Erin Patterson, woman at center of suspected Leongatha mushroom poisoning, admits lying to police
The woman who cooked a mushroom meal, which is said to have killed three people, says she bought the mushrooms from both a supermarket and an Asian grocery store and was hospitalized herself after eating the meal.
“I now want to clear things up because I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones,” Ms Patterson said.
“I hope this statement could help in some way. I believe that if people understood the context better, they wouldn’t be so quick to rush to judgment.
“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the disease my loved ones suffer from. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt those people I loved.
Ms Patterson also responded to media reports that police investigating the deaths seized a food dehydrator from a local tip, saying it was hers.
In the statement, Ms Patterson admitted to lying to investigators when she told them she had dumped him for tipping “a long time ago”.
Ms Patterson said she was in hospital with her children ‘discussing the food hydrator’ when her ex-husband, the deceased couple’s son, asked: ‘This is what you used for the poison?”
Fearing she could lose custody of the couple’s children, Ms Patterson said she then panicked and threw the dehydrator at the tip.
