Update On The Australian Mushroom Poisonings ~ An Arrest Has Been Made
Back in August, I wrote a post about the mushroom poisonings in Australia, questioning the many discrepancies in the story of Erin Patterson:
Since then, as people in the stricken community mourned the losses, and prayed for the recovery of the sole survivor, who was also a local pastor, they had to wait patiently for the outcome of the police investigation.
A few days ago, Erin Patterson was arrested and charged not only with the murders of the lunch guests, but she was also charged with five counts of attempted murder. It appears the police investigation turned up more toxic acrimony, which was enough to charge her with four counts of attempted murder on the life of her ex-husband.
Some people say they dodged a bullet, when they realize how close they came to death. But how many can say they dodged a death cap mushroom, designed as the darkest night cap, to put you to sleep for good? Yet her husband, and pastor Ian Wilkinson did miraculously survive being intentionally poisoned with one of the deadliest poisons on this earth.
One cannot even imagine how her ex-husband must feel now. His worst suspicions have been confirmed. I hope he does not suffer from survivor’s guilt. Both he and Ian Wilkinson have testimonies that are key to bringing justice for their loved ones, as well as for themselves.
A person who would do such a thing, would likely have carried on poisoning anyone who crossed her, and made her angry. The glimpses of media footage show her, looking irate and exasperated, as she tried to escape prying questions. In some of those snapshots, if looks could kill, they too would have “died by her sword”, which incidentally was just one of the bizarre death scribbles written on her kitchen wall, along with pictures of tombstones.
Her concern was clearly for herself, not the victims. Her anger toward the media was palpable, but not the least bit palatable. It’s hard to imagine how she expected people to react to such unexpected and shocking deaths.
Death by poisoning is a horrible way to die. Most of us have experienced a bout of food poisoning, or an extreme case of gastroenteritis in our lifetimes. If you multiply that a hundredfold, it might give an inkling of the agony brought about by a poison so toxic, it eventually shuts down every organ.
First there is the gastric upset and abdominal pain, then an overwhelming takeover of every organ, as the body and nervous system goes into a may day, as it attempts to cope. Every minute is agony, and it goes on for days, not just an hour or two. It is almost inconceivable to think anyone would put another human being through such systemic torture, let alone do it to family members, and church family.
It has already been reported, and confirmed by family members, and members of the community, that Erin Patterson was an experienced mushroom forager, with extensive knowledge about the different varieties. Therefore she knew full well how dangerous death cap mushrooms are.
As I noted in the previous post about the poisonings, if she would have admitted to having picked them herself, she would have had a weak, but plausible defence, and might have been able to argue that she accidentally picked the deadly death caps.
However from there, she would have to answer what the next steps were. Food dehydrator – So explain why you did not catch the mistake at that point? Ummm err. And after that, how did you still mistakenly use them to cook a meal that takes a fair bit of time to prepare? What could she say? Ummm I guess I went blind somewhere along the line, but was very careful to protect myself and my children, in spite of it. Doesn’t that mean I must be a good person, who would never dream of harming my in-laws? Denial only serves to harden a person’s heart to the truth.
So rather than go down the mushroom rabbit hole in the woods, it was just easier to say she bought them at an Asian grocery store. If you cannot be woodsy, go urban. It is much handier to blame it on the obscure Asian grocery store, pretending the package was not written in English, and the store was so vague and blurry, she could not remember where it was (see idioms for idiot below).
Job done. Now go away, and do not ask anymore questions, or I will cry, wail, and protest vehemently.
But when she locked herself into the claim she bought them from an Asian grocery store, she sealed her own fate, probably beyond a reasonable doubt. To top it off, she scurried off to get rid of the food dehydrator, and then lied about it to police.
The recycling plant had CTV cameras, so she was caught on tape when she did that. If I recall correctly, even once she did admit to lying about it to police, she still tried to falsify the timing of when she disposed of it. So the video recording of her at the recycling plant, where they later retrieved the food dehydrator, was likely a key part of the evidence leading to her arrest.
It really is amazing this day and age, with all the cameras, and sophisticated forensics, how anyone could possibly think they will get away with murder. This woman was the epitome of every thick as a brick, and other idiom describing a lack of intelligence, in the English language.
She owns them all. Here are a few examples, so you can pick your own description of her dumb, double-crossing potion brewing. It may sound mean, but it is nowhere near as mean as what she did. Hopefully anyone who even dreams up such a thing, will be deterred by the brazen combination of stupidity, and cruelty she has demonstrated. Like most murders, it was flat out senseless.
- doesn’t have both oars in the water
- two sandwiches shy of a picnic
- a brick short of a load
- a pickle short of a barrel
- has delusions of adequacy
- has a leak in her think tank ( I like that one)
- not the sharpest tool in the shed, (or pencil in the drawer)
- her belt doesn’t go through all the loops
- her cheese has slipped of the cracker
- mind like a rubber bear trap
- out of her depth in a mud puddle
- one prop short of a plane
- so dense, light bends around her
- fell out of the family tree
- a few peas short of a casserole
- has bats in her belfry
- cobwebs in her attic
- forgot to pay the brain bill
Now it’s got me thinking about inventing some new ones, and I bet the whole saga will cause some seriously stupid mushroom jokes. Like the brainy one I just thought of – What happens if you have fungi in the grey matter? You split the mold.
