Erin Patterson’s ex “suspected” that she once tried to poison him

News

by Jesse O’Neill

August 10, 2023 | 11:05 a.m

The ex-husband of the Australian woman suspected of serving a poisonous mushroom to four of his relatives was also supposed to be at the fatal lunch – and it is believed his ex-wife previously tried to poison him too, a report said Thursday.

Simon Patterson was on the guest list for ex-wife Erin Patterson’s July 29 lunch that ended with the deaths of his parents and his sister and brother-in-law in critical condition, According to the Herald Sun.

The report said he canceled “because he couldn’t come at the last minute” — and he was also wary of his ex.

The report said he had been in an induced coma for 16 days after developing a mysterious bowel disease last spring after eating food served by Irene.

A source close to him told the newspaper: “Simon suspected Irene of poisoning him.”

“There were times when he felt… a little bit more comfortable and that coincided with when he was spending time with her.”

In fact, Simon wrote about his stomach ailment in May 2022, from which he fully recovered, on Facebook.

“I collapsed at home, then fell into an induced coma for 16 days during which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus one additional operation planned,” he wrote.

“My family was asked to come and say goodbye twice, as I was not expected to live.”

His 48-year-old ex-wife has been accused of serving highly toxic mushrooms to Simon’s parents, Jill and Don Patterson, and Jill’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband, Ian, at a lunch at her home late last month.

Jill, 70, Don, 70, and Heather, 66, died last week and Ian was awaiting a liver transplant and is in critical condition, according to the BBC. Erin Patterson has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing

The source said Simon believes his early illness may have been triggered by eating nightshades — a family of herbs that includes tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes and peppers. Immature nightshade plants contain toxic alkaloids that can be fatal.

A neighbor told the outlet that he had been living with his now deceased parents while recovering from an illness.

After his illness, there may have been a breakup [from Erin]said the neighbor. We don’t know why they separated. They were a very special family.”

Irene and her children did not experience any obvious symptoms from the fatal meal.

She denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with murder, although an investigation is ongoing.

“I loved them and was devastated that they were gone,” she told reporters of her two ex-in-laws.

“They were some of the best people I’ve ever met.”

Police were reportedly looking into whether a food dehydrator found in the trash was used to prepare the killer meal and then thrown away.

“We will be working closely with medical experts, with toxicologists and a whole range of experts throughout this investigation in the hope that we can understand exactly what happened and provide some answers for the family,” Victoria Police Inspector of the Homicide Squad, Dean Thomas, said.

The death cap mushroom is prevalent in southeastern Australia between March and May, and is not easily distinguished from other edible mushrooms.

Symptoms of eating them include severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and death, health officials said, warning people to think twice before looking for wild fungi.