Snapshot · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Three of the four guests at Erin Patterson's July 2023 lunch died from death cap mushroom poisoning; the fourth, Ian Wilkinson, survived after 54 days in hospital including an induced coma and liver transplant.
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At 40:30 · chapter starts 38:00
The funerals and memorials that followed brought the community together in numbers that spoke to the Pattersons' and Wilkinsons' reach. Don and Gail's memorial at Corumburra Memorial Hall drew hundreds, with tribute letters arriving from China, Botswana, and the United Kingdom, all describing them as the most capable and generous people the writers had ever met. Simon read Gail's final words aloud — typed from her hospital bed in a last message to the family group chat: 'Lots of love to you all.' Heather's memorial on October 4 drew more than 400 people; Ian Wilkinson attended, frail and deep in recovery, in his first public appearance since the lunch. Local mayor Nathan Hersey called the three victims 'exceptional people who had given generously to the local community,' while Councillor Jenny Currie said the town had 'lost a great store of kindness.'
Death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) are responsible for more than 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide.
Amatoxin, the lethal compound in death cap mushrooms, is heat-stable, meaning cooking the mushrooms does nothing to neutralise the poison.
Just 0.1 milligrams of amatoxin per kilogram of body weight can be fatal, meaning a single death cap mushroom can kill an adult.
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