Four relatives went to lunch. Three died with symptoms of poisoning from death cap mushrooms in Australia

() – A meal containing suspected death mushrooms served at a family lunch in late July is at the centre of a murder investigation in Australia following the deaths of three guests less than a week later.

Erin Patterson served the meal to her former in-laws and her mother-in-law’s sister and husband, who were guests at her home in the southern Victorian town of Leongatha, Australia, on July 29, according to Victoria Police.

Within days, Gail Patterson, 70, and her sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital, followed by Gail’s 70-year-old husband Don a day later.

A fourth guest, Wilkinson’s husband Ian, a 68-year-old reverend, remains seriously ill in hospital.

Their deaths have shocked the small town and in recent days parishioners at the nearby Korumburra Baptist Church have gathered to pray for the recovery of their reverend, who is reportedly in need of a liver transplant.

Combined, the towns of Leongatha and Korumburra are home to just over 10,000 people, according to the latest census.

Shedding tears at a meeting with local media outside her home on Monday, Erin Patterson denied any wrongdoing.

“I’m devastated. I loved them. And I can’t believe this happened and I’m so sorry,” the 48-year-old told reporters.

At a news conference on Monday, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas of Victoria Police’s homicide squad said Patterson is a suspect because she prepared the meal and was the only adult at the lunch who did not become ill.

He said Erin Patterson had separated from her husband, Simon, who lost his parents, but described their relationship as “amicable.”

The former couple’s two children were also at the lunch, she added, but ate a different meal and showed no signs of illness.

“We have to keep an open mind on this. It could be very innocent,” Thomas said. “But again, we just don’t know at this point … four people show up and three of them die, there’s another one in critical condition, so we have to work through this.”

The symptoms suffered by Patterson’s guests are consistent with death cap poisoning, Thomas said, though toxicology reports don’t yet show exactly what they consumed.

Victoria Health issued a warning about death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) in April, describing them as “extremely poisonous” and listing symptoms of consumption including violent stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

“Even if initial symptoms disappear, serious liver damage may have occurred that may result in death,” the warning said.

Native to Europe, these death caps were first confirmed in Australia in the 1960s, and they almost always grow near introduced trees, such as oaks, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.

It is not clear where the mushrooms consumed for Leongatha’s lunch came from, or what kind they were. The toxins in death mushrooms cannot be destroyed by boiling, cooking, freezing or drying them, and eating just a small portion can result in death.

When reporters asked her what food she had cooked, Patterson did not answer, but retreated to her home and asked them to leave her alone.

Police said they searched Patterson’s home on Saturday and seized a number of items for forensic testing. Local media reports suggested a dehydrator was found in a nearby dumpster, although police did not elaborate on specific items.

“Obviously, many of the items we have seized will be forensically examined in the hope that they may shed some light on what occurred at the luncheon,” Thomas said.

While police are working to confirm what Patterson’s guests ate, they are urging people to stay away from wild mushrooms.

“I ask people in the community to think about mushrooms that they may have picked in pastures, farms, whatever. Please think about whether you should eat them,” Thomas said.

“My suggestion is that if you haven’t bought them in a supermarket or something like that, maybe stay away from them,” he added.