The desperate fight to save death cap mushroom lunch patients
The intensive care expert said that by the time the Wilkinsons arrived the following day, the patients were being given a number of treatments including plasma exchanges and vitamin C.
The court heard Gail Patterson's condition was rapidly deteriorating, and she was in a state of advanced shock. By August 2, 2023, she was extremely unwell, and her liver had stopped working.
'She was on everything that we had,' Warrillow said.
Don Patterson also continued to deteriorate in the days after his admission and his bowel stopped functioning normally.
'It was thought the only possibility of saving his life was through a liver transplant,' Warrillow said.
The jury heard Don underwent a liver transplant on August 4, 2023, following extensive medical consultation, but it didn't save him.
'He got relentlessly worse, unfortunately,' Warrillow said.
'All of our treatments had unfortunately failed, and he was dying.'
Warrillow said Heather Wilkinson was in a state of multiple organ failure and rapidly going downhill when she arrived in intensive care.
The jury heard doctors discussed the possibility of liver transplants for Gail and Heather, but specialists decided the sisters were too sick to undergo surgery. They both died on August 4, 2023. Don died the next day.
As Heather's death was detailed to the jury, two family members in the back row of the court comforted one another.
During Warrillow's evidence, another female family member stared at the floor, and wiped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief as she became upset.
Warrillow told the court Ian Wilkinson's condition also declined in the days after he arrived at the hospital, with high levels of acid in his blood and an abnormal heart rhythm.
Loading
But the pastor's condition slowly improved from August 5, 2023, and he was eventually taken off breathing tubes on August 14, 2023 and later discharged from the intensive care unit.
'It was very slow because he was coming from a situation of extreme critical illness,' Warrillow said.
The court heard Ian was moved to the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital on September 11, 2023, and eventually returned home.
Asked by prosecutor Sarah Lenthall how close Ian was to death Warrillow replied: 'We thought he was going to die, he was very close.'
Warrillow said Amanita poison tended to recycle inside the body, causing persistent injury to a patient's liver.
He said there was usually some time between the ingestion of the toxins and the development of symptoms such as severe diarrhoea and vomiting. It was also common for patients to show some improvement before their organs shut down and the patient rapidly deteriorated, he said.
Warrillow said treatments tried to interrupt the course of the illness and support the failing organs, but patients exposed to Amanita mushroom poison had a high mortality rate even when provided with appropriate care.
'The treatments are, well, clearly not 100 per cent effective,' he said. 'In fact, there's a very high mortality – there's a high mortality recognised even with what would be considered optimal care.'
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9 News
6 days ago
- 9 News
Erin Patterson describes preparing mushroom lunch
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Erin Patterson has conceded she added foraged wild mushrooms and made "deviations" to a beef Wellington that would allegedly kill three of her former in-laws. The 50-year-old is giving evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. Accused killer Erin Patterson. (Anita Lester) All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson, who maintains the poisonings were not deliberate, on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. A majority of the ingredients were purchased from Woolworths, including mushrooms, eye fillet steaks, filo pastry, potato mash, green beans and puff pastry, she told the jury. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting quite early on the day of the lunch by frying up garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworths to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in the container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought from Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Don and Gail Patterson, victims of the suspected mushroom poisoning incident on July 29 in Leongatha, Victoria. (Supplied) Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre (1.2ha) properties in Korumburra and Leongatha, and along a rail trail leading out of Leongatha. Mandy asked Patterson "do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served to her former husband's family, to which she said yes. Patterson recalled making six beef Wellington parcels, ensuring they would be done and resting out of the oven by 12.30pm when her guests arrived. Plating up five beef Wellington dishes with mashed potatoes and green beans, the family sat at the table. Patterson recalled Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished, and that she ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. The sole survivor of the Leongatha mushroom poisoning lunch, pastor Ian Wilkinson arrives at court on May 6.. (Jason South) "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. Her in-laws left because Ian had a meeting at his church and left Patterson to clean up the kitchen and put things away, admitting she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought. "I felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again," she said. Patterson recounted feeling a bit better, with only symptoms of loose stools that afternoon and evening. Her evidence will continue on Wednesday. Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the trial continues into its sixth week. LISTEN NOW: The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace is the latest podcast from Nine and The Age . Join journalists Penelope Liersch and Erin Pearson as they take listeners inside the case that's grabbed global headlines. You can listen on Apple here and Spotify here. Melbourne Victoria national Australia Trial courts CONTACT US Auto news:Is this the next Subaru WRX? Mysterious performance car teased.
