- Ex-Husband Suspects Poisoning in Lunch Deaths Case
- Three Dead and One Hospitalized After Alleged Tainted Meal
- Investigation into Mushroom Poisoning and Unusual Circumstances
Erin Patterson was the only person who did not become ill after she served lunch to four family members, three of whom died and one of whom was hospitalized in critical condition.
The ex-husband of a woman who served a lunch that killed three people asserts that she attempted to poison him.
Saturday, July 29, only Erin Patterson, 48, did not become ill after eating the meal at her residence in Leongatha, Victoria, southeast Australia.
Simon Paterson, her ex-husband who nearly died last year from an unidentified gut disorder, has now disclosed he “suspects” she attempted to poison him.
“Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin,” a source close to the family told the Herald Sun.
“There were times when he felt… off, and it frequently coincided with his time spent with her.”
Mr. Paterson wrote in a social media post from the previous year, “I collapsed at home and was in an induced coma for 16 days during which I underwent three emergency operations, primarily on my small intestine, and one additional planned operation.”
My family was asked to bid me farewell twice, as my survival was not anticipated.
The former couple is no longer together, but their separation was described as “amicable.”
Mrs. Paterson’s former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70 years old, were among those who ate the allegedly tainted meal.
At the table were also Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her spouse Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68.
All four felt ill by midnight that evening, and Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Wilkinson passed away nearly a week later, on August 4th.
Don Patterson passed away the day after.
The superintendent of Korumburra Baptist Church, Reverend Wilkinson, is still fighting for his life in the hospital.
Two of Erin Patterson’s children attended the lunch, but they were served a separate meal from the others.
According to reports, they have been brought into state custody as a “precaution.”
The case has captivated Australia since police opened a homicide investigation and revealed Mrs. Patterson as a suspect.
Death caps, which cause 90% of toxic mushroom deaths, were likely served to the four people.
Mrs. Patterson sobbed outside her home on Monday as she lamented the loss of “some of the best people I’ve ever met.”
“The loss to the community, the families, and to my children, who have lost their grandmother, is… “I simply cannot comprehend what has occurred,” she said.
“I am regretful for their loss of life. And I simply cannot comprehend it!”
Mrs. Patterson did not respond to reporters’ inquiries regarding the meal she prepared or the origin of the mushrooms.
However, when she was reminded that she was a suspect in the investigations, she denied any malfeasance.
“I didn’t do anything, I love them, and I’m devastated that they are gone,” she said.
The police say Mrs. Patterson’s investigation does not mean the deaths were not terrible accidents.
Det. Insp. Dean Thomas stated, “I’m not aware of any other investigation in which three people have died as a result of apparent food poisoning, whether caused by mushrooms or something else – so yes, it is quite unusual.”
“(Mrs. Patterson) has demonstrated no symptoms. Therefore, it is part of our investigation to determine whether or not she ate mushrooms or anything else that day.
