Chef of deadly mushroom lunch Erin Patterson breaks silence after disturbing find: ‘I’ve been painted as an evil witch’

• Four family members poisoned at a lunch in Leongatha, VIC 
• Chef Erin Patterson rejects ‘evil witch’ portrayal in media
• It comes after emergence of ‘creepy’ scribblings in her home
• Daily Mail Australia doesn’t suggest Erin tried to poison Simon or her four guests 

The chef of the deadly mushroom lunch has rejected claims she is an ‘evil witch’ after a photo emerged of ‘disturbing’ scribblings on her dining room wall.

Erin Patterson, 48, hosted the now-infamous lunch at her home Leongatha, in Victoria’s southeast Gippsland region, on July 29, which left three of her in-laws dead of suspected mushroom poisoning, while a fourth man remains in a coma. 

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Ms Patterson is responsible for the poisonings. 

Now the mother-of-two has broken cover to bemoan her portrayal in the media and to protest her innocence. 

‘I lost my parents-in-law, my children lost their grandparents,’ she told The Australian.

‘And I’ve been painted as an evil witch. And the media is making it impossible for me to live in this town. 

Erin Patterson (pictured) has broken her cover to complain about her alleged portrayal as an ‘evil witch’

The above family tree shows the connections between the Pattersons and Wilkinsons embroiled in the unusual poisoning tragedy in Leongatha

‘I can’t have friends over. The media is at the house where my children are at. The media are at my sister’s house so I can’t go there. This is unfair.’

Her comments come after a tradesman revealed he took a picture of a so-called ‘death wall’ in the home Ms Patterson used to share with her now estranged husband, Simon.

The tradie, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was paid to remove disturbing graffiti from the interior wall in the home in Korumburra, 15km from Leongatha, that the couple eventually sold for $545,000 after they split up.

It’s believed that they had previously lived there with their two children. 

The images, which Daily Mail Australia has seen, include pictures of grave stones and bizarre scribbles with themes of death and destruction drawn in black and red ink – the latter used to symbolise blood.

‘It was disturbing. We called it the death wall,’ the tradie said.

‘They were done by their (the Pattersons’) daughter. It is pretty disturbing for mum to let the kids draw on their dining room wall.’

The poster-sized drawings featured two tombstones with daggers and decapitated heads, along with scribbles and dark quotes, including the words: ‘You are dead by the sword’.

Another has the date ‘August 1, 2021’ with the words ‘you will die within a year’ written underneath.

One of the tombstones appears to say ‘grandma R.I.P.’ while the third reads ‘ME R.I.P.’ 

Another person who saw the images described them as ‘satanic.’

Ms Patterson, a stay-at-home mum who has previously worked editing a Korumburra newsletter, says she bought the suspected toxic fungi at a supermarket and an Asian grocery store, and was herself hospitalised after eating the lunch.

Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became severely ill after they ate wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died on Friday while her husband remains in a critical condition in hospital

Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms

But Daily Mail Australia revealed earlier on Wednesday that she was an experienced fungi forager known to pick wild mushrooms around Victoria’s Gippsland region, a source close to the family said. 

A friend of the Patterson family said Erin was ‘very good at foraging’ and identifying different mushroom varieties. 

‘The Patterson family (including Erin and Simon) would pick mushrooms each year when they were in season,’ the friend said.

‘It’s very common for people to go mushroom picking around that area.’

Ms Patterson had intended to use the meal as reconciliation with her estranged husband Simon, but he pulled out at the last minute.

Simon’s parents Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the meal – a beef wellington – while his aunt Heather also died. 

Simon Patterson was supposed to join his parents for the lunch that killed them but pulled out at the last minute

Heather’s husband, 68-year-old church pastor Ian Wilkinson, is in a coma at Melbourne’s Austin hospital.

A source close to the police investigation into the deaths told the Herald Sun that one of the three people who died had a final conversation with a paramedic.

That paramedic felt it was necessary to relay what was said to the police, the source claims.

It is yet not known what the lunch guest said to the paramedic. 

Ms Patterson, a stay-at-home mum who has previously worked editing a Korumburra newsletter, says she bought the suspected toxic fungi at a supermarket and an Asian grocery store, and was herself hospitalised after eating the lunch.

READ MORE: Guest who ate Erin Patterson’s poisoned beef wellington lunch ‘had final conversation with a paramedic’

Her children did were not present at the lunch and went to the movies instead. They ate leftovers the next day, but the mushrooms were scraped off as they don’t like them.

Ms Patterson told police she became unwell after eating the meal too, and that while she was in hospital, her ex-husband Simon accused her of poisoning his parents.

She said she was ‘discussing the food hydrator’ she used to prepare the meal when her ex-husband asked: ‘Is that what you used to poison them?’

In a panic, Erin has admitted that she then dumped the dehydrator at a nearby tip.

The dehydrator has been found by police and a source close to the investigation told The Age police were conducting forensic tests on the dehydrator – which was found at a nearby tip.

In a written statement sent to Victoria Police on Friday – and obtained by the ABC – Ms Patterson expressed hurt that people ‘were so quick to rush to judgement.’

‘I am now wanting to clear up the record because I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones,’ Ms Patterson said.

‘I am hoping this statement might help in some way. I believe if people understood the background more, they would not be so quick to rush to judgement.

‘I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.’

She had earlier given a no comment interview to police at the start of their investigations, blaming her decision to stonewall cops on it being a ‘terrifying and anxiety-provoking’ experience. 

MUSHROOM POISONING: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS 

Saturday, July 29

Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson (a pastor) gather at Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha, north-east of Melbourne, for lunch and east her beef wellington

Erin’s two children go to the movies 

Sunday, July 30

Erin’s children eat leftover beef wellington but with the mushrooms scraped off.

All four lunch guests present to hospital feeling ill. It is initially thought they have gastro. 

As their condition deteriorates, they are transferred to hospitals in Melbourne. 

Erin also goes to hospital.

Monday, July 31

Erin is transferred to a hospital in Melbourne, where she is treated for poisoning

Friday, August 4

Gail and Heather die in hospital.

Police find Erin’s food dehydrator dumped at a tip 

Saturday, August 5

Don dies in hospital. Police search Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha and seize a number of items.

Sunday, August 6

Police are seen returning to Erin’s home to question her. She is heard wailing loudly from inside the house before the four officers leave.

Monday, August 7 

Victoria Police Detective Inspector for the Homicide Squad, Dean Thomas, confirms Erin is being treated as a person of interest in the case.

However, he says the investigation is still in its early stages and it is yet to be determined if the deaths are suspicious. 

A short time later, Erin breaks her silence and speaks to reporters outside the home. She says she is devastated and ‘loves’ the four relatives who came to her home. She denies any wrongdoing but does not answer questions where the mushrooms came from, who picked them or what meal she made for her guests.

Tuesday, August 8

In a bizarre twist, Simon Patterson was revealed to have suffered from a mysterious Stomach illness in June, 2022. He fell into a coma and was in ICU for 21 days. His case is yet to be explained by doctors.

Forensic testing is underway to find any traces of death cap mushroom on the food dehydrator. Police believe it was used during preparation of the meal.

Wednesday, August 9

Daily Mail Australia reveals that Simon Patterson was expected to attend the lunch, but pulled out at the last minute 

Thursday, August 10

Erin Patterson tells reporters she is driving to Melbourne to see her lawyers. A representative from the legal firm later arrives at her house to hand deliver a letter, but she is not home.

Friday August 11: Erin Patterson provides a lengthy written statement to police

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