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- The Advertiser
Erin Patterson describes preparing mushroom lunch
Erin Patterson has conceded she added foraged wild mushrooms and made "deviations" to a beef Wellington that would allegedly kill three of her former in-laws. The 50-year-old is giving evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson, who maintains the poisonings were not deliberate, on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. A majority of the ingredients were purchased from Woolworths, including mushrooms, eye fillet steaks, filo pastry, potato mash, green beans and puff pastry, she told the jury. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting quite early on the day of the lunch by frying up garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworths to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in the container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought from Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre (1.2ha) properties in Korumburra and Leongatha, and along a rail trail leading out of Leongatha. Mr Mandy asked Patterson "do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served to her former husband's family, to which she said yes. Patterson recalled making six beef Wellington parcels, ensuring they would be done and resting out of the oven by 12.30pm when her guests arrived. Plating up five beef Wellington dishes with mashed potatoes and green beans, the family sat at the table. Patterson recalled Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished, and that she ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. Her in-laws left because Ian had a meeting at his church and left Patterson to clean up the kitchen and put things away, admitting she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought. "I felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again," she said. Patterson recounted feeling a bit better, with only symptoms of loose stools that afternoon and evening. Her evidence will continue on Wednesday. Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the trial continues into its sixth week. Erin Patterson has conceded she added foraged wild mushrooms and made "deviations" to a beef Wellington that would allegedly kill three of her former in-laws. The 50-year-old is giving evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson, who maintains the poisonings were not deliberate, on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. A majority of the ingredients were purchased from Woolworths, including mushrooms, eye fillet steaks, filo pastry, potato mash, green beans and puff pastry, she told the jury. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting quite early on the day of the lunch by frying up garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworths to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in the container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought from Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre (1.2ha) properties in Korumburra and Leongatha, and along a rail trail leading out of Leongatha. Mr Mandy asked Patterson "do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served to her former husband's family, to which she said yes. Patterson recalled making six beef Wellington parcels, ensuring they would be done and resting out of the oven by 12.30pm when her guests arrived. Plating up five beef Wellington dishes with mashed potatoes and green beans, the family sat at the table. Patterson recalled Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished, and that she ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. Her in-laws left because Ian had a meeting at his church and left Patterson to clean up the kitchen and put things away, admitting she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought. "I felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again," she said. Patterson recounted feeling a bit better, with only symptoms of loose stools that afternoon and evening. Her evidence will continue on Wednesday. Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the trial continues into its sixth week. Erin Patterson has conceded she added foraged wild mushrooms and made "deviations" to a beef Wellington that would allegedly kill three of her former in-laws. The 50-year-old is giving evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson, who maintains the poisonings were not deliberate, on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. A majority of the ingredients were purchased from Woolworths, including mushrooms, eye fillet steaks, filo pastry, potato mash, green beans and puff pastry, she told the jury. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting quite early on the day of the lunch by frying up garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworths to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in the container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought from Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre (1.2ha) properties in Korumburra and Leongatha, and along a rail trail leading out of Leongatha. Mr Mandy asked Patterson "do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served to her former husband's family, to which she said yes. Patterson recalled making six beef Wellington parcels, ensuring they would be done and resting out of the oven by 12.30pm when her guests arrived. Plating up five beef Wellington dishes with mashed potatoes and green beans, the family sat at the table. Patterson recalled Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished, and that she ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. Her in-laws left because Ian had a meeting at his church and left Patterson to clean up the kitchen and put things away, admitting she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought. "I felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again," she said. Patterson recounted feeling a bit better, with only symptoms of loose stools that afternoon and evening. Her evidence will continue on Wednesday. Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the trial continues into its sixth week. Erin Patterson has conceded she added foraged wild mushrooms and made "deviations" to a beef Wellington that would allegedly kill three of her former in-laws. The 50-year-old is giving evidence for a third day in her Supreme Court trial in regional Victoria. She has pleaded not guilty to three murders and one attempted murder over the July 2023 lunch she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after eating the meals, while Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson was the sole surviving lunch guest. Patterson, who maintains the poisonings were not deliberate, on Wednesday revealed the steps she took to make the beef Wellington dish. A majority of the ingredients were purchased from Woolworths, including mushrooms, eye fillet steaks, filo pastry, potato mash, green beans and puff pastry, she told the jury. Patterson made "deviations" to the RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks after being unable to find a log of beef, swapping in filo pastry instead of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork. She recalled starting quite early on the day of the lunch by frying up garlic and chopped shallots before adding two tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworths to make the duxelles, or the mushroom wrapping. "I cooked it down. I tasted it a few times. It seemed bland so I decided to add the mushrooms from the grocer I had in my pantry," she told a full court room and 14 jurors. Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked her to reflect on what may have been in the container of mushrooms from the pantry, which she said she bought from Melbourne. "Now I think that there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there as well," she responded. Patterson previously said she began foraging for wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Korumburra Botanic Gardens, on her three-acre (1.2ha) properties in Korumburra and Leongatha, and along a rail trail leading out of Leongatha. Mr Mandy asked Patterson "do you accept there must have been death cap mushrooms" in the lunch she served to her former husband's family, to which she said yes. Patterson recalled making six beef Wellington parcels, ensuring they would be done and resting out of the oven by 12.30pm when her guests arrived. Plating up five beef Wellington dishes with mashed potatoes and green beans, the family sat at the table. Patterson recalled Ian, Don and Heather finishing their entire plates, Gail eating "quite a lot of hers, not all" which Don finished, and that she ate about a quarter to a third of her own plate. "I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said. Her in-laws left because Ian had a meeting at his church and left Patterson to clean up the kitchen and put things away, admitting she had the rest of the cake Gail had brought. "I felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilet and brought it back up again," she said. Patterson recounted feeling a bit better, with only symptoms of loose stools that afternoon and evening. Her evidence will continue on Wednesday. Lines of people curious to catch a glimpse of Patterson giving evidence have stretched from the regional court's doors as the trial continues into its sixth week.
The Age
23-05-2025
- The Age
The desperate fight to save mushroom lunch guests from death cap poisoning
The intensive care expert said that by the time the Wilkinsons arrived the following day, the patients were being given a number of treatments including plasma exchanges and vitamin C. The court heard Gail Patterson's condition was rapidly deteriorating, and she was in a state of advanced shock. By August 2, 2023, she was extremely unwell, and her liver had stopped working. 'She was on everything that we had,' Warrillow said. Don Patterson also continued to deteriorate in the days after his admission and his bowel stopped functioning normally. Loading 'It was thought the only possibility of saving his life was through a liver transplant,' Warrillow said. The jury heard Don underwent a liver transplant on August 4, 2023, following extensive medical consultation, but it didn't save him. 'He got relentlessly worse, unfortunately,' Warrillow said. 'All of our treatments had unfortunately failed, and he was dying.' Warrillow said Heather Wilkinson was in a state of multiple organ failure and rapidly going downhill when she arrived in intensive care. The jury heard doctors discussed the possibility of liver transplants for Gail and Heather, but specialists decided the sisters were too sick to undergo surgery. They both died on August 4, 2023. Don died the next day. As Heather's death was detailed to the jury, two family members in the back row of the court comforted one another. During Warrillow's evidence, another female family member stared at the floor, and wiped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief as she became upset. Loading Warrillow told the court Ian Wilkinson's condition also declined in the days after he arrived at the hospital, with high levels of acid in his blood and an abnormal heart rhythm. But the pastor's condition slowly improved from August 5, 2023, and he was eventually taken off breathing tubes on August 14, 2023 and later discharged from the intensive care unit. 'It was very slow because he was coming from a situation of extreme critical illness,' Warrillow said. The court heard Ian was moved to the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital on September 11, 2023, and eventually returned home. Asked by prosecutor Sarah Lenthall how close Ian was to death Warrillow replied: 'We thought he was going to die, he was very close.' Warrillow said Amanita poison tended to recycle inside the body, causing persistent injury to a patient's liver. He said there was usually some time between the ingestion of the toxins and the development of symptoms such as severe diarrhoea and vomiting. It was also common for patients to show some improvement before their organs shut down and the patient rapidly deteriorated, he said. Warrillow said treatments tried to interrupt the course of the illness and support the failing organs, but patients exposed to Amanita mushroom poison had a high mortality rate even when provided with appropriate care. 'The treatments are, well, clearly not 100 per cent effective,' he said. 'In fact, there's a very high mortality – there's a high mortality recognised even with what would be considered optimal care.'
