The ex-husband of Erin Patterson, the Victorian woman who cooked the lunch that tragically killed three people when it was discovered the mushrooms were poisonous, has claimed that he believes she tried to poison him too.
A source close to Simon Patterson spoke with the Herald Sun, claiming that Simon believed he had been poisoned by his ex-wife after battling a mystery gut illness in May last year.
“Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin,” the friend said, per Herald Sun.
“There were times he had felt…a bit off and it often coincided when he spent time with her.”
The source claimed that the mystery illness left Simon fighting for his life in an induced coma for 16 days and that he thinks it was caused by poison through nightshade plants, a group of plants that include eggplant and tomato but can be fatal if too many of the poisonous alkaloids are ingested.
Simon shared his experience on his social media pages where he alleged he almost died.
“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live,” he said, as quoted by Herald Sun.
In case you missed it, Erin, the 48-year-old mother broke down in front of media outside her home on Monday, where she denied she had done anything to hurt her former in-laws.
“I didn’t do anything,” she tearfully told A Current Affair reporter Sam Cucchiara.
“I’m devastated that they’re gone and I hope with every fibre of my being that Don [Patterson] pulls through.”
Erin didn’t answer questions about where the mushrooms were picked from but spoke about her close relationship to Gail Patterson, the mother of Erin’s husband Simon, who she is now separated from.
“I love them. I can’t believe this has happened and I’m so sorry.
“Gail was the mum that I didn’t have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail’s never been anything but good and kind to me and Ian [Wilkinson] and Heather were some of the best people I’ve ever met,” she said.
“They never did anything wrong to me.”
On Thursday, police found a dehydrator from a South Gippsland tip as part of the investigation.
Erin hosted a lunch with her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather, a local teacher, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson at her home on July 29.
The four guests fell ill after they ate their meal, and were admitted to hospital the next day. Sisters Gail and Heather died on Friday. They were 70 and 66 years old. Don, 70, died on Saturday. Ian, 68, remains in critical condition awaiting a liver transplant.
It’s believed it was Ian who Erin was referring to when she said she hopes “Don” survives.
Homicide police are now investigating the deaths of the family, and have named Erin a suspect — though officers have acknowledged what happened could have simply been a tragic accident.
The lunch Erin cooked is believed to have contained hand-picked mushrooms called Death Caps which, as the name suggests, are poisonous.
Erin was the only person not to get sick.
“I’m not aware of an investigation where we’ve had three people die as a result of an apparent food poisoning, whether that be by mushroom or something else – so yes, it is quite unique,” Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said, per ACA.
“That woman (Erin) has not presented with any symptoms. So again, that forms part of our investigation whether she did or didn’t eat any of the mushrooms or anything else that may have been eaten on that particular day.”
Erin has been interviewed by police and released without charge as the investigation continues.
PEDESTRIAN.TV is not suggesting that Ms Patterson did in fact attempt to poison her ex-husband, only that an allegation has been made to that effect.
