Survivor of ‘poison’ mushroom lunch could hold key to what happened | World News

The full story behind what really happened at a deadly lunch served with poisonous mushrooms could hinge on the only survivor.

Three people died after they ate a beef wellington cooked by Erin Patterson at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia on July 29.

Among the guests were her ex-husband’s parents Gail and Don Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and brother-in-law Ian Wilkinson.  

They had all gathered for a ‘mediation’ meeting to discuss Erin’s relationship with her estranged partner Simon Patterson, who chose not to come at the last minute.

The Pattersons and Ms Wilkinson died within days of eating the dish, while only one of Erin’s guests is still alive – pastor Mr Wilkinson.

Homicide detectives continue to investigate and Erin, who briefly ‘went missing’ last week, has now given denied any wrongdoing in a lengthy written statement to police.

But Mr Wilkinson’s accounts of what happened on the day of the lunch could be vital to the case.

He is currently in a critical condition at Austin Hospital in Melbourne after suffering traumatic injuries to his liver from the toxins he’s thought to have ingested.

It’s feared both Mr Wilkinson and those who died – including his wife – may have eaten death cap mushrooms, which are among the world’s most poisonous. 

According to a hospital insider, the 68-year-old only survived because he was taken to Austin Hospital, which is known for its expertise in treating patients suffering with poisonings.

The source told the Daily Mail that he had not been transported to The Alfred where Victoria’s most critically ill patients usually go – and that taking him to the ‘farthest away hospital they could’ may be why he’s still alive.

‘That says they’re more interested in dealing with the mushrooms than the intensive care part of it,’ the insider said.

Mr Wilkinson is likely to have suffered severe damage to his kidneys and may require an urgent liver transplant. 

The insider also suggested they think he has a chance of pulling through but is most probably still heavily sedated after spending days on life support.

In her first detailed account of what happened at the lunch, Erin revealed that she also became unwell afterwards – her ex Simon accused her of poisoning his parents while she was in hospital.

She said she was ‘discussing the food dehydrator’ when Simon asked: ‘Is that what you used to poison them?’

Food dehydrators are used to dry out mushrooms before they are put into a beef wellington.

Erin also admitted lying to police about when she dumped the dehydrator after initially claiming she had disposed of it ‘a long time ago.

Police have since found and seized it from a nearby tip – and Erin said she threw it away after her guests became sick. 

Officers are now examining CCTV from the landfill to work out exactly when she dumped the dehydrator. 

In her statement, Erin said she invited guests to choose their own plates after serving the meal and that she took the last plate before eating the food.

Her children also ate the meal the following day, but they picked out the mushrooms because they don’t like them. 

It had previously been claimed they were at the deadly meal, but they were in-fact at the cinema together at the time.

Erin said she was then hospitalised with bad stomach pains and diarrhoea, put on a saline drip and given a ‘liver protective drug’.

She was transported by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne.

What was left of the meal was preserved and given to hospital toxicologists for examination after Erin was contacted by Department of Health officials as the conditions of her guests worsened in hospital.

Erin told police that the mushrooms were a mixture of button mushrooms bought from a supermarket and dried mushrooms bought from an Asian supermarket in Melbourne months earlier. 

The leaked police statement is the first time Erin has spoken at length about the tragedy. 

‘I now very much regret not answering some questions, given the nightmare that this process has become,’ she said. 

‘I am now wanting to clear up the record because I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones.

‘I am hoping this statement might help in some way. I believe if people understood the background more, they would not be so quick to rush to judgement.

‘I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.’

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