Intent to harm will be key element of probe into Leongatha mushroom meal deaths

Intent to harm or knowing others were being put at risk will be key elements of the probe into the mushroom lunch that killed three people in Leongatha last month.

Intent to harm or knowing others were being put at risk will be key elements of the investigation into the triple-fatal mushroom meal tragedy in Leongatha.

Detectives are in the early stages of a complex and protracted inquiry which has already grabbed a frenzied following across the country and internationally.

There is no argument that Erin Patterson served the beef Wellington dish that killed her former parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson.

Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, was left fighting for life but now remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Ms Patterson’s own comments make it clear she served the deadly lunch on July 29, saying she felt “shithouse” about what had happened and later issuing a statement outlining where she got the mushrooms.

Erin Patterson cooked the deadly meal that killed three people. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

But that does not prove she intended to kill her guests, a key part of justifying a murder charge.

“That (intent) could be a difficult thing to prove,” one officer said.

“It would be a really difficult matter to build a case on and that’s why it will take a long time.”

It could potentially be argued that Ms Patterson could not have foreseen what was to happen with one complicating factor being the strong resemblance between some types of highly poisonous mushrooms and the safe field variety.

Another consideration is that Ms Patterson’s ex-husband, Simon Patterson, almost died of a mystery gut illness last year.

He was placed into an induced coma for 16 days and stayed in the intensive care unit for 21 days.

“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live,” he said in a social media post.

The Herald Sun understands that illness was a major consideration in the escalating police interest in the aftermath of the three deaths.

Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Picture: Supplied

Don and Gail Patterson. Picture: Supplied

The statement recently released by Ms Patterson, which was also sent to police, will come under heavy scrutiny

“They’ll be picking through that in forensic detail to validate or discredit everything in it,” one former homicide investigator said.

Among those elements is likely to be the clear discrepancy between police comments and Ms Patterson’s claims on whether her two children were present at the lunch.

Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the kids were at the house but she said they were at the local cinema.

Police have not publicly altered their position on whether the children were there.

Ms Patterson’s claims that she used button mushrooms from a local supermarket and dried mushrooms bought at an Asian grocery shop in Mt Waverley will also be closely examined.

This is despite the fact that Inspector Thomas said police believed the guests ate poisonous wild death cap mushrooms.

Ms Patterson also publicly addressed her dumping of a food dehydrator at a local tip in the days after the tragic lunch.

While police will try to work out whether or not this was to conceal a crime, Ms Patterson went on the front foot in her statement and said it was simply an act of panic after what had happened.

Ms Patterson was a former editor of the Burra Flyer newsletter. Picture: Jason Edwards

A parallel line of inquiry will be the scrutiny of phone and credit card data.

Social media material, logs of internet searches and location information are now routine parts of such investigations.

Investigators will be looking for any evidence of planning or a potential motive for the tragic events in Leongatha.

The Herald Sun is not suggesting that Ms Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, only that police are investigating the matter.

Despite the extreme public profile of the case, detectives will not hurry the case.

Police said earlier this month that they were in for the long haul, issuing a statement acknowledging the keen community and media interest in the case.

“There are no updates on the investigation and we do not expect that to change in the short term,” it read.

There was a degree of surprise at Ms Patterson releasing the statement.

One lawyer said the normal approach would be to give an initial “no comment” response then deal with the specifics of any police allegations later.

A police source said that statement was an attempt to control the narrative more commonly seen in United States cases.