Coroner finds Rachael Dixon's death at wellness retreat 'in the context' of taking magic mushrooms

Australia Broadcast Center

31-07-2025

A coroner's report into the death of a woman who consumed magic mushrooms at a regional Victorian wellness retreat has found no clear cause of death.
However, Coroner Audrey Jamieson said there was a possibility that Rachael Dixon died from psylocibin use.
"I find that her death occurred in the context of her recent use of illicit drugs," the coroner concluded.
The 53-year-old Melbourne woman died in April 2024 when she became unresponsive after drinking two serves of mushroom tea at a private retreat at Soul Barn in Clunes, a few hours north-west of Melbourne.
Post-mortem toxicological analysis found Ms Dixon had approximately 6 ng/mL of psilocybin in her system at the time of death.
The event was run by Deanne Matthews, who pleaded guilty in March to trafficking a drug of dependence, but did not receive a conviction.
Ms Matthews, who rented the venue for her retreats, is not facing any charges in relation to Ms Dixon's death.
The coroner's report, published on Monday, detailed how Ms Dixon, who had "always struggled with mental health problems", was a regular attendee at Ms Matthew's retreats.
The coroner noted that Ms Dixon and Ms Matthews had known each other for around eight years — a relationship based on "healing".
In 2022, Ms Dixon paid $500 for a copy of Ms Matthew's "Deep Self 28 Day Microdosing Experience", which contained journalling prompts and information on how to use and dose psilocybin at home.
Annotations from the journal revealed that Ms Dixon's primary goal was "no binge drinking alcohol and food".
The coroner said not only was there evidence to suggest Ms Dixon saw psilocybin as a means to deal with past traumas, but she relied on Ms Matthew for advice.
In the 18 months leading up to her death, Ms Dixon attended the Clunes retreats about six times.
The report said that on the evening of 14 April 2024, before the healing session began, fellow participants recalled that Ms Dixon was "on a high".
"I'm meeting myself, I'm going home," one of Ms Dixon's fellow participants remembered her saying.
According to the coroner's report, about five hours after Ms Dixon's first dose of mushroom tea, Ms Matthews reported she "was crying" and concluded she "needed some fresh air".
Ms Matthews reportedly moved her to the kitchen, laid her on a pillow and opened the back door.
Just before midnight, Ms Matthews contacted emergency services, telling an operator that Ms Dixon was "not responding".
Ms Dixon was declared dead by attending paramedics soon after.
While the report found no clear medical cause of death, it cited research from the Australian Psychedelic Society on "wood-lover paralysis" — a condition of muscle weakness linked to the consumption of psilocybin.
The coroner concluded there was a "temporal relationship" between Ms Dixon's death and the consumption of the magic mushroom tea.
The coroner said that while Ms Dixon suffered symptoms that appeared consistent with wood-lover paralysis — including her inability to walk and her loss of spontaneous breathing — it was not something that could "be ascertained forensically".
"I ultimately determined on the balance of probabilities that I am unable to find wood-lover paralysis caused or contributed to Rachel's death," the coroner said.
The coroner made no formal recommendations, but said the most appropriate intervention was "user education".
"Rachael's case reflects that we do not know enough at present about the chemistry and pharmacology of magic mushrooms to confirm or exclude that mushroom consumption caused or contributed to her death," the coroner said.