‘Horrendous’ final moments of mushroom lunch victims

Erin Patterson’s in-laws likely spent their final moments writhing in agony as they succumbed to the death cap mushrooms allegedly inside their beef wellington lunch, a toxicologist has revealed.

The three people who died after ingesting beef wellington allegedly laced with poisonous fungi may have spent their last moments writhing in pain as the toxins from the death cap mushrooms took hold, an expert has revealed.

Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died after eating the dish at Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha on July 29 last year.

Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch but spent eight weeks in hospital fighting for his life.

Ms Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder – three of which relate to earlier attempts to allegedly kill her ex-husband Simon Patterson – in November last year.

Mr Patterson was due to attend the lunch, but pulled out at the last minute.

Forensic toxicologist Dr Michael Robertson says if the victims had ingested death cap mushrooms, their final moments would have been ‘fairly horrendous’. Picture: AAP

Forensic toxicologist Dr Michael Robertson told the Herald Sun that if the victims’ had ingested death cap mushroom poisoning, as police allege, their last days would have been “fairly horrendous”.

“They would have experienced quite extreme illness and associated discomfort and pain and all those things, liver failure, kidney failure, perhaps pancreatitis,” he said.

“There’s a whole lot of things that may have occurred in the subsequent days and prior to their death.

“But certainly whilst they were in a state of being able to feel, it would have been fairly horrendous for them.”

Dr Robertson said the victims may have experienced nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea immediately after the lunch.

“So the immediate effects are really gastrointestinal … because it’s an irritant, the toxins in the mushroom, might cause nausea and that might lead to vomiting and diarrhoea,” he said about the affects of death cap mushrooms.

“Those three things can either be mild or they can get much more severe and if they get much more severe, you’re obviously losing a lot of water and that can lead to subsequent complications.”

The Homicide Squad’s Detective Inspector Dean Thomas alleged last year the victims presented with symptoms of death cap mushrooms.

Amanita phalloides, or death cap, are found at the base of oak trees. Picture: Royal Botanic gardens Victoria

Ms Patterson says she bought the fungi from a local supermarket and Asian grocer in Mount Waverley.

Death cap mushrooms are mainly found in the Dandenong Ranges but sightings have been logged online near Leongatha in South Gippsland.

According to a fungi map created by a respected mycologist, death caps were spotted in the town of Loch on April 18, 2023 and Outtrim on May 21, 2023.

Dr Robertson said death cap mushrooms look like most other mushrooms.

“It’s not like it has the sort of the red cap and spots on it that you might imagine from fairytales and other types of mushrooms that do exist,” he said.

“It’s also not like mushrooms that you might get in the middle of a paddock, which might be the size of a small saucer.

“It’s smaller than that, it’s probably the size a bit bigger than a 50 cent coin, the top of it, the cap of it.

“They tend to associate with oak trees so they’re symbiotic and they live primarily under oak trees.”