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<\/p>\nA TOXICOLOGIST has revealed Erin Patterson's mushroom victims suffered in agony before a cruel twist would have struck them moments before death.<\/p>\n
Erin\u2019s former parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail\u2019s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian became ill following a family lunch\u00a0at her home in Leongatha,\u00a0Australia.<\/p>\n
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Don, Gail, and Heather have since died, while Ian remains in hospital fighting for his life.<\/p>\n
The two couples had been invited to the lunch on July 29 by Erin where cops believe they were fed a deadly beef wellington that may have contained death cap mushrooms.<\/p>\n
Forensic toxicologist Dr Michael Robertson told Channel Nine's Under Investigation that victims of death cap mushroom poisoning can suffer from an unbearable illness before cruelly starting to feel better.<\/p>\n
But the feeling of relief doesn't last long, as their bodies soon begin to completely shut down.<\/p>\n
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Robertson said that victims will usually begin to feel unwell several hours after consuming the lethal mushrooms – with "violent" vomiting and diarrhoea generally the first signs of poisoning.<\/p>\n
However, in a cruel twist, the victim will actually soon begin to feel better and be led to believe that the worst is over.<\/p>\n
But even though the toxins are leaving the body in this process, it continues to slowly shut down.<\/p>\n
He said: "It's one of those toxins that gets into your system.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n "It gets absorbed into the bloodstream, it then gets transported to the liver and absorbed. The body doesn't break this toxin down.<\/p>\n "We've got to get rid of it usually in the urine but also in the bile, and the bile duct drops bile back into the intestines.<\/p>\n "It's triggering basically the death of the liver cells," he added.<\/p>\n The toxicologist warned that it would also have been possible for the victims of the alleged death cap mushroom poisoning to have fallen into comas following Erin's lunch.<\/p>\n "It would've been horrible if they remained conscious," he said.<\/p>\n "They may have gone into a coma, if they remained conscious certainly that first day would've been absolutely horrific."<\/p>\n Robertson's comments were backed up by Dr\u00a0Heike Neumeister-Kemp, a fungus researcher.<\/p>\n The mycologist added that alongside the initial vomiting period, victims could also begin to hallucinate.<\/p>\n "Mushroom poisoning is so nasty because we don't really have an anecdote," she said.<\/p>\n "On a DNA level, you're regurgitating the toxin but slowly and consistently your liver dissolves."<\/p>\n Erin claimed the deadly beef wellington was made from a mixture of button\u00a0mushrooms\u00a0from a major\u00a0supermarket chain, and dried mushrooms bought from an Asian\u00a0grocery store\u00a0in Melbourne months before.<\/p>\n She also said she served the meal and allowed the guests to choose their own plates – and she also ate a portion of the beef wellington herself.<\/p>\n In a written statement to investigators, and obtained by\u00a0ABC earlier this month, she revealed she was also hospitalised after the lunch with bad stomach pains and diarrhoea, put on a saline drip, and given a "liver protective drug".<\/p>\n And despite reports of her children being at the meal, Erin said the kids had gone to the movies before the lunch.<\/p>\n Her children ate the leftovers the following night – but the kids don't like mushrooms so she scraped them off, she added.<\/p>\n But it was recently revealed that Erin claimed to be an "experienced forager who harvested wild fungi near her home".<\/p>\n A family friend, who has not been identified, told\u00a0Daily Mail Australia: \u201cThe Patterson family (including Erin and Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very common for people to go mushroom picking around that area.\u201d<\/p>\n The friend added: \u201cThe family would go foraging regularly and knew what to pick.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the shocking incident, a tradesman came forward to reveal what he called a "death wall" inside Erin's former home in Korumburra.<\/p>\n He said he was hired to paint the inside last year so it could be flogged.<\/p>\n The worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told\u00a0news.com.au: "I\u2019ve looked at it and gone, 'Holy s***, what the hell\u2019s going on here?'"<\/p>\n Haunting images show red, blue, and black graffiti on the kitchen wall.<\/p>\n One chilling drawing shows two stick figures with the words "I am dead" and "no I am really dead".<\/p>\n Beside them appear to be three tombstones with the words "grandma RIP", "Hannah RIP" and "Me RIP" on them.<\/p>\n Other parts read "you don't [have] long to live 1 hour exactly", "your [sic] dead from my sword" and "get ready".<\/p>\n The painter, 46, added: "I went, 'This is actually really scary for kids to do this inside the kitchen-dining room'. I didn\u2019t think it was right, it looked scary".<\/p>\n He said he believes Erin explained the markings happened when she had "gone out or something and the kids were there and had done that while they were out".<\/p>\n Erin has since denied any wrongdoing and hit back at suspicions, claiming she is "being painted as an evil witch".<\/p>\n She told the Herald Sun she had become a prisoner in her home – branding the coverage of the case "unfair".<\/p>\n She has denied murdering\u00a0her guests, saying she had "no reason" to hurt them.<\/p>\n Victoria Police have begun an investigation as they try and get to the bottom of just how this tragedy occurred.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GIF-LASCELLES.gif?strip=all&w=300&h=192&crop=1\")
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