Latest news with #Amanitaphalloides
Scoop
7 days ago
- Scoop
Death By Fungi: Cashing In On Erin Patterson
She has become a notorious figure of international interest, shamelessly exploited for news cycles, commercial worth and career advancement. After a trial lasting nine weeks, conducted at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Victoria, Erin Patterson, a stocky, thick set mother of two was found guilty for three murders and an attempted murder. Date: July 29, 2023 in the town of Leongatha. Her weapon in executing her plot of Sophoclean extravagance: death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) served in a beef Wellington. Her targets: in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson. Of the four, only Ian survived the culinary killings - barely. Prudently, estranged husband Simon chose not to attend. News outlets thought it useful to produce graphics about this Australian's terminating exploits. CNN produced one with voyeuristic relish, making it appear much like a Midsomer Murders episode. Details aplenty are provided, including the gruesome end for the victims. 'Gail and Heather died on August 4 [2023] from multiorgan failure, followed by Don on August 5 after he failed to respond to a liver transplant.' Fortunately, Ian Wilkinson survived, but the rumour mongering hack journalist can barely take it, almost regretful of that fact: 'after almost two months of intensive treatment', he was discharged. Having an opinion on this case has become standard fare, amassing on a turd heap of supposition, second guessing and wonder. The range is positively Chaucerian in its village variety. The former court official interviewed about the killer's guilty mind and poisoning stratagems, stating the obvious and dulling. The criminologist, keen on career advancement and pseudo-psychology, attempted to get into Patterson's mind, commenting on her patent ordinariness. One example of the latter is to be found in The Conversation, where we are told by Xanthe Mallett with platitudinous and forced certainty how Patterson, speaking days after the incident, 'presented as your typical, average woman of 50.' If attempting to kill four people using fungi is a symptom of average, female ordinariness of a certain age, we all best start making our own meals. But Mallett thinks it is precisely that sense of the ordinary that led to a public obsession, a mania with crime and motivation. 'The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive.' This is certainly not the view of Dr. Chris Webster, who answered the Leongatha Hospital doorbell when Patterson first presented. Realising her link to the other four victims suffering symptoms of fungi poisoning, Webster explained that death cap mushrooms were suspected. Asking Patterson where she got them, she replied with one word: 'Woolworths.' This was enough for the doctor to presume guilt, an attitude which certainly gave one of Australia's most ruthless supermarket chains a graceful pardon. 'She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried out but didn't quite dot every 'i' and cross every 't'.' The marketer, thrilled with branding and promotion, suggests how Patterson Inc. can become an ongoing concern of merchandise, plays and scripts. (Think of a shirt sporting the following: 'I ate beef Wellington and survived'.) The ABC did not waste much time commissioning Toxic, a show created by Elise McCredie and Tony Ayres, aided by ABC podcaster Rachel Brown. Ayres hams it up by saying that, 'True stories ask storytellers to probe the complexities of human behaviour. What really lies beneath the headlines? It's both a challenge and a responsibility to go beyond the surface – to reveal, not just to sensationalise.' Given that this project is a child of frothy publicity born from sensationalism and hysteria, the comment is almost touching. The media prompts and updates, mischaracterising Patterson as 'The Mushroom Murderer', leave the impression that she really did like killing fungi. But an absolute monster must be found, and the press hounds duly found it. Papers like the Herald Sun preferred the old Rupert Murdoch tactic: till the soil to surface level to find requisite dirt. According to a grimy bit of reporting from that most distinguished of Melbourne rags, 'the callous murderer, whose maiden name was Scutter before marrying Simon Patterson in 2007, was secretly dubbed 'Scutter the Nutter' among her training group.' The Australian was in a didactic mood, unhappy that the judge did not make it even more obvious that a crime, committed by a woman involving poison and 'not a gun or a knife', was equally grave. To complete matters was an aggrieved home cook, Nagi Maehashi, who also rode the wave of publicity by expressing sadness that her recipe had become a weapon for lethal effect. (Presumably, Maehashi did not have lethal mushrooms in her original recipe, but precision slides in publicity.) Overcome with false modesty in this glare of publicity, Maehashi did not wish to take interviews, but felt her misused work deserved a statement. 'It is of course upsetting to learn that one of my recipes – possibly the one I've spent more hours perfecting than any other – something I created to bring joy and happiness, is entangled in a tragic situation,' she moaned on Instagram. Those familiar with Maehashi will note her tendency to megalomania in the kitchen, especially given recipes that have been created long before she turned to knife and spatula. The ones forgotten will be those victims who died excruciatingly before their loved ones in a richly sadistic exercise. At the end of it all, the entire ensemble of babblers, hucksters and chancers so utterly obsessed with what took place in Leongatha should thank Patterson. Her murders have excited, enthralled and given people purpose. She will start conversations, fill pockets, extend careers and, if we are to believe some recent reporting, make meals for her fellow inmates in prison. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: bkampmark@
RTÉ News
07-07-2025
- RTÉ News
The toxic fungi at centre of Australia's mushroom murders
