One of three luncheon guests who died after eating a beef Wellington with a poison mushroom had a final conversation with a paramedic – details of which have been passed on to police, a report claims.
Gail and Don Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister Heather, died earlier this month after lunch at daughter-in-law Erin Patterson’s in Leongatha, Victoria.
Erin has denied intentionally poisoning the trio, as well as Heather’s husband Ian, who is fighting for his life in hospital while awaiting a liver transplant. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Erin is responsible for the poisonings.
A source close to the police investigation into the deaths told the Herald Sun that one of the three people who died had a final talk with a paramedic.
That paramedic felt it necessary to pass on what had been said to the police, the source claims.
Erin Patterson was photographed outside her home last week denying any wrongdoing after the suspected poisonings
Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became seriously ill after eating wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died while her husband is in critical condition in hospital
Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms. Erin was previously married to their son, Simon
It is not known what the lunch guest said to the paramedics.
Ms. Patterson, a stay-at-home mom, says she bought the supposedly toxic mold from a supermarket and an Asian grocery store, and was herself hospitalized after eating lunch.
Her children did not attend lunch and went to the movies instead. They ate leftovers the next day, but the mushrooms were scraped off because they don’t like it.
Ms Patterson told police she also became unwell after eating the meal, and that while she was in hospital her ex-husband Simon accused her of poisoning his parents, Gail and Don.
She said she was “talking about the food hydrator” she used to prepare the meal when her ex-husband asked, “Is that what you used to poison them?”
In a panic, Erin has admitted that she then dumped the dehydrator at a nearby landfill.
Food dehydrators are used to dry out mushrooms before they are used in beef boots.
The dehydrator was found by police, and a source close to the investigation said that Age Police conducted forensic tests on the dehydrator – which was found at a nearby tip.
In a written statement sent to Victoria Police on Friday – and obtained by the ABC – Ms Patterson expressed her pain that people are “judgmental so quickly”.
The above family tree shows the connections between the Pattersons and Wilkinsons embroiled in the unusual Leongatha poisoning drama
Simon Patterson was supposed to join his parents for the lunch that cost them their lives, but backed out at the last minute
“I now want to clear the record as I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones,” Ms Patterson said.
“I hope this statement can help in some way. I believe that if people understood the background better, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge.
“I am devastated now 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 these people I loved.”
She had previously given an interview without comment to police at the start of their investigation, blaming the police for her decision as it was a “terrifying and terrifying” experience.
Mrs. Patterson intended to use the meal as a reconciliation with her estranged husband Simon, but he backed out at the last minute.
A neighbor of Gail and Don Patterson told Daily Mail Australia that Simon had been living with his parents after splitting up with his wife, but had moved out late last year.
“Sunday morning we saw the ambulance pull into their driveway and we didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
“They had been very mobile people. They were always busy with their own lawns. They were quite active. Don went for a walk every morning.’
The neighbour, who declined to be named, described his neighbors as nice people, who likely kept in touch with their son’s ex-wife even after the couple’s divorce.
“He was a pretty good kind of person who wouldn’t hold that grudge. I don’t know why they were there, but probably to see their grandchildren,’ he said.
News of the tragic deaths was the talk of the small rural community, with allegations that in June 2022 Simon may have had a mysterious serious stomach ailment.
He fell into a coma and spent 21 days in ICU in a case that baffled doctors.
An Austin Hospital source told Daily Mail Australia Mr Wilkinson is expected to need an urgent liver transplant and is likely to have extensive damage to his kidneys as well.
“I suspect he’ll get out of this because if they thought he was that unwell and they just needed the best intensive care, I think he’d be in The Alfred. He’s probably getting a transplant. There’s a chance he’s already had one, but no one will tell you because it could identify the donor,” the source said.