VETERAN ‘Age’ crime reporter John Silvester reported on Wednesday this week that there has been “a breakthrough” in the case of alleged mushroom poisoning in Leongatha on Saturday, July 29.
He claims that the results of the forensic tests are in and that they are conclusive.
“The good news is that detailed forensic tests have come back and confirmed the cause of the three deaths is indeed mushroom poisoning,” he said in an article in The Age on September 27.
But police have declined to confirm or deny The Age report and have instead said there will be no running commentary.
“The investigation remains ongoing and as such, we are not providing any comment on any aspects of that investigation,” said police today.
Make of that what you will.
Meanwhile, there was no sign of action at the Leongatha home of the person described by police as a suspect in the case, Erin Patterson, on Wednesday afternoon.
There had been reports that Ms Patterson is staying away from her home in Leongatha, where the fateful lunch is believed to have taken place, and while her red MG SUV wasn’t parked at the location yesterday, the family’s black Labrador could be seen on the back veranda, indicating Ms Patterson may still be in residence or not too far away.
Ms Patterson, 48, was described as a suspect by Homicide Detective Inspector Dean Thomas when he fronted the media back on Monday, August 7 in the main because she acknowledged making the meals.
“The 48-year-old is, yes, she is because she cooked those meals for us, for those people that were present. Now again, she hasn't presented with any symptoms,” he said at the time, “but we have to keep an open mind in relation to this, that it could be very innocent. But again, we just don't know at this point.”
Of course, Ms Patterson later said she did present with symptoms the day after the meal and was ultimately transferred to the Monash Medical Centre.
Detective Inspector Thomas said at the media conference that “there’s still a lot of work to do”.
“We need to understand what's caused the symptoms, what's caused, ultimately the deaths of these three people. And we have a fourth person we've got to remember who is in a critical condition of hospital, so we need to understand what has occurred, what is the cause of the injuries, symptoms to these people, and what has caused their deaths and the circumstances surrounding all of that. So, it's a very complex matter and obviously, we're working closely with medical professionals and Department of Health in relation to this.”
Of course, Korumburra Baptist Pastor Ian Wilkinson has since been released from hospital to continue his recovery at home.
Det Insp Thomas said it was going to take quite some time to do the toxicology testing and a whole range of other testing.
“And that can take quite some time. And it's important that we get it right. It really is important that we get this right. We keep an open mind to this. It may be very innocent. But again, we just don't know.
“But it's really interesting, you know, that four people turn up and three of them have passed away and with another one critical so we just need to work through this,” he said.
Police have not laid charges against anyone over the incident of mushroom poisoning and Ms Patterson has maintained her innocence.