Latest news with #TomMay
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Fungi expert under cross-examination
Fungi expert on death cap mushrooms Mycologist Tom May (pictured below), who is an internationally recognised fungi expert, yesterday told the jury death cap mushrooms can only be found beneath or close to oak trees or trees within the oak family. Dr May, a mushroom expert who was the principal fungi research scientist at the Royal Botanical Gardens, said death caps had a 'symbiotic' relationship with oak trees. The mushroom expert, who will continue answering questions under cross-examination this morning, described death caps as mostly orangey in colour, but could be whiteish or brownish. He said they change their appearance as they matured. Dr May told the jury death cap mushrooms - known scientifically as amanita phalloides - were believed to have been accidentally introduced into Australia from Europe and were first detected in Victoria in the 1970s. He said the mushrooms were 'relatively short lived' in the wild due to wet conditions and insects. Dr May said death caps wouldn't last much longer in a refrigerator due to the fungi being infested with insects that 'keep working away' at the mushrooms. Dr May said there were many publicly available online databases that contained information regarding death cap mushrooms. He said iNaturalist is Australia's largest publicly accessible citizen scientist app for uploading information about fungi. Dr May told the jury you need an account to post information about wild mushroom, but don't need an account to view 'precise location information'. 'You can readily find the location of certain species,' he said. The jury heard a death cap was detected in Loch on April 18, 2023. The doctor said death cap mushrooms have been found in the ACT, NSW and parts of Victoria, including Gippsland towns Outtrim, Loch and Morwell. In Victoria, death caps grow throughout metro Melbourne to the east into the Dandenong Ranges and in the west to Gisborne and Bendigo, the jury was told. Dr May said cases involving death cap mushrooms occured when people ingested the deadly fungi by mistake. Dr May, who published a book in 2021, told the jury toxins found in death caps can be in found other mushrooms. In 2023, one poisoning involved a Chinese tourist who ate a mushroom, became sick, went to hospital, showed early signs of organ failure, but left hospital a week later. In 24 other cases of reported wild mushroom poisonings, patients experienced gastro symptoms, but none involved organ damage. Accused mushroom murderer Erin Patterson, 50, last week witnessed both her children's recorded video evidence. Patterson, who is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, after serving them a deadly meal laden with death cap mushrooms, became emotional after seeing video evidence from her son and daughter. Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather's husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit. The court heard Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, was also invited but didn't attend. Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller and differently coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate from four grey plates, the court heard. Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this. The health department declared the death cap poisoning was 'isolated' to Patterson's deadly lunch. Multiple witnesses including Simon Patterson, Ian Wilkinson and other family members have given emotion-charged evidence to the jury. Medical staff have told the jury of the horrifying symptoms the dying lunch guests and Ian Wilkinson suffered. Patterson's movements at hospital and her abrupt departure have also been aired in court as the trial continues this morning.
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Erin Patterson trial: Fungi expert Dr Tom May to return to witness box for mushroom murder trial
There's been a 'significant' rise in calls to the Victorian poisons centre about mushroom exposures in recent years, the jury in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial has been told. Mycologist Tom May was called to give evidence on Tuesday in the third week of Ms Patterson's trial over the allegedly deliberate poisonings of four of her in-laws on July 29, 2023. Under cross-examination by Ms Patterson's barrister, Sophie Stafford, Dr May was quizzed on an academic journal article he co-authored in 2023. The jury was told the study used available mobile and web apps to identify photographs of mushrooms that had been sent to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre — concluding there was a 'poor' accuracy in correctly identifying poisonous mushrooms. 'We showed that those apps sometimes failed to correctly identify mushrooms,' Dr May said. 'Sometimes they were misidentified as the wrong mushroom.' Dr May told the jury the primary motivation for the study was the increasing availability of the apps, but agreed with Ms Stafford that there seemed to be an increase in people foraging for wild mushrooms in recent years. 'And accordingly, poison centre calls regarding mushroom exposures in the state of Victoria have increased significantly in recent years?' Ms Stafford asked. Dr May responded: 'That appears to be the case.' 'There certainly was an increase in the calls during the Covid period, but it was also a rather wet year, so it was actually hard to disentangle these different factors,' he said. Dr May is expected to return to the witness box when the case resumes on Wednesday morning. Her husband's parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died after consuming death cap mushrooms inside a beef wellington that Ms Patterson served. Ms Wilkinson's husband Ian Wilkinson, 71, survived after a long stint in hospital. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder relating to the fatal lunch. At the start of the trial her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, told the jury Ms Patterson did not intentionally nor deliberately poison anyone, labelling the deaths a tragic accident. The trial continues.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- ABC News
