A PARAMEDIC who had a final conversation with one of the three guests who died after eating a mushroom lunch passed the details on to cops, it is understood.
Erin Patterson, 48, invited Gail and Don Patterson, her former in-laws, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian to her home in Leongatha, Australia.
Erin Patterson admitted lying to cops after serving the lunchNews.com.au
But after eating the meal on July 29, the guests became violently ill.
Gail and Don, both 70, and Heather, 66, later died while Ian has been in hospital fighting for his life.
A source close to the case has now claimed an ambulance worker alerted investigators after a conversation with one of the victims, reports the Herald Sun.
They heard one of the guest’s dying words and felt the need to pass on what was said to police, the insider said.
It has not been revealed what the details of the conversation were.
Cops said the people who died had symptoms of having eaten death cap mushrooms, which grow wild in the lush forests around Leongatha.
Police last week confirmed Erin was being treated as a suspect – but have cautioned that the incident could be “very innocent”.
Sources said she held the gathering in a bid to try and win back her estranged ex-husband Simon Patterson.
In a written statement sent to cops on Friday, Erin gave her first detailed account of what happened before and after the fatal lunch.
She claimed she was hospitalised after the lunch with bad stomach pains and diarrhoea, put on a saline drip and given a “liver protective drug” despite initial reports she did not get sick.
Erin said she served the meal and allowed the guests to choose their own plates – and she also ate a portion of the beef wellington
And the mum-of-two admitted lying to cops when she told them she had dumped a food dehydrator at a local tip “a long time ago” – which was later seized by cops.
Erin said she was at the hospital with her kids “discussing the food dehydrator” when her ex-husband asked: “Is that what you used to poison them?”
Worried she might lose custody of the couple’s children, Erin said she then panicked and dumped the dehydrator at the tip.
NineHeather Wilkinson (left) died after the lunch while her husband, Ian, is fighting for his life[/caption]
NineDon Patterson also died[/caption]
NineGail Patterson, Erin’s former mother-in-law, died after eating the meal at Erin’s home[/caption]