Woman arrested for questioning in case of suspected mushroom poisoning

Three of four guests who attended a family lunch in a quiet Australian country town died shortly afterwards, with symptoms police said were consistent with mushroom poisoning. The fourth spent almost two months in hospital in critical condition.

The case has gripped the nation and sparked intense speculation. The woman who cooked the meal has always strongly maintained her innocence. On Thursday, three months after the lunch in question, police took her into custody for further questioning.

Erin Patterson, 49, hosted the luncheon on July 29 at her home in Leongatha, Victoria. In attendance were Gail and Don Patterson, her estranged husband’s parents, as well as Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and brother-in-law, Ian Wilkinson.

All four guests, who were in their 60s or 70s, became ill shortly after the meal. Mr. Patterson, Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Wilkinson all died within a week of lunch. Mr Wilkinson eventually recovered and was released from hospital in late September.

Their symptoms, police said at the time, were consistent with poisoning from the death cap mushroom – one of the deadliest mushroom species, found in Victoria and other parts of Australia.

Ms. Patterson has consistently denied wrongdoing. She tearfully told local news media in August that she “did nothing, I loved them.”

She was taken into custody on Thursday morning, Victoria Police said in a statement rack, as part of authorities’ “ongoing investigation” into the deaths. No charges have been filed against her.

Police search her home and rely on dogs to detect items such as USB sticks and SIM cards. Following the search, Ms Patterson will be interviewed by police, Detective Dean Thomas said at a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday.

The arrest, he said, “is just the next step in a complex and thorough investigation.”

He added that the investigation “has been subject to incredibly intense public scrutiny and curiosity. I can’t think of any other study that has generated so much public and media interest.”

This is stated in a statement provided to police in August and obtained by local news mediaMs Patterson said she had prepared a meal of Wellington beef that day, with fresh mushrooms bought from a local supermarket and dried mushrooms bought from an Asian grocer in Melbourne, about 135 kilometers north-west of Leongatha.

She said she also ate the beef Wellington that day. The next day, her two children ate the leftovers for lunch, she said, but added that she scraped the mushrooms from their portions because they didn’t like them.

Mrs Patterson said she was also admitted to hospital after lunch with severe abdominal pain and diarrhea but was given a ‘liver-protective drug’.

In her statement, Ms Patterson said she had thrown away a food dehydrator at a landfill.