sims and phones. But they will be useful in this too, hopefully.

I'm not in Australia so don't know how their police work but the fact they never said 'we believe it was just an accidental poisoning' was likely an indication that investigations were ongoing.

And remember one of the guests didn't die. How long he took to recover is and what he has been able to tell police is not yet known publicly. Eg Erin says she ate the same dish. He might have said 'she said the Wellington turned out smaller than expected so we had that and she had leftover lasagne'. The Reverend not dying was a big opportunity for the police to get eyewitness evidence to disprove her (latest) version of events.

It also wouldn't surprise me if they have trawled her bank statements, diaries, ANPR for any details showing when she was in Melbourne and could have been buying dried mushrooms. Cross check that with what Asian grocers say about them having stock of dried mushrooms and the packaging etc. you could potentially get enough evidence that no one in Melbourne was selling mushrooms in packaging like that at the time she was in Melbourne so could have been buying them. It all adds to the case.

She lives in a pretty small town. They might even have trawled the local landfill looking for her trash from that day. If you find it and there is remnants of beef packaging, fresh mushroom and vegetable peelings but no plastic bag which held dried mushrooms then that is also helpful evidence.

It is amazing what dogs can find (some dogs!)

Feel for the children.

When I first read technology dogs the image of dogs getting on laptops sprang to mind. And why not? They can play poker:

Presumably she's not been under constant surveillance since the deaths, so anything she may have hidden in the house or garden could have since been removed. Do police have to wait until there is sufficient proof of foul play before they can do this type of searching? I'm surprised that three people being dead isn't enough to have triggered searching immediately, but I don't know about police procedure.

Do you think the police would have the powers to make her have a medical to see if there was damage to her liver consistent with her having eaten death cap herself?

Woah! Charged with murder.

Erin Patterson charged with three counts of murder four months after mushroom beef Wellington lunch at Leongatha | Daily Mail Online