A survivor of a lethal mushroom poisoning that has gripped Australia has been released from hospital, his family say.
In July, Erin Patterson cooked a beef Wellington using mushrooms which killed three relatives. Police believe the victims had eaten death cap mushrooms, which are lethal if ingested.
Ian Wilkinson was also left in a critical condition after eating them.
But he has now been discharged from hospital.
“This milestone marks a moment of immense relief and gratitude for Ian and the entire Wilkinson family,” they said in a statement.
It is not yet clear if Mr Wilkinson, a Baptist church pastor, has already spoken to police in hospital or whether he can now shed new light on the case.
The fatal lunch was held in Ms Patterson’s home in the small town of Leongatha, Victoria on 29 July.
Ms Patterson had invited her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband Ian. Her estranged husband could not attend last-minute.
Hours after the meal, all four guests fell ill with what they initially thought was severe food poisoning.
Within days, Heather, 66, Gail, 70, and Don, 70, had died, while Ian, 68, was hospitalised in a critical condition.
Erin Patterson has been named as a suspect because she appeared to remain in good health despite her four guests falling gravely ill.
Ms Patterson, who is not facing charges, says it was an accident.
“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones,” the 48-year-old said last month.
“I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people, whom I loved.”
Ms Patterson said the mushrooms used to prepare the meal were a mixture of button mushrooms bought at a supermarket, and dried mushrooms purchased at an Asian grocery store in Melbourne several months ago.
Her children, who were not present at the lunch, ate some of the leftover beef Wellington the next day. However the mushrooms had been scraped off the dish as they do not like the fungi, she said.
Ms Patterson said she herself was hospitalised on 31 July. She said she was put on a saline drip and given medication to guard against liver damage.
She said she had also saved and given the remainder of the lunch to hospital toxicologists for examination.
In her statement, she also admitted lying to authorities about a food dehydrator seized by police from a local tip during investigations.
