NEW details have emerged on the killer mushroom lunch suspect Erin Patterson whose relationship with her ex “went south” before she hosted the fatal get-together.
The mum-of-two, 48, had reportedly held the deadly gathering on July 29 in a bid to try and win back her estranged ex-husband Simon Patterson.
News.com.au.Erin Patterson allegedly served the poisonous mushroom lunch to Simon’s family[/caption]
Erin reportedly held the lunch in an effort to win back her estranged ex-husband Simon Patterson
NineThe deadly death cap mushrooms were cooked into the beef wellington served at the lunch[/caption]
Police have described the couple’s split as “amicable” but people in Leongatha and Korumburra, Australia, are questioning whether the relationship was as happy as they thought.
With a police investigation likely to take weeks, locals that are based close to the centre of the mystery have been racking their brains trying to work out just what happened to Erin’s former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, who all attended the lunch at Erin Patterson’s house in Leongatha.
After eating the beef wellington – which included deadly death cap mushrooms – the guests became violently ill and Gail and Don, both 70, and Heather, 66, later died.
A local pastor in Korumburra Ian Wilkinson, who was also present at the lunch, is in Melbourne’s Austin Hospital fighting for life and awaiting a liver transplant.
Homicide detectives confirmed Erin is a suspect in the case as the mum-of-two cooked the meal at her home but did not get sick.
A source close to Simon claimed Erin was desperate to get back with him – and suggested the lunch was an “intervention” from his family.
The friend said his family were concerned and described the get-together as a “mediation”.
Simon was supposed to join the lunch – but reportedly pulled out at the last minute.
But following the ordeal, Erin has denied any wrongdoing with detectives naming her as a suspect but insisting they have an open mind in regards to the case.
New details have come to light, however, with several residents telling The Australian how Erin and Simon’s relationship had “gone south” before the lunch.
One even said the separation was “not amicable”.
They had lived separately but maintained co-parenting arrangements, another local revealed.
A third said they believed Erin was genuinely concerned at the time and that she had a lot ‘’on her plate’’.
All three said the couple were private people and mostly kept to themselves.
Others also spoke out on how Erin was “reserved” and only held “brief conversations” during school pick-ups.
It comes after Simon revealed he almost died from a mystery gut illness last year.
And he reportedly “suspected” Erin had tried to poison him through an “ingested toxin”.
A family friend told the Herald Sun: “Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin.
“There were times he had felt… a bit off and it often coincided when he spent time with her.”
Simon said he collapsed at home in May last year and was placed into an induced coma.
In a social media post, Simon wrote: “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.
“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live”.
NineErin’s home where the deadly lunch was served to her former family members[/caption]