A meal of suspected death cap mushrooms served at a family lunch in late July is at the centre of a homicide investigation in Australia following the deaths of three guests less than a week later.
Erin Patterson served the meal to her former parents-in-law and her mother-in-law鈥檚 sister and husband, who were guests at her home in the town of Leongatha in southern Victoria, on July 29, according to Victoria Police.
Within days, Gail Patterson, 70, and her sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital, followed by Gail鈥檚 70-year-old husband, Don, a day later.
A fourth guest, Wilkinson鈥檚 husband, Ian, a 68-year-old reverend, remains critically ill in hospital.
Their deaths have shocked the small town and in recent days parishioners at the nearby Korumburra Baptist Church have gathered to pray for the recovery of their reverend, who reportedly needs a liver transplant.
Combined, the towns of Leongatha and Korumburra are home to just over 10,000 people, according to the latest census.
In a tearful exchange with local media outside her home on Monday, Erin Patterson denied any wrongdoing.
鈥淚鈥檓 devastated. I loved them. And I can鈥檛 believe that this has happened and I鈥檓 so sorry,鈥 the 48-year-old told reporters.
At a news briefing Monday, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas with the Victoria Police homicide squad, said Patterson is a suspect because she cooked the meal, and is the only adult at the lunch who didn鈥檛 fall ill.
He said Erin Patterson had separated from her husband, Simon, who lost both his parents, but described their relationship as 鈥渁micable.鈥
The former couple鈥檚 two children were also at the lunch, he added, but they ate a different meal and showed no sign of illness.
鈥淲e have to keep an open mind in relation to this. It could be very innocent,鈥 Thomas said. 鈥淏ut again, we just don鈥檛 know at this point 鈥 four people turn up and three of them pass away, with another one critical, so we have to work through this.鈥
Patterson has not been charged in the deaths.
The symptoms suffered by Patterson鈥檚 guests are consistent with poisoning by death cap mushrooms, Thomas said, though toxicology reports are yet to show exactly what they consumed.
Victoria Health issued a warning about death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) in April, describing them as 鈥渆xtremely poisonous鈥 and listing symptoms of consumption including violent stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
鈥淓ven if initial symptoms subside serious liver damage may have occurred that may result in death,鈥 the warning said.
Native to Europe, death cap mushrooms were first confirmed in Australia in the 1960s, and they almost always grow near introduced trees, namely oaks, according to Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
It鈥檚 not clear where the mushrooms consumed at the Leongatha lunch came from, or what type they were. Toxins in death cap mushrooms cannot be destroyed by boiling, cooking, freezing, or drying and eating only a small portion can lead to death.
When asked by reporters what meal she had cooked, Patterson didn鈥檛 answer, instead retreating inside her home with the request to leave her alone.
Police said they searched Patterson鈥檚 home on Saturday and seized a number of objects for forensic testing. Local media reports suggested a dehydrator was found at a nearby rubbish dump though police wouldn鈥檛 elaborate on specific items.
鈥淥bviously a lot of the items that we have seized will be forensically tested in the hope that can shed some light on what has occurred at the lunch,鈥 Thomas said.
While police work to confirm what Patterson鈥檚 guests ate, they鈥檙e urging people to stay away from wild mushrooms.
鈥淚 do ask people out in the community to think about mushrooms that they may have picked out at paddocks, farms, whatever it might be. Please think about whether they you should eat them,鈥 Thomas said.
鈥淢y suggestion is if you haven鈥檛 purchased them from a supermarket or something like that, perhaps stay clear of them.鈥
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