Important question mushroom researchers now have after police ‘come to an important conclusion about a deadly lunch that left three people dead’
Detectives investigating the deaths of three people who fell ill after eating a Beef Wellington meal in rural Victoria will focus on one key question, according to a leading expert.
Pastor Ian Wilkinson was the only person to survive the poisonous meal served by Erin Patterson, 48, at her Leongatha home on July 29, while his wife Heather, her sister Gail Patterson and her husband Don Patterson died.
World-renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Xanthe Mallett said after tests appear to have confirmed poisonous mushrooms caused the deaths, the inquiry will look closely at a food dehydrator thrown away by Ms Patterson.
“That’s probably the crux of this whole thing. Erin Patterson said she threw that dehydrator away in the point shortly after the meal,” Dr. Mallet told Sunrise on Thursday.
‘The question is: are there traces in the drying oven? That is an extremely important piece of information that can confirm or refute whether there were ever death’s hat mushrooms in that drying oven.’
Erin Patterson is pictured outside her home, days after serving the mushroom meal
World-renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Xanthe Mallett (pictured) said detectives will focus on one question
Police found the food dehydrator at a local landfill, which Mrs. Patterson claimed to have dumped out of fear that her estranged husband would link it to the meal and blame her for the death of his parents and thereby lose custody of their two children to get.
Erin Patterson has denied any wrongdoing, and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting she deliberately poisoned her four family members.
On Wednesday, veteran The Age journalist John Silvester wrote in a newspaper column that forensic tests confirmed the lunch guests ate poisonous mushrooms.
“The good news is that detailed forensic testing has come back and confirmed that the cause of the three deaths was indeed mushroom poisoning,” said the well-connected writer, author and podcaster.
‘The bad news is that it remains a guess how the mushrooms ended up on the lunch table.’
Victoria Police declined to comment or confirm Mr Silvester’s claims to Daily Mail Australia. “The investigation is still ongoing.”
Don and Gail Patterson also sadly died after attending the luncheon (pictured together)
Ian Wilkinson (pictured right with wife Heather Wilkinson) has been released from hospital after spending weeks recovering from a poisonous mushroom lunch that claimed the lives of three others, including his wife
Dr. Mallet said the confirmation of the toxin was an important development.
‘It is certainly an important step forward.’
“Deathcap mushrooms contained three different types of toxins, so they had to make sure they could test the remains and other samples available to them to determine specifically what type of toxin it was.”
“Because at some point charges may be brought against someone and the test at that stage will have to pass forensic examination in court.”
“The police will follow any line of inquiry, they must be sure of their conclusions, and then we have two paths to follow.”
“There will either be a colonial inquest, or someone will be charged for supplying and providing the mushrooms that went into that meal – and we don’t know how that happened.”