Ex-husband of woman who cooked lethal mushrooms nearly died last year

Mushroom poisoning: Erin Patterson’s husband suffered mystery illness a year before his family’s deaths in Leongatha

  • Erin Patterson invited her ex-in-laws and their family to lunch
  • Three of the four guests died from possible mushroom poisoning
  • Her ex-husband suffered a mystery stomach illness last May 

The ex-husband of the woman who cooked a poisonous mushroom lunch that killed three family members ‘almost died’ from a mystery stomach illness last year.

Erin Patterson, 48, invited her former in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister and her husband, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, for lunch at her Leongatha home, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, on July 29.

However, the next day the four guests were taken to hospital.

The Pattersons, both 70, and Ms Wilkinson, 66, have since died while Mr Wilkinson, 68, is fighting for life in hospital. 

It has now emerged that Ms Patterson’s former partner Simon spent 21 days in intensive care after collapsing at his home in May 2022. 

Erin Patterson (above) cooked a meal that poisoned her ex-husband’s parents, aunt and uncle

Simon Patterson (above) said he spent 21 days in intensive care after ‘collapsing’ from stomach issues last year

Ms Patterson’s ex-husband Simon shared a post (above) last year detailing how he almost died from a mystery stomach illness

‘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 wrote.

‘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.’

Simon continued, writing the treatment ‘seemed to have fixed the serious gut problems’.  

‘I have a big scar on my tummy which is healing itself slowly, and I have ICU acquired weakness which is a common condition of people who lie in intensive care for a long time as I did,’ he said.

‘I can walk and do all the normal daily functions myself, however my left shoulder in particular is very weak.’

Homicide detectives searched Ms Patterson’s Leongatha home (above) on Saturday and seized several items

Ms Patterson has been identified as a person of interest in the investigation surrounding the deadly mushroom lunch. 

But it’s understood she and Mr Patterson were ‘amicable’ before the death of his family members.

She has denied any wrongdoing and no charges are expected to be laid at this stage of the investigation.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Ms Patterson was responsible for Simon’s illness or the three deaths.

Homicide detectives searched the property on Saturday as part of their investigation, seizing a number of items, including a food dehydrator believed to have been used to prepare the mushrooms.

A police source close to the investigation told The Age on Tuesday police are conducting forensic tests on the dehydrator – which was found at a nearby tip.

Four police officers were seen returning to Ms Patterson’s home on Sunday night to question her. 

The 48-year-old could be heard wailing loudly inside the house before the police left, according to 7News. 

After being questioned, Ms Patterson was released pending further inquiries. 

Photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia show there were wild mushrooms growing on the property when it was last sold.

The following day, Victoria Police Detective Inspector for the Homicide Squad, Dean Thomas, confirmed Ms Patterson was being treated as a person of interest. 

Heather Wilkinson (left) died after the lunch, which is believed to have contained the lethal mushroom death cap, while her husband Ian Wilkinson (above) is awaiting a liver transplant


Don (left) and Gail Patterson (right) died after eating lunch at Erin Patterson’s home on July 29

‘She hasn’t presented with any symptoms but we have to keep an open mind in relation to this, that it could be very innocent but again we just don’t know at this point,’ he said. 

Mr Thomas said while the homicide squad was investigating the trio’s deaths, it did not mean they were being treated as suspicious at this stage – only ‘unexplained’. 

 On Tuesday, Ms Patterson returned to her property where she was confronted by a media contingent keen for answers.

But the stay-at-home mum provided few, telling reporters to get off her property.

‘What happened is devastating and I’m grieving too and you guys don’t have any respect for that,’ she said.

Ms Patterson was forced to navigate around a media scrum to enter her front door.

‘Can I just get to my door, stop standing in front of me,’ she said.

Ms Patterson refused to answer what dish she served her tragic guests, who are believed to have ingested poisonous mushrooms.

A black dog rushed out of Ms Patterson’s home as she opened the front door, infuriating her further.

‘You don’t have any permission to be on my private property or harass me,’ she said.

‘This kind of behaviour will send someone right off a bridge.’

Asked ‘How she was going’ by a reporter, Ms Patterson stated the obvious.

‘I’m going ***house. Thanks for asking. You guys aren’t helping,’ she responded.

Moments later, Ms Patterson was seen loading a suitcase into the boot of her red MG and leaving.

She drove off after being asked questions by reporters outside the home

Erin Patterson hauls a suitcase into her red MG before driving off

Speaking to reporters outside her home on Monday, an emotional Ms Patterson said she was devastated by what happened and denied any wrongdoing.

‘I didn’t do anything,’ she said, wiping away tears. 

‘I loved them and I’m devastated that they’re gone.’

Ms Patterson said all four guests were wonderful people and had always treated her with kindness.  

‘Gail was like the mum I didn’t have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail had never been anything but good and kind to me,’ she continued.

‘Ian and Heather were some of the best people I’d ever met. They never did anything wrong to me.’

However, when asked where the mushrooms came from, who picked them or what meal she made for her guests, Ms Patterson did not answer. 

Detectives believe death cap mushrooms are the variety responsible for the poisonings and are investigating how they came to be in the meal. 

The death cap mushroom causes abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea usually within six to 24 hours of ingestion.

They are known to cause serious liver damage. 

Photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia show there were wild mushrooms (above) growing on the property when it was last sold

Ms Patterson (above) has denied any wrongdoing and no charges are expected to be laid at this stage of the investigation

Mr Wilkinson remains hospitalised, his four children have gathered by his bedside as he awaits a liver transplant.

Ms Patterson’s two children were also present at the lunch but Mr Thomas said they ate different meals to the adults and did not experience any illness.

When the others fell sick, Ms Patterson and the children went to hospital as a precaution. 

Deadly mushrooms are common in both metropolitan and regional Victoria, with the state known to have two potentially fatal species – Death Cap and Yellow-staining. 

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Luke Bryan Apologizes to Fans for Canceling Three Shows Due to Frutrating Illness
Next post Airline prices start to drop for Fall vacations