The son of mushroom victims Don and Gail Patterson is expected to pay tribute to them at a public memorial on Thursday.
Civil engineer Simon Patterson has remained in hiding since news of the tragedy broke earlier this month. He hired a publicist to fend off journalists.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday for the Pattersons, both aged 70, and Mr Patterson’s aunt, Heather WIlkinson, who all died after being fed a meal of beef wellington which police believe contained highly poisonous death cap mushrooms.
Simon Patterson would join his parents for the lunch that cost them their lives
Don and Gail Patterson died after consuming supposedly poisonous mushrooms served by Erin Patterson
Pastor Ian Wilkinson was the only one of four guests to survive the poisonous lunch served by Erin Patterson on July 29 in Leongatha, Victoria.
Last week, the Pattersons were said goodbye at a private funeral, while Mrs. Wilkinson’s funeral had yet to take place.
Sources close to Mr Patterson have told Daily Mail Australia that he would like to pay tribute to his parents at the planned public gathering in their honor.
“We’ll have to wait and see if he goes through with it,” says a source.
Mr Patterson told his publicist last week that there would be an opportunity for the close-knit community to attend a memorial service at the Korumburra Recreation Center on Thursday.
The Pattersons had been active members in the community and once ran the local newsletter.
“Both were beloved members of the community, known for their humility and the positive impact they had on those around them,” said a press release announcing the memorial.
“The Patterson family has expressed their deep gratitude for the outpouring of love, support and understanding during this challenging time.
“They are touched by the many memories and stories shared by friends, acquaintances and even strangers who were touched by Don and Gail’s kindness and generosity.”
The burial places of Gail and Don Patterson at Korumburra General Cemetery
Erin Patterson and her lawyer Bill Doogue make their way past reporters on Tuesday
Those who died were all deeply involved with the Korumburra Baptist Church
Media attending the memorial on Thursday have been warned to keep their distance from those present.
Mr Patterson’s publicist advised that the media be housed with the agency but be ‘controlled’.
A central microphone and camera will be set up to record the memorial service and a dedicated room for media outlets will be set up on that day.
“This area will be positioned so as not to impede or interfere with the movement of participants or the ceremony of the event,” it was advised.
The controlled event raises expectations that Mr. Patterson will indeed address his parents’ friends and family.
Little has been seen of him since reporters from across the country flocked to the rural towns of eastern Victoria.
He was living in a Korumburra house owned by his estranged wife when reporters approached him for comment.
Mr. Patterson has continued to direct all questions to his media representative.
On Tuesday, Erin Patterson declined to say whether she planned to attend the memorial.
She has previously professed her love for the deceased, especially for her former in-laws.
“I am devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness of my loved ones. I really want to reiterate that I had absolutely no reason to hurt the people I loved,” she said after the incident.
Simon Patterson avoids the media shortly after news of the tragedy broke
Erin Patterson is approached by the media outside her home on August 8
The recovery of the sole survivor of the deadly luncheon remains mysterious.
Last week, the family’s spokesperson said Wilkinson was “showing signs of improvement.”
What he says if he’s good enough is likely to help detectives move the case forward.
Ms Patterson said she made the amazing lunch with a mixture of mushrooms from a major supermarket chain and dried mushrooms from an Asian supermarket in Melbourne.
In her statement, leaked to the media by an unknown source, Ms Patterson said she divided the meal into plates and let her guests choose their own.
She said she took the last remaining plate and ate a portion, later handing the leftovers over to the hospital’s toxicologists for examination.
A drying device she owned was later dumped in the local landfill, fearing her estranged husband would blame her for his parents’ deaths and gain custody of their two children, she said.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Erin Patterson is responsible for their deaths.
It was reported on Wednesday that Ms Patterson lost her 30-month driving license in 2004 after she crashed her vehicle in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs while heavily intoxicated and was subsequently unable to stop after going 95mph in a 60km /u zone.