Leongatha mushroom chef Erin Patterson goes MISSING: Lawyers can’t find her and are forced to camp outside her house to give her legal advice – while police investigate deaths from poisoned beef wellington
Lawyers acting for deadly mushroom chef Erin Patterson have been forced to camp outside her home to hand her legal instructions after she went missing on Thursday.
Ms Patterson told a waiting media pack just before 10am that she was on her way to visit her lawyers in Melbourne.
But a representative from that law firm waited outside her home in Leongatha around 5 p.m. to deliver a letter from the office.
Erin Patterson speaks outside her home to waiting media on Thursday
Lawyers acting for deadly mushroom chef Erin Patterson have been forced to camp outside her home
A representative from the law firm waited outside Ms Patterson’s home in Leongatha at about 5 p.m. to personally deliver a letter from the firm.
Simon Patterson would join his parents for the lunch that cost them their lives
The man told Daily Mail Australia that this was the only way Ms Patterson could be contacted after homicide detectives seized her phone and computer equipment.
It comes when police were seen doing a drive-by at Mrs. Patterson’s house just before sunset.
Clearly, attorneys acting for Ms. Patterson are concerned for her well-being amid the media frenzy beyond her rural property.
The legal representative declined to answer questions about the contents of the letter or whether charges against Ms. Patterson were imminent.
But he admitted that it was unusual to have to hand over instructions to a client in this way.
Ms Patterson had still not returned to her home just before dark on Thursday, forcing the rep to leave without delivering his letter.
Sources have told Daily Mail Australia that Erin, 48, has invited her estranged ex-husband Simon Patterson to their former family home for lunch with his parents. Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her pastor, husband Ian, on Saturday, July 29 as part of a church mediation.
The revelation that Ms Patterson wanted to get back together with her estranged husband, who backed out of lunch at the last minute, comes amid reports that the deadly dish she served was a beef wellington.
Police are continuing to investigate Ms Patterson after Simon’s parents and Ms Wilkinson died on July 29 from eating the deadly luncheon at her home in Leongatha, Victoria’s Gippsland region.
Mr. Wilkinson, a minister of the Korumburra Baptist Church, remains committed to life in the hospital.
Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms. Erin was previously married to their son, Simon
Those who died were all deeply involved with the Korumburra Baptist Church (pictured)
A source close to Simon, who remains in hiding days after the tragedy, told Daily Mail Australia that his partner had no interest in getting back together with the mother of his two children.
“They went to her house for a mediation to talk to the family. Simon was going to have lunch there, but withdrew at the last minute, otherwise he would also be in that deathbed,” the friend said on Thursday.
“The people who died, Gail, Don and the Wilkinsons, spoke to them because they are deeply rooted in the church and they wanted to make sure she was right to resume a relationship with Simon… back with him and the family didn’t think that was a good move.’
The friend claimed that Ms. Patterson was desperate to get back together with her estranged husband.
“She wanted to go back with Simon and the family didn’t want Simon to come back with her,” he said.
“They didn’t really think she was good enough for him in their eyes.
‘This was not just a lunch, it was an intervention with the pastor as a mediator. That’s why this lunch happened.’
The above family tree shows the connections between the Pattersons and Wilkinsons embroiled in the unusual Leongatha poisoning drama
Simon Patterson lived with his parents while recovering from a serious stomach problem
Simon’s boyfriend insisted his partner had no idea his ex-wife had poisoned him after he fell ill with a mysterious stomach upset after the couple split.
It was revealed on Tuesday that Simon has been in intensive care for 21 days after collapsing at his home in May 2022.
Several of Simon’s friends have told Daily Mail Australia that he never accused his ex-wife of cheating.
Daily Mail Australia understands that Ms Patterson owns several properties and invests wisely after inheriting money she received after the death of her parents in 2019.
Property records obtained by Daily Mail Australia show that Simon and Erin both registered as the sole owners of two different homes in February 2021 – 15 months before he fell ill with a mysterious stomach ailment.
On Thursday, Ms Patterson lashed out at a waiting media group, accusing them of imprisoning her in her own home.
“I have a lot of friends who want to help me, but I told them to stay away while all the vultures are here because they don’t want to be in the paper either,” she said.
“So I can’t get help from my friends who all want to come and help me, but they will all be subjected to the mess, so I have to leave my own house?”
Ms Patterson said she traveled to Melbourne to speak to her lawyers.
Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became seriously ill after eating wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died on Friday while her husband is in critical condition in hospital
Mourners continue to leave tributes outside Korumburra Baptist Church for those who died
This message was posted outside Korumburra Baptist Church
Police returned to a nearby dump to search CCTV footage
She has denied any allegations.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Ms Patterson was responsible for Simon’s illness or the three deaths.
Police say the symptoms the victims experienced were consistent with eating skullcap mushrooms, which can cause kidney and liver failure.
Sole survivor Ian Wilkinson remained in critical condition on Wednesday night awaiting a liver transplant.
Hours earlier, police returned to a dump in Koonwarra to request CCTV footage after a dehydrator was found discarded at the site.
It was previously revealed that detectives are investigating whether a food dehydrator had been used to prepare the meal and then thrown away a day after lunch.
Police are believed to be carrying out a forensic investigation into the device.