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Perth Now
01-08-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Tragic details of mum's health retreat death
A Melbourne mother was 'very excited' before attending an alternative health retreat at which she ultimately died, a new coroner's report has found. Rachael Lee Dixon, 53, died in the early hours of April 14 after attending a 'healing session' run by wellness guru Deanne Matthews at a rented property just outside Ballarat where she consumed magic mushrooms. Ms Matthews, also known as Diane Mathews, pleaded guilty to trafficking a drug of dependence and was fined $3000 in March this year. No charges have been laid over Ms Dixon's death. Rachael Dixon died at a wellness retreat in regional Victoria. Facebook Credit: News Corp Australia The new report, by Coroner Audrey Jamieson, has revealed the moments that led to Ms Dixon's death but stopped short of solving the mysterious cause. In the findings, Ms Jamieson noted that Ms Dixon first met Ms Matthews about eight years prior and she had been attending regular sessions with Ms Matthews every three months in the 18 months before her death. Deanne Mathews hosted the private event Rachael Dixon attended when she died on April 14 in Clunes. Supplied Credit: Supplied In November 2022, Ms Dixon bought a book for $500 from Ms Matthews titled The Deep Self 28 Day Microdosing Experience that contained journaling prompts and information on microdosing using psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. Ms Dixon wrote in the book that her goal was to stop 'binge drinking alcohol and food' and made clear that she saw psilocybin as a way to address her childhood trauma. Ms Matthews had provided ongoing advice to Ms Dixon on how to microdose magic mushrooms, the report continued. Leading up to her death, Ms Dixon was having a positive experience with the drug, her son told the coroner. 'I think they were definitely helping her, she seemed to be getting better. I knew she was getting better because she would stop drinking as much, she would always tell me how relaxed and how much better she felt within herself and about life,' he said. This led to her being 'very excited to go to the retreat', telling her husband Richard Mountain that 'she thought this was going to be her big breakthrough moment'. On the night of April 13, 2024, Ms Dixon consumed her first dose of mushroom tea at 6.15pm, then her second at 7.45pm. The event was hosted by Ms Mathews at the Soul Barn in Clunes and attended by nine paying participants. She had taken mushroom tea. Facebook/ Soul Barn. Credit: Supplied It was not until 11.30pm, with the effects of psilocybin wearing off, that Ms Dixon called out to Ms Matthews and was crying. Ms Matthews tried to lift Ms Dixon, but she could not walk and instead fell about 50cm, the coroner reported. Ms Dixon was then taken to a separate space to lay on a pillow, after which Ms Matthews moved her to the property's kitchen so she could open the back door to give Ms Dixon some 'fresh cold air'. By 11.53pm, Ms Matthews had called emergency services and told triple-0: 'I was holding a ceremony and I don't think someone, she's not responding.' A registered GoodSam responder arrived within 10 minutes and attached a defibrillator to Ms Dixon. Paramedics arrived soon after, and tried to resuscitate her for about 30 minutes, before she was ultimately declared dead at 12.45am. Ms Jamieson's report tried to determine what caused Ms Dixon's death, but despite her death 'occurring in the context of her recent use of illicit drugs', she found that Ms Dixon died from 'unascertained causes'. Ms Matthews pleaded guilty to trafficking a drug of dependence in March and was fined $3000. NewsWire/ Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia Ms Jamieson wrote that an investigation of coronial databases found 20 deaths between 2014 and 2025 where psilocin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, was present. She said in seven of those cases, the potential link between magic mushroom consumption and death had been explored – each were unable to determine if the drug had played a role. 'However, I emphasise I have not concluded the mushroom consumption was unrelated to Rachael's death,' Ms Jamieson found. 'Rather, as already discussed, 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.' Forensic pathologist Joanne Ho found that circumstantially there was a 'temporal relationship between her death and the consumption of the magic mushroom infused tea' but noted that deaths from magic mushrooms were rare due to their low toxicity. One possible explanation was explored by Ms Jamieson, a little-known toxic syndrome called 'wood-lover paralysis'. Ms Dixon's cause of death was unascertained. Supplied Credit: Supplied The syndrome causes sudden muscle weakness, usually to the limbs, sometimes causing an inability to stand or walk, difficulty swallowing, and breathing difficulties. Ms Jamieson found 'the evidence regarding Rachael's symptoms (particularly her being unable to walk and her loss of spontaneous breathing) appears to be consistent with symptoms linked to the wood-lover paralysis toxidrome'. But given there is no known cause of wood-lover paralysis, she was unable to determine if it was the cause of death. The coroner recommended that people who partake in magic mushroom use should be educated about the rare syndrome, but she could not make a formal recommendation as there was no Victorian body that would be able 'reasonably' reach the 'diverse' group that use the drug. 'However, I direct that this finding be published on the Coroners Court of Victoria website so that my insights are available to any organisations or individuals who are in a position to consider and disseminate them to those who might be at risk,' she said.
ABC News
31-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Coroner finds Rachael Dixon's death at wellness retreat 'in the context' of taking magic mushrooms
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.
