Erin Patterson arrested over fatal mushroom lunch that killed three in Gippsland, Victoria

Detectives are painstakingly picking apart the home of Erin Patterson after she was arrested over the poisonous mushroom meal that led to the death of three people in Leongatha, south-eastern Victoria.

Patterson was arrested at her home about 8am on Thursday and taken to Wonthaggi police station for questioning. No charges have been laid.

Heather Wilkinson, 66, her sister Gail Patterson and her husband Don Patterson, both 70, all died in August, days after eating a beef Wellington cooked by Ms Patterson.

The Pattersons were the parents of Ms Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon. 

Ms Wilkinson’s husband, Baptist church pastor Ian Wilkinson, 68, was the sole survivor but was left critically ill and spent almost two months in hospital.

A specialist police team of investigators are now currently searching Ms Patterson’s home where the fatal family lunch took place on July 29.

Detectives have brought in specially-trained ‘technology detector dogs’ – that can sniff out USB memory keys and sim cards – to help scour the property.

Forensic experts have also been spotted rifling through a crowded garage attached to the home, and combing through the interior of her car in the property’s driveway.

Police have arrested Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of the investigation into the poisonous mushroom meal that led to the death of three people in Gippsland, eastern Victoria

Detectives have brought in specially-trained ‘technology detector dogs’ – that can sniff out USB memory keys and sim cards – to help scour the property

Detectives could be seen going through Erin Patterson’s car (pictured) during the search of her property on Thursday

Police could also be seen rifling through the crowded contents of the garage attached to the home on Thursday morning

Five cars including Ms Patterson’s were parked in her driveway on Thursday morning as a man who appeared to be a detective was spotted on his phone outside her house before returning inside.

Ms Patterson’s empty bins remained uncollected outside her property.

Her arrest comes after pastor Wilkinson was said to be helping police with the investigation following his release from hospital on September 23.

Police believe the symptoms the four diners experienced were consistent with the effects of eating deathcap mushrooms. 

Ms Patterson became the focus of the police investigation after it was revealed she cooked the meal. She has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

In the wake of the tragedy, Ms Patterson spoke of her love for the victims of the poisoning, and especially her in-laws.

‘I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones,’ she said.

‘I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.’

Ms Patterson said she made the killer lunch with a mixture of button mushrooms from a major supermarket chain and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store in Melbourne.

In her statement to police, which was leaked to the media, Ms Patterson said she portioned the meal onto plates and let her guests pick their own.

A sign on the fence at Ms Patterson’s home warns visitors off from trespassing on the property

A police team of investigators are currently searching her home in Leongatha where the fatal family lunch took place on July 29

Five cars including Erin Patterson’s were parked in her driveway on Thursday morning 

She said she took the last remaining plate and ate a serving, later handing the leftovers to hospital toxicologists for examination.

A dehydrator was later dumped at the local tip amid concern her estranged husband would blame her for his parents’ death and gain custody of their two children, she said.

Deathcap mushroom contain deadly amatoxin which catastrophically attacks a person’s body and essentially ‘melts down a person’s liver’, one medical expert told Daily Mail Australia.

It is so potent that you do not even need to eat part of the mushroom for it to be lethal.

Simply consuming liquid the mushrooms were cooked in can be enough to kill.

On Thursday morning, Victoria Police confirmed they had made an arrest in the case.

Erin Patterson was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to Wonthaggi police station for questioning. No charges are believed to have been laid at this stage 

Heather Wilkinson (left) died after the fatal family meal in Leongatha on July 29. Her husband Ian WIlkinson (right) was the sole survivor

Erin Patterson’s estranged in-laws Don and Gail Patterson both died after the fatal family meal

‘Homicide Squad detectives have arrested a woman this morning as part of their investigation into the deaths of three people following an incident in Leongatha earlier this year,’ a statement said.

‘Four people were taken to hospital on July 30 after they became ill following a meal at a private residence in Leongatha the previous day.

‘Two Korumburra women, aged 66 and 70, passed away in hospital on August 4. A third person, a 70-year-old Korumburra man, passed away in hospital on August 5.

‘A 69-year-old Korumburra man was released from hospital on September 23.

‘A 49-year-old Leongatha woman was arrested at her home address shortly after 8am on November 2.

‘A search warrant has been executed at the Gibson Street address, with assistance from the AFP’s technology detector dogs.

‘The woman will now be interviewed by police and the investigation remains ongoing.’