Mushroom expert "funkeytom" takes the stand
At the start of Erin Patterson's trial, the prosecution alleged she travelled to places death cap mushrooms had been spotted. Today, the man who posted some pictures of mushrooms in those areas online gave his evidence. Dr Tom May, a mushroom expert who uses the username "funkeytom" on the iNaturalist website, told the court how to identify death cap mushrooms. Doctors also gave evidence, explaining that Erin Patterson's tests in hospital appeared normal. If you've got questions about the case that you'd like Kristian to answer in future episodes, send them through to mushroomcasedaily@ - It's the case that's captured the attention of the world. Three people died and a fourth survived an induced coma after eating beef wellington at a family lunch, hosted by Erin Patterson. Police allege the beef wellington contained poisonous mushrooms, but Erin Patterson says she's innocent. Now, the accused triple murderer is fighting the charges in a regional Victorian courthouse. Court reporter Kristian Silva and producer Stephen Stockwell are on the ground, bringing you all the key moments from the trial as they unravel in court. From court recaps to behind-the-scenes murder trial explainers, the Mushroom Case Daily podcast is your eyes and ears inside the courtroom. Keep up to date with new episodes of Mushroom Case Daily, now releasing every day on the ABC listen app.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- ABC News
Expert tells murder trial death cap mushrooms are 'challenging' to identify
Internationally recognised mushroom expert Tom May has told a Supreme Court murder trial death cap mushrooms were reported growing near Leongatha on a public website months before a deadly lunch hosted by Erin Patterson took place. Dr May told the court death caps were difficult to identify and other mushrooms that looked similar grew in Victoria.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- RNZ News
Mushroom murder trial: Death caps reported in area months before deadly lunch
By Kristian Silva for ABC News A courtroom sketch of Erin Patterson as she faces trial for murder and attempted murder. Photo: AFP / PAUL TYQUIN Death cap mushrooms were reportedly growing near Erin Patterson's town in the months leading up to the fatal July 2023 lunch at her house, the Supreme Court in Australia has been told. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder, with prosecutors alleging the Victorian woman deliberately poisoned four of her relatives with death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington. On Tuesday, internationally recognised mushroom expert Tom May took to the witness stand in Patterson's trial. May said sightings of death cap mushrooms were recorded in the Loch and Outtrim areas, near Patterson's home in Leongatha, in April and May 2023 respectively. The posts were made on the website, where citizen scientists document observations of animals, plants and fungi. Prosecutors have previously told the court Patterson's phone records suggest she visited Loch on 28 April and Outtrim on 22 May. The lunch at the centre of the trial took place on 29 July, 2023. Amanita phalloides, the 'death cap' mushroom that may have been used in the meal. Photo: Archenzo/Wikipedia May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, said death cap mushrooms varied in colour but always grew around oak tree varieties. May said the species tended to grow around April and May when there was a reasonable amount of soil moisture and rain. "There are certainly some mushrooms that occur in Victoria that are quite similar (in appearance) to the death cap," he said. Death cap mushrooms are also known by their scientific name, Amanita phalloides, and were first reported in Australia in the 1960s. May said they were believed to have been a European species that now grew in places including Australia, New Zealand and the United States. He said academic researchers had concluded that Amanita phalloides did not grow in China. Several doctors who have testified in the trial have said Patterson told them mushrooms in the beef Wellington dish were sourced from Woolworths and from an unspecified Chinese or Asian grocer in Melbourne. The mushrooms were part of the beef Wellington main course served up to Patterson's in-laws Don and Gail, as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian. Medical experts concluded all four suffered from Amanita phalloides poisoning, with Wilkinson the only lunch guest who survived after a long stint in hospital. Prosecutors allege Patterson's meal and food she served her children the following night was not contaminated. Earlier on Tuesday, several doctors who treated Patterson at the Monash Medical Centre after the lunch said she did not appear to be unwell. Doctor Laura Muldoon, part of the toxicology department, said Patterson was at hospital after reporting symptoms of nausea and diarrhoea. "I noted she looked clinically well, she had some chapped lips but otherwise very well. She had normal vital signs," Dr Muldoon said. Dr Muldoon said there was no evidence Patterson had encountered death cap mushroom poisoning or consumed any other toxins. Another doctor, Varuna Ruggoo, said Patterson's liver functioning tests returned normal results. Also normal was her respiratory rate, blood pressure and temperature, the doctor testified. "There was no evidence there was any sort of liver toxicity and she was able to be discharged," Dr Ruggoo said. "She appeared clinically well, in a normal mood and affect." The trial continues. - ABC
