“I was fascinated by the world of fungi so I did a lot more extra reading myself and went on some forays with some expert people. Bushwalking … extra reading,” she said.
“It became a bit of a personal interest, I wanted to know more.
From left: Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died from mushroom poisoning. Ian Wilkinson survived after weeks in hospital.
“I’m not a forager, I don’t go for a walk to find them to eat, it’s just fascinating.”
McKenzie said it was important for her job that she could quickly and easily identify toxic mushrooms, as death caps were responsible for most of the deaths caused by poisonous mushrooms in Australia.
McKenzie, who has a profile on citizen science website iNaturalist, said she photographed and tagged the location of fungi she saw, and had made about 70 posts.
Two of those were sightings for death caps. The first in May 2022 was in the gardens of the state’s Parliament House, and the second was in Loch.
Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them poisonous mushrooms in a beef Wellington lunch she cooked at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
The Pattersons and Heather Wilkinson died in the days after the meal from the effects of mushroom poisoning. Heather’s husband, Ian, survived after weeks in hospital.
Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder. Her lawyers have said the deaths were a terrible accident.
Seated in court on Monday are members of the Wilkinson and Patterson families, including Ian.
Erin Patterson is seated in the dock wearing a green top and brown cardigan.
The trial continues.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Read the full article here
