Woman at centre of mushroom poisoning scandal visits lawyers month after deadly meal
The woman at the centre of the suspected mushroom poisoning scandal has visited lawyers a month after serving up the deadly meal.
Last month (29 July), 48-year-old Erin Patterson, cooked a beef wellington lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia, for her ex-husband’s relatives.
Peterson’s guests included her parents-in-law Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, along with Gail’s sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson.
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All three family members died a matter of days after eating the lunch, while Heather’s husband Ian, 68, was left fighting for his life on life support while in a coma in hospital.
Patterson and her two kids, however, did not fall ill, with the children said to have eaten the leftovers from the meal the following night, but that the mushrooms had been scraped off the meal because her kids didn't like them.
An investigation has since been launched into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths.
As a result, Patterson was interviewed by police, but was later released without charge, though she remains a suspect.
The mum-of-two has pleaded her innocence, claiming she had nothing to do with the strange deaths.
She said: "The loss to the community and to the families and my own children who have lost their grandmother… I just can't fathom what has happened.
"I'm so sorry that they have lost their lives. I just can't believe it.
"I didn't do anything, I love them and I'm devastated they are gone."
Now a month later, Paterson has travelled to Melbourne to meet with her lawyers.
Footage show the suspect surrounded by a team of legal representatives as she left her lawyers' office - including high-profile criminal lawyer Bill Doogue.
She did not appear to speak to journalists and members of the press during the meeting.
In a written statement to police, Patterson previously gave a detailed account of what happened in the run-up to and aftermath of the meal.
The account began: "I am now wanting to clear up the record because I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones.
"I am hoping this statement might help in some way. I believe if people understood the background more, they would not be so quick to rush to judgement.
"I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved."
Victoria Police is now working with a team of medical experts and the health authority to get to the bottom of the case, saying that the four victims experienced symptoms consistent with ingesting highly poisonous death cap mushrooms.
The toxicology report on the deaths is ongoing.
Topics: Australia, Food And Drink, Erin Patterson, News, World News, Crime, Health
Rhiannon Ingle