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Mushroom cook’s stern warning to lurking media

Fed up with intense media scrutiny surrounding the deaths of three people who dined on poisonous mushrooms, the cook of the lethal lunch has issued a pointed message to reporters.

Erin Patterson talks to the media outside her Leongatha home

Erin Patterson has issued a threat to the media camped outside the Leongatha home where she served guests a deadly beef Wellington.

Notices attached to the front fence of the sprawling property warn that journalists will be reported to police for trespassing if they step foot on the land.

Ms Patterson, who cooked the fatal meal that resulted in three people dead, this week told The Australian the media had made it “impossible for me to live in this town”.

“I lost my parents-in-law, my children lost their grandparents and I’ve been painted as an evil witch,” she said.

The note cabled tied to the front gate of Erin Patterson’s Leongatha property. Picture: Athos Siriranos
The note cabled tied to the front gate of Erin Patterson’s Leongatha property. Picture: Athos Siriranos

“The media is making it impossible for me to live in this town. I can’t have friends over. The media is at the house where my children are at. The media are at my sister’s house so I can’t go there. This is unfair.”

Ms Patterson is believed to be staying in Melbourne since the tragic deaths of her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, but the laminated signs suggest she has returned to the Leongatha on at least one occasion.

The notices, which appeared on the fence on Thursday, warn reporters and photographers to stay away.

“Pleased be advised that the owner of this property hereby gives notice to all members of the media or any person contracted to any media organisation that you are not permitted to enter any part of this property as marked by the boundary fence,” the note reads.

“If you do so enter than you are committing the offence of trespass … and will be reported to the police.”

Police named Ms Patterson as a suspect in the mysterious deaths because she cooked the lunch containing the poisonous mushrooms.

In a written statement, she claimed she had used a mix of mushrooms, all bought from stores, for the meal.

Erin Patterson leaves her Leongatha home following the tragedy. Picture: Jason Edwards
Erin Patterson leaves her Leongatha home following the tragedy. Picture: Jason Edwards

Dried mushrooms had been bought at an Asian grocery store she could not recall the name of, she said, while button mushrooms were picked up at a supermarket near her Leongatha home.

She also admitted lying to police about when she dumped a food dehydrator, as her husband accused her of using it to poison her lunch guests.

Victoria’s second highest ranking police officer yesterday said the statement was not an official police one, but a document provided by Ms Patterson’s lawyers.

Deputy Police Commissioner Wendy Steendam said the leaking of the statement had been “unhelpful” to the investigation.

“The matter needs to be dealt with by (police) … and determined by us thoroughly, what’s actually occurred, and using the evidence that we have to determine and understand exactly what’s happened and if we can explain what caused the deaths,” she said.

Ms Patterson has denied any wrongdoing and the Herald Sun is not suggesting that she intended to poison her guests.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/mushroom-cooks-stern-warning-to-lurking-media/news-story/6458ceb118a696d46ff7e26569122879