Police in Australia are investigating after three people died in a suspected “mushroom poisoning” and a fourth was left fighting for their life.
Couple Don and Gail Patterson and her sister Heather Wilkinson died from symptoms consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning after eating lunch in the small Australian town of Leongatha, a two-hour drive south-east of Melbourne.
But in a case that has gripped the country, the 48-year-old relative who cooked the meal said she had no idea what happened, and that she would never hurt her family, reported the BBC.
She is being treated as a suspect, but police have stressed they are keeping an open mind.
A fourth person, Heather Wilkinson’s husband Ian, is currently in a critical condition after eating the meal, according to local media reports.
The case unfolded when Gail, 70, and Don Patterson, 70, stopped for lunch with their grandchildren at their daughter-in-law’s home, alongside the Wilkinsons - Gail’s sister, Heather, 66, and husband Ian.
Hours after the meal, all four guests took themselves to hospital with a medical complaint, before dying of what police believe to be caused by eating poisonous mushrooms.
Officers say the woman who served the meal was not taken ill, nor were her two children, but said it is not clear whether she ate the same food as her guests.
Speaking to reporters, Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas told a press conference the woman was a suspect because “she cooked those meals,” but said it was a “complex case”.
"At this point in time, the deaths are unexplained,” he said in comments reported by Australian media. “It could be very innocent, but we just don’t know."
The families paid tribute to their loved ones in a statement published in the local South Gippsland Sentinel Times.
“They were parents, grandparents, siblings, children and pillars of faith within our community,” read the statement.
“Their love, steadfast faith, and selfless service have left an indelible mark on our families, the Korumburra Baptist Church, the local community, and indeed, people around the globe.”
