Police test food dehydrator found at tip after deadly mushroom meal

Forensic tests on a food dehydrator found at a Gippsland tip in Victoria are being done to see if it is linked to the deaths of three people who ate poisonous mushrooms at a family lunch in Leongatha.

A police source close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, confirmed the discovery as the homicide squad probed the unexplained deaths.

Gail and Don Patterson died in hospital, along with Heather Wilkinson. Her husband Ian Wilkinson, a Korumburra pastor, was in a critical condition at the Austin Hospital awaiting a liver transplant.

It also emerged that Gail and Don’s son, Simon Patterson, had his own brush with death last year after serious gut problems led him to being in intensive care for three weeks.

His estranged wife, Erin Patterson, 48, told police she had cooked the meal that led to her former parents-in-law being hospitalised.

The Leongatha home where the deadly lunch was served.Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola

All four suffered symptoms consistent with the ingestion of death cap mushrooms: gastro-like illness, nausea, stomach pain, and, at least in Ian’s case, liver damage.

Erin Patterson’s two children were also at the gathering on July 29. She was interviewed by investigators and released without charge.

Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas has said she remained a suspect because she cooked the meals.

But the mother told reporters outside her home on Monday: “I didn’t do anything; I loved them. I just can’t fathom what has happened.”

Thomas said on Monday that police were still considering an accidental poisoning “not at the hands of somebody else” to be a possibility, alongside a potentially “nefarious activity”.

A police source said a food dehydrator found at a tip nearby was undergoing forensic testing to see if it was linked to the case.

Erin Patterson did not respond to questions about the origin of the mushrooms and what meals she served her guests. Investigators are still unsure whether she too ate the meal. It is also unclear, Thomas said, if the mushrooms were even in the dish.

Simon Patterson posted on Facebook on June 29 last year how thankful he was for the support of the Poowong and District Amateur Basketball Association after it sent a gift basket to him when he was in hospital.

Left to right: Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson all died after ingesting death cap mushrooms. Ian Wilkinson remains in a critical condition at a Melbourne hospital.

“Some of you will know that I’ve had some serious medical problems since late May. I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had 3 emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation,” he said in the post.

“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live. I was in intensive care for 21 days, after which I was in the general ward for a week, and now I’m at a rehab place since last Saturday.

“I’m pleased to say all the medical work has seemed to have fixed the serious gut problems I had, and I’ve been feeling great for many days.”

Simon Patterson said in the post he no longer felt pain and he was rebuilding his fitness after spending so long in the ICU. He said his wife, Erin, and their son and daughter were planning to visit that afternoon.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the family declined to comment about the Facebook post. Simon Patterson did not say what the cause of his illness was.

Erin Patterson told the media on Tuesday she was “going shithouse”.

“What happened is devastating and I’m grieving too,” she said.

With Lachlan Abbott and Alex Crowe

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