In late July, Gail and Don Patterson went for lunch at their daughter-in-law’s house in Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, along with Heather Wilkinson, Gail’s sister, and her husband Ian. Shortly after the meal, all four guests fell ill with severe stomach pain, bad enough to require a visit to the local hospital. There, medics immediately realised all four were suffering from something worse than food poisoning, transferring them to a Melbourne hospital where they were treated for death cap mushroom ingestion. Death caps are highly toxic when eaten; Heather, 66, Gail, 70, and Don, 70, could not be saved. Ian, 68, was left in a critical condition in hospital, awaiting a liver transplant. Their host, Erin Patterson, 48, was initially reported as being “fine”, but later said that she was…
