Why the mushroom lunch with in-laws and church leader was held

New revelations in the mushroom death lunch mystery include Erin Patterson’s ex-husband pulling out of the function at the last minute, and the reason it was held.

There have been many twists and turns in the mystery of the Leongatha mushroom death lunch, among the most recent that host Erin Patterson served a beef wellington dish at the meal she also invited her ex-husband, Simon, to attend — but he pulled out at the last minute.

Simon’s mother Gail, father Don and aunt Heather Wilkinson all died after attending the lunch and ingesting what police believe were death cap mushrooms, in a meal cooked by Erin at her home on July 29.

The sole surviving guest from the lunch is Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband and a pastor at Korumburra Baptist Church, who remains in a critical condition awaiting a liver transplant.

The nine twists so far

1. It’s reported that the deadly meal Erin Patterson served her guests was a beef wellington of some variety — either the conventional dish or possibly the cheaper and easier to prepare pot pie version. It had previously been thought to be beef stroganoff but sources close to the investigation have since told the Herald Sun a stew-type dish was not on the menu. Both stroganoff and beef wellington dishes typically feature mushrooms.

2. It has also been reported Erin Patterson invited Simon Patterson to the lunch, along with her former in-laws and the Wilkinsons, as part of a church mediation process because she desperately wanted to reconcile with her ex-husband. But Simon reportedly pulled out of the function at the last minute. “They went to her house for a mediation to talk to the family. Simon was supposed to go there for lunch but he pulled out at the last minute,” a friend of Simon’s said on Thursday.

3. It’s further been claimed Simon Patterson’s parents, the now dead Gail and Don Patterson, didn’t want their son to reconcile with his ex-wife, Erin.

Don Patterson. Picture: Supplied

Gail Patterson. Picture: Supplied

4. It’s reported Erin Patterson told police in her initial interview that she bought the mushrooms at a local store, but appears not to have raised this since — publicly at least. Supermarkets contacted by the Herald Sun have declined to comment but it’s understood there has been no recall of mushrooms on sale.

5. The Herald Sun revealed Simon Patterson told friends last year that he believed his ex-wife had tried to poison him previously, possibly with a plant from the nightshade family. A source close to the family said: “Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin. There were times he had felt … a bit off and it often coincided (with) when he spent time with her.”

It’s been claimed Erin Patterson was desperate to reunite with her ex-husband, Simon.

6. The Herald Sun revealed Simon Patterson suffered a mystery gut illness in May 2022, which landed him in an induced coma for 16 days and required multiple surgeries.

7. On Tuesday of this week Ms Patterson mistook her dead ex father-in-law Don Patterson for the critically ill Ian Wilkinson, claiming Don was still alive. “I hope that every fibre of my being that Don pulls through,” she said of the man who had died days’ earlier.

8. The Herald Sun revealed police were probing whether a food dehydrator was used to prepare the lunch, and then discarded on the day after the meals were served, with searches of the local tip. A dehydrator is now being forensically tested.

9. Erin Patterson, the host of the lunch, either didn’t eat the same meal, prepared the same way, as her guests or somehow didn’t get sick from it — and it’s revealed her two children were served different dishes.

Originally published as Why the mushroom lunch with in-laws and church leader was held