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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter

A life saved and what Erin Patterson allegedly confided to friends: week four of the mushroom lunch trial

Ian Wilkinson departs from the Supreme Court sitting at the Latrobe Valley Courts in Morwell, Victoria, Monday, May 19, 2025
Mushroom lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson departs from the murder trial of Erin Patterson in the town of Morwell in regional Australia this week. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Ian Wilkinson sat in the Victorian supreme court, only metres from the woman accused of trying to murder him, as one of the men who helped save his life gave evidence.

The director of intensive care at Austin Health, Prof Stephen Warrillow, had already spoken about the deaths of three people from death cap mushroom poisoning and the particular characteristics of their illnesses; “rapidly progressive deterioration”, organ failure and of it being “non-survivable”.

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