A leading criminologist has said there are three main lines of inquiry open to police after a woman died from suspected mushroom poisoning at a health centre.
Rachael Dixon, 53, attended the Soul Barn Creative Wellbeing Center in Clunes, near Ballarat, Victoria, on Saturday night and He became seriously ill after he is believed to have crushed mushrooms and consumed them in a drink.
Newcastle University criminologist Xanthe Mallett spoke on Channel 7’s Sunrise program on Wednesday morning about the key questions facing researchers, including whether the mushrooms may be of the type known as magic mushrooms.
Professor Mallett said there are only three options police will consider.
“Was this a terrible accident, a misadventure? Was it a case of suicide, or was it something else, something more intentional?” he said.
Rachael Dixon (pictured) attended the Soul Barn Creative Wellbeing Center in Clunes, near Ballarat, on Saturday night and became seriously ill after she is believed to have crushed mushrooms and consumed them in a drink.
She was attending an event at Soul Barn, an alternative health center in Clunes (pictured), which featured “wild foraged plants”.
“I think we can probably rule out suicide from the beginning, but the police will obviously consider it as a potential.” It has to be done.’
The academic added: “We are really looking at a misadventure or an intention… the police are investigating both until they have evidence that leads them down one of those paths.”
Sunrise’s Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington noted that The use of magic mushrooms is illegal in Australia and he asked where responsibility might lie in a situation like this.
“That really depends on who possibly searched for those mushrooms,” Professor Mallett said.
‘They will probably be growing at this time of year. It is autumn.
“So it really depends on who picked them and who knew what was in those drinks.”
“The police will really have to unravel all that before they can examine guilt.”
The professor was also asked about comparisons to the Erin Patterson case, where a woman was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
These charges arose from an incident in which he allegedly poisoned a meal with mushrooms at a house in the same region of Victoria where the case involving Ms Dixon occurred.
Professor Mallett said “some of the (same) toxicologists” may be involved in the latest case.
‘They need to know exactly what was in that tea that supposedly contained magic mushrooms. “There may be other toxic fungi there,” he said.
“The chance of someone becoming seriously ill or dying from magic mushrooms is very low, but they can be confused with other toxic mushrooms.
“Therefore, they will have to determine exactly what mushrooms were supposedly in that drink.
Professor Mallett said “some of the (same) toxicologists” may be involved in the latest case.
He said people who pick their own mushrooms should be careful which ones they pick this time of year.
In addition to Ms Dixon’s death, two other people were also rushed to hospital after allegedly consuming a drink with “foraging” ingredients during the “alternative health” retreat.
The other two people were discharged on Tuesday.
Police are expected to investigate whether the drink contained “magic” mushrooms, which contain the hallucinogenic chemical psilocybin.
Dixon’s son Matthew paid tribute to his mother on social media on Sunday, writing: “To the most loving and caring person I have ever met, I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me and all the support.” . gave me’.
“There are no words to describe how much I will miss you, I wish I could give you one last hug.”
Detectives from the Moorabool Crime Investigation Unit are investigating Ms Dixon’s death and will interview those who were at the retreat at the time.
There is no indication that the poisoning was intentional.
Dixon’s son Matthew paid tribute to his mother on social media on Sunday.
Soul Barn’s Facebook page describes the center as an “Alternative and Holistic Health Service” and was used to host the skincare event.
“(The specialist) weaves ancient skincare rituals and combines them with modern techniques to create nourishing yet active facial treatments,” it was announced.
‘Using infused herbal oils sourced from local farms and wild plants, plus handmade skincare products from around the world, specially chosen for their potency and purity… This is a facial like no other! , one you will never forget!’
A post on Sunday extended the company’s “deepest condolences” and stated that a “healthy healing” session that day would be canceled and refunds would be given to those who booked.
Police are expected to investigate whether the drink contained “magic” mushrooms, a hallucinogen, but do not rule out other toxic substances (pictured, Soul Barn).