In late July, the family sat down to lunch in the small town of Leongatha in southern Victoria, Australia. A few days later, three of them died after eating poisonous mushrooms, and a fourth victim was in critical condition.
Gale, Don Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died in hospital after developing symptoms resembling gastroenteritis, while the husband of the last-mentioned latter was in critical condition awaiting a liver transplant.
The lead suspect is Erin Patterson, 48, who is being investigated by police for being the person responsible for preparing the food and sending out the invitations. She showed no signs of being poisoned.
“I didn’t do anything. I love them. I just can’t understand what happened,” the woman explained to local media.
who is the guest
Erin invites her ex-husband, her mother-in-law’s sister, and her husband to lunch. Although she has separated from husband Simon, she said their relationship is “amicable”.
Additionally, the former couple’s children were also eating lunch, but suspiciously ate a different dish and thus showed no signs of illness.
At a news conference, Detective Dean Thomas, who was in charge of the case, commented: “We have to keep an open mind on this. He could be very innocent. But again, we don’t know at this point … there are four Three of them are dead and one is in critical condition, so we have to address that.”
what is death mushroom
Thomas said the victim’s symptoms were consistent with so-called “death mushrooms”. While the toxicology report hasn’t established exact consumption levels, they warn that they are “highly toxic,” primarily affecting the kidneys and liver.
Additionally, they noted that severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea were experienced by anyone who ingested them. “Severe liver injury, leading to death, can occur even when initial symptoms subside,” they explain.
disturbing track
After Patterson’s relatives’ last transportation, the media came to his house to ask him what dishes he cooked. However, she withdraws and asks to be left alone.
Thomas said police entered his home to search and confiscated a number of items “which will be forensically examined and hopefully shed some light on what happened at lunch.”
Additionally, the police report mentions the discovery of a food dehydrator in a nearby dump, which could be a key lead. However, they did not provide further details on the matter.
Detectives are encouraging community members to stay away from wild mushrooms while the investigation continues. “My advice is, if you haven’t bought them in a supermarket or something, maybe stay away from them,” the detective suggested.
Source: Tennessee