Drawing attention to some of the dumb attributes of criminal acts is not intended to make fun of people who are less intelligent, or have learning disabilities etc. There are many different kinds of intelligence. A person without guile, sneakiness, or devious scheming, is much wiser than those who think they can get away with lawless behaviours.
My intention is to draw attention to how dumb it is to think you can get away with murder.
In our own cognitive bias, none of us are as smart as we think we are. We all do foolish things, and make stupid mistakes. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by some of the stupid things I have done, and do have genuine remorse.
What I am referring to about her lack of cognitive function, is based on how she portrayed herself in the media, lied about where she got the mushrooms, the food dehydrator etc. She seemed to think that crocodile tears and professing her innocence was all it was going to take to explain away the deaths of three people, and the near death of a fourth. If her ex had been there, as she had planned, there potentially would have been five dead.
The investigation is ongoing, and will likely take many more months to unravel. Her arrest marks the first victory for the victims. Apparently she continues to deny it, but that is very common among murderers. A high percentage of them will deny what they did, in spite of incontrovertible proof.
Another sickly twist in the case – the night before her arrest she threw a party, inviting a group of trusted friends and supporters. Some speculate she knew she was going to be arrested, and this was a final fling. Others say she had no idea it would be her last party, or her last night in her five bedroom comfortable home. She was arrested at 8 am the following morning.
The most eerie thing about a murderer throwing a gala celebration, as a final stance of defiance, is that she still has people who trust her.
I wonder if she served them mushroom appetizers? And if any of them slipped off the cracker.
If she went on a dating site, would she have titles like – Futuristic Fungicide seeking Metazoa. Or Deadly Amanita desires a dark place to grow old. Or Death angel covets corpse caps.
She was arrested on November 2nd, just a couple days after Halloween. Back in August she angrily railed against the media for portraying her as a wicked witch, who poisoned her lunch guests on purpose.
Guess what? They were right, and if she would have been arrested a couple of days earlier, she might have been wearing a pointed black hat, stirring her malevolent cauldron, and chanting curses upon her enemies, as neighbourhood children were innocently trick or treating. I bet they were reluctant to knock on that door.
The thing about crimes like this one, we cannot help but wonder why a person who has a comfortable life, would not only destroy others, but also herself? This was a plot, meticulously planned and cooked up. It was not done on impulse. It was not done in a deranged state of psychosis. It was carefully concocted.
In the previous post I described it as being like an Agatha Christie novel. But now I am leaning more toward it being like a Stephen King novel. Agatha Christie novels are too light hearted for such a horrifying type of cold-hearted vindictive revenge on people who trusted her.
It seems the whole thing might have been related to malice toward her ex-husband, but only she knows the real reasons, and who knows if she will ever admit what they are.
She might have still been drawing tombstones on her kitchen walls with RIP motifs. Either way, life as she knew it, in a cushy and roomy five bedroom home, just shrank into the size of a walk in closet.
I don’t know if they allow inmates who have been charged with murder, and attempted murder, to draw tombstones, and write “death by my sword” on the walls of their cells. I kind of doubt it.
I know it has not been proven that she was the one who wrote those macabre things on her walls, but they certainly did reflect her motives. Plus even if they were the drawings of her children, as she claimed, why would she leave them there? And why would children draw tombstones and write RIP Grandma on the wall? Surely they were not planning to harm a beloved grandmother, nor could they have known such harm was about to befall her.
For most people, if someone drew such morbid drawings and words on the wall, they would immediately scrub it off, or paint over it. But she did not bother to do so, and even left it there when she moved. A painter was alarmed enough to pull out his phone and take pictures of it before painting over it. At the time, he had no idea he was capturing what could be a projection of a serious crime. I hope they do determine who did the doodling, because in a sense, it too, is evidence of intent.
The community must be buzzing with gratitude over the recent announcements. After all, if she was capable of three counts of murder, and five counts of attempted murder, they truly did have a witch in their midst.
Hopefully they can continue to support each other through the grief, and continue to heal. The pastor who survived the ordeal is still not well enough to resume preaching. He has been the only one who has been able to shed some light on what truly happened during that fatal luncheon.
The pastor’s survival and testimony, is in itself, a miracle from God. People have died from ingesting a single mushroom. In his case, he was sixty-eight years old at the time of the poisoning, and who knows what other conditions he may have had. What a terrible ordeal he has had to face. Without a doubt, his faith has helped him to survive.
We can only surmise the rippling effects such a case would have on the family, the congregation, the community, and the world at large. Why anyone would do such a thing defies understanding.
Now she has a lot of years ahead of her to take stock, and hopefully to finally admit, and show remorse for her astronomical crimes. Of course she is presumed innocent as far as the law is concerned, until there is a trial.
But regardless of the legalities she faces, she still must reconcile the events that took place in her own heart, and mind somehow. There is a fate awaiting her one way or another.
Personally I believe the most important thing for all of us to do, is to sincerely repent of our wrongdoing, and seek the forgiveness of Christ. Whatever justice is meted out according to the laws, is not as important as repentance, forgiveness, and salvation before God. So no matter what the crime is, our own attitude should extend mercy and hope for all people, just as there has been mercy and hope for us.