It is feared that forensic samples taken after a deadly mushroom luncheon that killed three people may not have been taken in time to yield good results.
Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, died after eating a beef wellington lunch in Leongatha, Victoria’s Gippsland region, on July 29.
Mrs Wilkinson’s husband, Ian, also ate the meal and remains in hospital fighting for his life.
The two couples had attended a luncheon at the home of the Pattersons’ former daughter-in-law, Erin Patterson, who claims she also ate the meal but escaped a serious illness.
Leading toxicologist Dr Michael Robertson revealed that the toxin found in death cap mushrooms is detectable only about 48 hours after ingestion, raising fears that the samples were not taken in time.
“The lab knows what it’s looking for, death cap mushrooms, but that’s not something we routinely see in Australia and the method of analysis is far from routine,” Dr Robertson told the Herald Sun on Thursday.
“Those early samples are very important because they, especially any urine samples, would help prove that they were death cap mushrooms.”
Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, died after eating a beef wellington lunch in Leongatha, Victoria’s Gippsland region, on July 29.
The death cap mushrooms that were ingested by the lunch guests, according to police, were likely absorbed by their liver and then entered their bloodstream
Leading toxicologist Dr Michael Robertson (pictured) revealed that the toxin found in death cap mushrooms is detectable only about 48 hours after ingestion
The toxicologist said detectives may have to rely on samples taken during the first two days Ms Patterson’s lunch guests were at the hospital.
However, he said it was likely doctors took blood samples from the luncheon guests to check their kidney and liver function.
“But were those samples preserved or disposed of after they were transferred to Melbourne hospitals?” he continued.
“It could be that they were thrown out because the hospital didn’t realize the seriousness and they weren’t patients anymore at that hospital.”
Dr. Robertson said hospitals only kept the samples for a few days unless further testing was needed or police were contacted.
Clearly, detectives were not alerted until several days after lunch when Ms. Patterson and Ms. Wilkinson deteriorated in the hospital.
The women died on August 4, while Don Patterson passed away the following day.
Dr. Robertson said he was confident more samples would have been taken from Melbourne hospitals, but that they would be “significantly” less useful to detectives.
It can take weeks for detectives to receive the results of toxicology reports.
Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became seriously ill after eating wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died earlier this month while her husband was in hospital
It comes as Dr. Robertson revealed the excruciating symptoms of poisonous mushrooms – and how patients start to feel cruelly better before their bodies shut down completely.
He told Channel Nine’s Under Investigation that victims usually start feeling unwell a few hours after ingesting death cap mushrooms.
“We’ve heard about the violent vomiting and diarrhea and that initial phase can be quite debilitating in itself,” he said.
He said the victim then begins to feel better and may think the worst is over.
But even as the toxic substance leaves the body, it is still slowly shutting down.
“It’s one of those toxins that gets into your system,” he said.
‘It is absorbed into the bloodstream and then transported to the liver and absorbed. The body does not break down this poison.
“We usually have to remove it through the urine, but also through the bile, and the bile duct drops the bile back into the intestines.
“It actually causes the death of the liver cells.”
Dr. Robertson said it was possible the lunch guests fell into a coma.
“It would have been terrible if they had remained conscious,” he said.
“Maybe they went into a coma, but if they had stayed conscious that first day would have been absolutely horrible.”
Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms
Ms Patterson claims the deadly lunch was prepared with a mixture of mushrooms from a supermarket chain and dried mushrooms from an Asian supermarket in Melbourne.
She then divided the meal onto plates and let her guests choose their own.
Ms Patterson said she took the last remaining plate and ate a portion, later handing the leftovers over to the hospital’s toxicologists for examination.
She said her children also ate the beef wellington the next day, but without the mushrooms. Simon, Mrs. Patterson’s estranged husband, was also invited to lunch, but backed out at the last minute.
Victoria Police’s homicide unit is investigating the deaths, while Ms Patterson, a person of interest to the investigation, cooked the fatal lunch.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Erin Patterson is responsible for the deaths.