An innocuous-looking mushroom with a sweet smell and a sinister name lay at the centre of Australian woman Erin Patterson's triple-murder conviction. Patterson was found guilty of killing her husband's parents and aunt in 2023 - and attempting to kill a fourth guest - by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with highly toxic death cap mushrooms. The 50-year-old denied the accusations, saying the hearty meal was contaminated by accident. Throughout a headline-grabbing trial spanning more than two months, experts have dissected the brown-and-white fungi in forensic detail. Death caps - or Amanita phalloides - are responsible for around 90% of all fungus-related fatalities, making them the deadliest mushrooms in the world. The brown-and-white sporing bodies are easily mistaken for other edible varieties and reportedly possess a pleasant taste when used in cooking. But they are saturated with deadly chemicals known as amatoxins, toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos told Patterson's trial. "They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, feeling really unwell," Mr Gerostamoulos told the jury. "And they progressively get worse if the toxins are not removed. "They progress to tissue necrosis, organ failure and can obviously lead to death if not treated appropriately," he added. Three of Patterson's guests died of organ failure a week after unknowingly eating death cap mushrooms baked into individual portions of beef Wellington. "It was very apparent that this was not survivable," intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the jury. A fourth guest fell gravely ill but survived after weeks in hospital. Death cap mushrooms are native to Europe but have spread to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, fungi expert Tom May said during Patterson's trial. He said the mushrooms had a "slightly sweet" odour when fresh. "In Australia, it is an exotic species, and it was accidentally introduced," Mr May said in his testimony. They sprout during warm and wet autumn weather and are typically found growing in the shade of oak trees. "From time to time, every year usually under suitable conditions, it produces a sporing body, which is the mushroom that we see," Mr May said. "They're quite fleshy and they decay quite readily, so they would not last longer than a couple of weeks when they're sitting in the field." Patterson will be sentenced at a later date.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Straits Times
Sweet-smelling fungi with sinister name at centre of Australia's mushroom murders
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A death cap mushroom is easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and has a pleasant taste when used in cooking. SYDNEY – An innocuous-looking mushroom with a sweet smell and a sinister name lay at the centre of Australian Erin Patterson's triple-murder conviction on July 7. Patterson was found guilty of killing her husband's parents and aunt in 2023, and attempting to kill a fourth guest, by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with highly toxic death cap mushrooms. The 50-year-old denied the accusations, saying the hearty meal was contaminated by accident . Throughout a headline-grabbing trial spanning more than two months, experts have dissected the brown-and-white fungi in forensic detail. Death caps – or Amanita phalloides – are responsible for around 90 per cent of all fungus-related fatalities, making them the deadliest mushrooms in the world. The brown-and-white sporing bodies are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a pleasant taste when used in cooking. But they are saturated with deadly chemicals known as amatoxins, toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos told Patterson's trial. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 'They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, feeling really unwell,' Dr Gerostamoulos told the jury. 'And they progressively get worse if the toxins are not removed.' 'They progress to tissue necrosis, organ failure and can obviously lead to death if not treated appropriately,' he added. Three of Patterson's guests died of organ failure a week after unknowingly eating death cap mushrooms baked into individual portions of beef Wellington. 'It was very apparent that this was not survivable,' intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the jury. A fourth guest fell gravely ill but survived after weeks in hospital. Death cap mushrooms are native to Europe but have spread to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, fungi expert Tom May said during Patterson's trial. He said the mushrooms had a 'slightly sweet' odour when fresh. 'In Australia, it is an exotic species and it was accidentally introduced,' Dr May said in his testimony. They sprout during warm and wet autumn weather and are typically found growing in the shade of oak trees. 'From time to time, every year, usually under suitable conditions, it produces a sporing body, which is the mushroom that we see,' Dr May said. 'They're quite fleshy and they decay quite readily, so they would not last longer than a couple of weeks when they're sitting in the field.' Patterson will be sentenced at a later date. AFP
Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Woman found GUILTY of murdering three relatives with poisonous mushrooms
Erin Patterson, 50, invited Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, to the fatal lunch on 29 July 2023 A woman has been found guilty of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives after she served them a beef wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms. On July 29 2023 Erin Patterson, 50, invited her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, over for lunch at her home in the town of Leongatha, the court heard. The mother-of-two, from the state of Victoria in southern Australia, has now been convicted at the Supreme Court trial in Victoria state aftr the jury returned a verdict after six days of deliberations, following a nine-week trial. Patterson, who sat in the dock between two prison officers, showed no emotion but blinked rapidly as the verdicts were read. Patterson was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Mrs Wilkinson's husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson. All four guests fell ill following the lunch the town of Leongatha, which consisted of beef wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans the court was told. Prosecutors had alleged that the mother of two laced the meal with deadly death cap mushrooms, also known as Amanita phalloides. Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Patterson died on Friday 4 August 2023, while Mr Patterson died a day late Reverend Wilkinson spent seven weeks in hospital but survived. Her estranged husband Simon Patterson, with whom she has two children, was also invited to the lunch and initially accepted but later declined, the trial heard. Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day's biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.
Ammon
01-07-2025
- Ammon
Australian woman charged with killing ex-husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms
Ammon News - The jury in the trial of an Australian woman accused of murdering her estranged husband's parents and an aunt by serving them poisonous mushrooms has begun deliberations. Mother-of-two Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the 2023 murders of her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, along with the attempted murder of Reverend Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution alleges she served guests beef wellington knowing it contained deadly death cap mushrooms, also known as Amanita phalloides. The jury began deliberations on Monday after an intense nine-week trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria in which Patterson appeared in the witness box, as did the sole survivor of the alleged poisoning. Patterson's daughter, according to ABC, told the court that her mother organised a trip to the cinema for her and her brother in advance of the lunch. Sky News
