New twists in lethal mushroom mystery grip Australia
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Police believe the dish, which was cooked by Ms Erin Patterson (left), was tainted with death cap mushrooms.
PHOTOS: 7 NEWS, REUTERS
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SYDNEY - A mushroom mystery gripping Australia began to unravel on Monday, with an amateur cook saying she accidentally put lethal fungi in a beef wellington dish now linked to three deaths.
Rumours are swirling around a close-knit community in rural Australia after a family mushroom lunch ended with three people dead and a local preacher fighting for his life.
Police believe the dish was tainted with death cap mushrooms, which grow freely in the rolling foothills surrounding Leongatha – a small town about two hours’ drive south-east of Melbourne.
The meal was cooked by community newsletter editor Erin Patterson, who has been named as a suspect because she appeared to remain in good health despite her four guests falling violently ill.
The investigation has fuelled intense speculation as police try to separate clumsy cooking from an alleged act of malice.
Ms Patterson, 48, stressed on Monday that she had unwittingly bought the mushrooms from an Asian grocery store and that the poisonings were accidental.
“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones,” she reportedly said in a statement provided to Australian media.
“I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.”
Ms Patterson prepared the beef wellington for her estranged parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson on the Saturday afternoon of July 29.
She was married to their son Simon but the couple had been living separately for some time.
Local Baptist pastor Ian Wilkinson and his wife Heather rounded out the guest list.
Later that night, the two couples started experiencing food poisoning symptoms and, with their health rapidly deteriorating, they sought the help of doctors at local hospitals.
The two elderly women died the following Friday, Mr Patterson died the day after that, and 70-year-old Mr Wilkinson is still clinging to life in critical but stable condition.
“We are hopeful and continue to pray for his recovery,” the pastor’s family said in a statement over the weekend.
“We are deeply moved by the outpouring of kindness, prayers and support from family, friends and the broader community.”
Mrs Heather Wilkinson, Mrs Gail Patterson’s sister, died following the fatal meal, while her pastor husband Ian Wilkinson is in critical but stable condition.
PHOTO: 7 NEWS
‘I’m devastated’
Forensic experts have been testing a food dehydrator that was found at a rubbish dump nearby to see whether it contains traces of the toxic death cap mushrooms.
According to Australian media, Ms Patterson has admitted dumping the dehydrator, saying she panicked and was worried about losing custody of her two children.
She reportedly said she, too, had fallen ill after eating the mushrooms alongside her guests.
She has forcefully protested her innocence, tearfully telling reporters last week that “I didn’t do anything, I love them and I’m devastated they are gone”.
She has not been charged and police have provided no evidence of wrongdoing.
Death cap mushrooms sprout freely throughout wet and warm parts of Australia and are easily mistaken for edible varieties.
They reportedly taste sweeter than other types of mushrooms but possess potent toxins that slowly poison the liver and kidneys. AFP
