Ian Wilkinson, a 68-year-old local Baptist Church pastor, remains in hospital in a critical condition needing a liver transplant.
What happened?
“I didn’t do anything, I loved them. I just can’t fathom what has happened,” Erin Patterson said.
Visibly distraught, she appeared as confused as everyone else during a brief interview to the media in front of her house on Monday.
“I can’t believe that this has happened, and I am so sorry that they have lost their lives.”
Homicide detectives are now investigating the three deaths, although they have not yet confirmed if they consider the trio’s demise as suspicious.
Erin Patterson, who has been reportedly questioned by police but then freed without charges being laid, remains a suspect in the investigation, according to 9News.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas told the Sydney Morning Herald police were considering accidental poisoning but “not at the hands of somebody else”, alongside a potentially “nefarious activity”.
“At this point in time, the deaths are unexplained,” Thomas told reporters. “It could be very innocent, but we just don’t know.”
9News also reported police spent the day investigating a local tip after discovering a food dehydrator they believed was used in the preparation of the suspected fatal lunch.
When questioned about the origin of the mushrooms and the meals Erin Patterson provided for her visitors, she remained silent, according to reports.
If she also ate the lunch, it is still unknown to the investigators.
Although police have described the situation as “very complex,” the victims’ symptoms are consistent with those brought on by death cap mushrooms.
All four people experienced symptoms including nausea, abdominal pain, gastro-like disease, and, at least in Ian’s case, liver damage, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
On Tuesday, Erin Patterson announced to the media that she was “going s**house.”
“What happened is devastating, and I’m grieving too,” she added.
In a statement from the victims’ families, published in the South Gippsland Sentinel Times said, the group was described as “pillars of faith” in the community.
“Their love, steadfast faith, and selfless service have left an indelible mark on our families, the Korumburra Baptist Church, the local community, and indeed, people around the globe.”
Additionally, it was revealed that Simon Patterson, the son of Gail and Don and the estranged husband of Erin, had his own close call with death in the past due to major gastrointestinal issues which landed him in intensive care for three weeks.
“Some of you will know that I’ve had some serious medical problems since late May. I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation,” he said in a social media in June last year.
“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live. I was in intensive care for 21 days, after which I was in the general ward for a week, and now I’m at a rehab place since last Saturday.
“I’m pleased to say all the medical work has seemed to have fixed the serious gut problems I had, and I’ve been feeling great for many days.”
After spending so much time in the intensive care unit, Simon Patterson stated in the post that he no longer felt pain and was regaining his fitness. He announced that his wife Erin, their children, and they all intended to drop by that afternoon.
In 2020, a spate of wild mushroom poisonings in Victoria killed one and saw seven others admitted to hospital, the BBC reported.
“If you haven’t purchased them from a supermarket, perhaps stay clear of them,” Thomas said.
