Erin Patterson: Doctor details when hospital first suspected death cap mushroom poisonings

A doctor involved in treating two of Erin Patterson’s lunch guests has detailed when hospital staff first began to suspect death cap mushroom poisoning.

A doctor involved in treating two of Erin Patterson’s lunch guests has detailed when hospital staff first began to suspect death cap mushroom poisoning.

Dandenong hospital’s Dr Beth Morgan told the jury of Ms Patterson’s triple-murder trial on Tuesday afternoon Don and Gail Patterson were transported from Korumburra Hospital the day after the lunch, due to Don’s condition worsening.

Don Patterson, the court was told, had eaten half of his wife’s beef Wellington dish served at Erin Patterson’s house in the early afternoon of July 29, 2023.

Don and Gail Patterson fell ill about 12 hours after the lunch. Picture: Supplied

He began experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms about midnight, with Gail falling ill about an hour later.

Dr Morgan said she first began treating Don about 10pm, with earlier staff initially believing his illness was “most likely due to food poisoning”.

But she said after treatment did not deliver any improvement in his condition, the hospital’s toxicologist, Dr Mark Douglas, suggested amanita phalloides mushroom poisoning could be a concern about 10.15pm.

Dr Beth Morgan gave evidence of Don and Gail’s treatment. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

Don was administered medication, including N-acetylcysteine, which Dr Beth said is used to protect the liver during paracetamol overdose.

The jury was told Dr Douglas had been expected to give evidence on Tuesday afternoon but would instead be recalled when the trial resumes on Wednesday.

Ms Patterson, 50, is accused of deliberately poisoning the lunch with death cap mushrooms intending to kill four members of her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s family.

Erin Patterson is facing trial. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

Simon’s parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital in the week after the gathering.

Ms Wilkinson’s husband, Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell gravely ill but recovered.

Ms Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter, maintains she did not deliberately or intentionally serve the poisoned meal.

“The defence case is that what happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident,” her barrister Colin Mandy SC said.

The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.

Originally published as Erin Patterson: Doctor details when hospital first suspected death cap mushroom poisonings