Australia: Woman says she accidentally put lethal mushrooms in dish linked to three deaths

A mysterious tale of a family of five members in the small Australian town of Leongatha became a bit clearer after the Australian woman who cooked beef Wellington using lethal mushrooms, which has been linked to three deaths, told the police that it was an accident, on Monday (August 14).

What did the suspectsay?

According to Australian media reports, Erin Patterson, who is not facing charges, provided a statement of events to police where she said she had used some dried mushrooms but did not know they were poisonous.

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“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones,” Erin said, as per Australian media reports. “I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved,” she added.

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However, her statement to the Victoria Police has not been publicly released, it has been reported by the Australian media. Erin reportedly admitted to lying to the officials about a food dehydrator that has since been seized by the police.

According to the 48-year-old, she was being questioned by her estranged husband about whether she had poisoned his parents and panicked and got rid of the dehydrator worried that she might lose custody of her children.

Last week, Australian detective Dean Thomas said that the investigation is likely to be lengthy due to the complexity of the case. “We presume at this stage it was mushrooms but it’s a complex investigation that I think will take some time,” said the police.

About the case

The incident took place on July 29, when Erin’s former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson stopped for lunch with their grandkids at her house. They were then joined by Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson. However, Erin’s estranged husband could not attend at the last minute.

Hours after the meal, all four guests took themselves to the local hospital with what they first believed was severe food poisoning. However, Heather (66), Gail (70), and Don (70) died soon after while Ian (68) is still fighting for his life awaiting a liver transplant.

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Erin was identified as the suspect as she and her children were not affected by the meal. However, on Monday (August 14), the 48-year-old said that she too was hospitalisedon July 31due to a stomach ache. In the hospital, Patterson allegedly received a saline drip and medication to guard against liver damage.

She reportedly said that the mushrooms used to prepare the meal were a mixture of store-bought button mushrooms and months-old dried mushrooms bought at an Asian grocery store in Melbourne.

The children were unharmed because they were scraped off since they did not like mushrooms, said the 48-year-old, as per media reports.

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