Mother mushroom chef snaps with menacing warning to strangers standing on her gate as intense pressure takes its toll
The woman at the center of the mushroom poisoning that killed three people lashed out at the media with an ominous warning posted on the gate of her rural Victorian estate.
Police said Erin Patterson, 48, is a person of interest in their investigation into the deaths of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson after they fell ill following a July 29 luncheon she hosted.
Ms Patterson has now posted a legal notice on her front gate warning that journalists and ‘anyone under contract with a media organisation’ will be reported to the police for trespass if they set foot inside the boundary of her property in Leongatha.
It is understood that she has recently returned to her hobby farm after briefly visiting Melbourne, where she owns a mansion in the eastern suburbs worth more than $1 million.
The mother-of-two previously complained that she was frustrated that her privacy was being violated by the intense media attention following the fatal lunch.
Erin Patterson (pictured) is a stakeholder in a police investigation into the suspected poisoning of four people at a luncheon she hosted
A sign was placed on the fence of the newly built Leongatha property (pictured) warning that the media will report to the police if they set foot inside the border
The only other guest, Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, also fell seriously ill and is fighting for his life in hospital.
Ms. Patterson said she was upset that she had lost her in-laws, while her children had lost their grandparents, and that she had been “portrayed as a wicked witch.”
“The media makes it impossible for me to live in this town,” said Ms. Patterson.
‘I can’t have friends over. The media is at the house where my children are. The media is at my sister’s house, so I can’t go there. This is unfair.’
No charges have been filed. It is not suggested that Mrs. Patterson intentionally poisoned the Pattersons or the Wilkinsons.
Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner Wendy Steendam warned the investigation would take a long time as police try to establish the circumstances surrounding the suspected poisoning.
A letter written by Ms. Patterson and provided to police, seen by The Age and the ABC, reportedly contains details of how Ms. Patterson got the mushrooms she used in the meal she prepared.
She said the letter was meant to explain her side of what happened after she gave an initial “no comment” interview to police and the media portrayed her as anything but an innocent party.
The dried mushrooms were bought months ago from an unknown Asian grocer in a suburb of Melbourne and, according to Ms Patterson, have been hand-labelled.
She also claimed that she told the Ministry of Health and that they visited the store to get samples.
A food dehydrator police found among rubbish she threw out “out of panic” when her husband wondered if she had poisoned her guests, she said.
“I really want to reiterate that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people I loved,” she wrote.
Heather Wilkinson died after attending lunch, while her husband Ian is in hospital in serious condition (pictured together)
Don and Gail Patterson died after eating the beef wellington meal (pictured together)
Her two children had been to the cinema at lunchtime, contrary to previous media reports claiming they were there, but they did eat leftovers with the mushrooms scraped off because they didn’t like them.
They didn’t get sick, but Ms Patterson said she ate the beef wellington for lunch and had an upset stomach, which required her to go to the local hospital and was transferred to Monash Medical Center in Melbourne on July 31.
Deputy Commissioner Steendam clarified that the letter was not an official police statement, but a letter from Ms. Patterson’s lawyers.
She added: “It’s an active cause and if we have more to say publicly, we will. But I think it is useless to speculate or talk at length about the aspects of the investigation.’