Leongatha mushroom poisoning: daughter-in-law besieged over poisonous dish refuses to say what she cooked as she flees home with suitcases

The woman who hosted a toxic luncheon that sickened four people — three of whom have since died — has fled her home after refusing to reveal what she served at their last fatal meal.

Erin Patterson, 48, invited her former in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband Ian, to lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria’s Gippsland region, on July 29.

On Tuesday, Ms. Patterson returned to her property, where she was confronted by a media contingent eager for answers.

But the stay-at-home mom provided little and told reporters to get off her property.

“What happened is devastating and I am also grieving and you have no respect for that,” she said.

Ms. Patterson was forced to navigate a media scrum to enter her front door.

“Can I just go to my door, stop standing in front of me,” she said.

Ms. Patterson refused to answer what dish she served her tragic guests, who are believed to have ingested poisonous mushrooms.

A black dog ran out of Mrs. Patterson’s house when she opened the front door, enraging her even more.

“You don’t have permission to enter my private property or harass me,” she said.

“This kind of behavior sends someone straight off the bridge.”

When asked “How was she” by a reporter, Ms. Patterson said the obvious.

‘I’m going home. Thanks for asking. You’re not helping,’ she replied.

Reporters were forced to jump Ms. Patterson’s fence to exit the premises after becoming trapped behind her large automated security gate.

Moments later, Mrs. Patterson was seen loading a suitcase into the trunk of her car and leaving.

All four guests became ill after eating Mrs. Patterson’s meal and went to the hospital the next day.

The Pattersons, both 70, and Mrs Wilkinson, 66, have since died, while Mr Wilkinson, 68, is fighting for his life in hospital.

Ms. Patterson had been identified as a person of interest in the investigation. Seven News reported hearing “whining” after police visited the property last night.

She has denied any wrongdoing and no charges are expected at this stage of the investigation.

High-profile criminal lawyer George Balot, of Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, told Daily Mail Australia that a host or cook owed her guest ‘or victim’ a duty of care to ensure that the food served did not result in serious injury or death .

“The prosecution must show that she violated that duty by serving deadly poisonous mushrooms through criminal negligence,” he said.

“A court should determine whether its act of serving its dish fell so far short of the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised, and carried such a high risk of death or actual serious injury, that criminal deserves punishment.’

Mr. Balot said tThe prosecution would have to prove that the violation of that duty caused the death of the victim.

“Finally, that the act in breach of that duty of care was committed knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally,” he said.

“If it was a mere tragic accident where she thought the mushrooms were edible mushrooms with no malice or criminal negligence, she probably won’t be charged.”

Mr Balot said the prosecution did not need to establish that Ms Patterson intended to cause death or actual serious injury or that she realized her conduct was negligent.

“The test is objective and it is what a reasonable person in her situation would have known and done. To meet this element, a jury would have to be satisfied that the reasonable person in her situation would have realized that her conduct carried a high risk of death or actual serious injury,” he said.

“It is axiomatic that even the most prudent person can occasionally have moments of inattention or make minor mistakes. While minor violations of the expected standard of care are insufficient to bring criminal charges, they can form the basis for civil liability for damages resulting from death and/or pain and suffering.’

“In the absence of further evidence disclosed by the investigative police, this case can be safely defended if charged.”

Daily Mail Australia understands that Ms Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, lives at a different address.

Police said the former couple’s relationship was “amicable” before his parents died.

Homicide detectives searched the premises on Saturday as part of their investigation and seized a number of items, including a dehydrator believed to have been used to prepare the mushrooms.

Four police officers returned to Ms Patterson’s home on Sunday evening to question her.

According to 7News, the 48-year-old could be heard wailing loudly inside the home before police left.

After being questioned, Ms. Patterson was released pending further investigation.

The following day, Dean Thomas, Detective Inspector of the Victoria Police Detectives Department, Dean Thomas, confirmed that Ms Patterson was being treated as a person of interest.

“She hasn’t shown any symptoms, but we have to be open to it, that it could be very harmless, but again, we just don’t know at this point,” he said.

Mr Thomas said that while the homicide squad was investigating the trio’s deaths, it didn’t mean they were being treated as suspicious at this stage – just ‘unexplained’.

Speaking to reporters outside her home on Monday, an emotional Ms Patterson said she was devastated by what happened and denied any wrongdoing.

“I didn’t do anything,” she said, wiping away tears.

“I loved them and I’m devastated that they’re gone.”

Ms. Patterson said all four guests were wonderful people and had always treated her kindly.

“Gail was like the mother I didn’t have because my mother passed away four years ago and Gail had always been good and kind to me,” she continued.

‘Ian and Heather were some of the best people I had ever met. They never did me wrong.’

Detectives believe skull mushrooms are the variety responsible for the poisonings and are investigating how they got into the meal.

Ms. Patterson’s two children also attended the lunch, but Mr. Thomas said they ate different meals than the adults and were not ill.

When the others became ill, Mrs. Patterson and the children went to the hospital as a precaution. The children have since been removed from their mother’s care while the investigation is ongoing.