THE woman who cooked a meal which resulted in the deaths of three people has denied any wrongdoing.
Erin Patterson hosted a lunch with her former in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson - and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson plus her husband Ian.
The family gathered at Erin's home in Victoria, Australia for the dinner last week, which ended in tragedy.
After eating the meal, the guests became violently ill with three later dying - thought to be due to poisonous mushrooms.
Gail and Heather, aged 70 and 66, died on Friday and Don, 70, died on Saturday night.
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Cops have launched a probe as they do not know if the case is suspicious.
Homicide detectives have said Erin is a person of interest since she cooked the meal and did not have symptoms of poisoning.
Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said: "She hasn't presented with any symptoms 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."
She allegedly did not answer questions about where the mushrooms came from or what meal she made for the guests.
Thomas continued: "We will be working closely with medical experts, toxicologists… in the hope we can understand exactly what has gone on and provide some answers to the family.
"We're trying to understand who ate what at the lunch, whether that person that did not become ill did or did not eat the mushrooms…
"And of course, we're trying to ascertain what it is that has actually caused the poisoning to the four people that attended."
Erin broke down in front of cameras today and claimed she didn't do anything as cops investigate.
She said: "I loved them and I'm devastated that they're gone.
"Gail was like the mum I didn't have because my mum passed away four years ago and Gail had never been anything but good and kind to me.
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"Ian and Heather were some of the best people I'd ever met. They never did anything wrong to me."
Meanwhile, Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, a pastor, is in the hospital where he is in critical condition.
The families told The South Gippsland Sentinel-Times: “The past week has been a time of shock and grief for us all.
"They were parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and pillars of faith within our community.”
Locals have been left stunned as news of the deaths emerged.
Nathan Hersey, the mayor of South Gippsland, described the situation as "shocking."
Officials have warned about two types of poisonous mushrooms that grow in Victoria during the cooler months.
It’s not known what type of mushroom the four people ate.
Symptoms of wild mushroom poisoning include vomiting, diarrhoea, and dizziness.
