Erin Patterson from Australia claimed to authorities it was an accident that her three relatives died and another is in serious condition after eating the beef wellington with mushrooms she prepared. Reports in the local press indicate that Patterson, who is currently not being prosecuted, has given a statement to police.
The police presume the victims consumed death cap mushrooms, which may be fatal if eaten. Patterson said in her statement that she had ingested some dried mushrooms without realizing their potential toxicity.
"I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones... I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved," she stated, according to an ABC News report.
Family Mushroom Poisoning Deaths
Mystery surrounds the deadly lunch on July 29 that was hosted by 48-year-old Patterson at her house in the Victorian town of Leongatha.
Patterson's former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian, 68, were all there. At the last minute, her estranged spouse was unable to come.
All four visitors had been sick with what they believed was serious food poisoning many hours after eating.
Gail, Don, and Heather all passed away within a span of days. As he waits for a liver transplant, 68-year-old Ian continues to battle for his life in a Melbourne hospital.
Intended or Honest Mistake?
According to BBC, Patterson was named as a suspect following the killings, especially for the fact that she and her children seemed to be unharmed by the food. At the time, authorities in Australia also suggested that she may be completely innocent.
Patterson denied the allegations in a statement released earlier, insisting that she was ill after lunch and required hospitalization. On July 31, she reportedly needed medical attention. She said that doctors administered a saline drip and gave her medicine to prevent liver damage.
Meanwhile, the kids missed the lunch, but they had the beef wellington the following day. They do not like mushrooms, so these had been removed from the kids' plates.
Patterson said she used a combination of fresh button mushrooms from the supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian shop in Melbourne she had bought a few months earlier to make the dish.
The remaining meal, according to her, had been salvaged and delivered to hospital toxicologists for analysis.
In Patterson's statement, she also revealed to police that she had lied to them about a food dehydrator that had been confiscated from a local tip the previous week. She said that her ex-husband had asked her outright whether she had poisoned his parents, prompting her to get rid of the dehydrator out of fear that she would be denied visitation rights with their children.
