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Life was just starting to settle down in Leongatha. And then the woman who had been the talk of the town, and captured international attention, was front page news once again.<\/p>\n
As Erin Patterson sits in a cell awaiting her next court appearance over the alleged murder of three people with a meal of mushrooms, locals are still coming to terms with what happened at that now infamous gathering three months ago.<\/p>\n
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The main street of Leongatha, a town thrust into the spotlight by the alleged murder of three people with mushrooms.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s put Leongatha on the map for all the wrong reasons,\u201d real estate agent Chris Fitzgerald said.<\/p>\n \u201cEven my Irish cousins have been in touch with me because they\u2019ve heard about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone from Korumburra and Leongatha who spoke to The Age<\/em> this week said the mania around the mushroom incident had only recently settled down.<\/p>\n And then the helicopters circling overhead this week sent the rumour mill back into overdrive, as this small Gippsland community of less than 6000 people was once again thrust into the spotlight.<\/p>\n Since July 29, when the alleged poisonings took place in Leongatha, it\u2019s what most people have been talking about. On Thursday, Victoria Police swooped on Patterson\u2019s house before charging her with murder.<\/p>\n The deaths of Korumburra residents, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail\u2019s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, have attracted worldwide attention that none of its residents anticipated.<\/p>\n Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson were poisoned by the mushroom meal.<\/span><\/p>\n Police also accuse Patterson of attempting to murder her estranged husband Simon Patterson four times, which has sent fresh shockwaves through the town.<\/p>\n Clients at a hairdresser in nearby Korumburra were wondering if fresh evidence from toxicology or technology forensic analysis had emerged to lead to the charges.<\/p>\n Erin Patterson, seen here outside her home in August, has appeared in court.<\/span>Credit: <\/span> Marta Pascual Juanola<\/cite><\/p>\n Resident Liz Harris said she hoped the intrigue hadn\u2019t detracted from the tragedy that had affected so many people.<\/p>\n Harris\u2019 children were taught at Korumburra Secondary College by Patterson, where he\u2019d once worked alongside his wife Gail.<\/p>\n \u201cThree people died and all those families are affected,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s intertwined and everybody knows everybody. You can say 10 family names and there\u2019ll be 100 relations. City people just don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Leongatha local Julie Dean said she had been relieved the town was beginning to move on before this week\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n The national and international spotlight was once again on the regional Victorian towns.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cMushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms … people are not going to eat mushrooms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really heartbreaking, she\u2019s got two kids as well.\u201d<\/p>\n When news first broke that four locals had been hospitalised with food poisoning, there was a scramble to work out what happened.<\/p>\n A local pub\u2019s employee WhatsApp group chat blew up the night the first reports trickled in.<\/p>\n Leongatha was once again in the spotlight this week after resident Erin Patterson was charged with murder and attempted murder.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cHow many wild-mushroom pastas went out tonight?\u201d the boss wanted to know.<\/p>\n The pub has since removed its wild-mushroom fettuccine from the menu due to a \u201csteep decline in demand\u201d.<\/p>\n Ian Wilkinson, 68, was the sole survivor of the deadly lunch after spending almost two months in hospital.<\/p>\n Wilkinson has recently been seen out and about, with churchgoers attributing the Korumburra Baptist Church pastor\u2019s faith to his surprising recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, he gets on with his life as much as he can,\u201d Fitzgerald said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be a lot of mental scars … who knows whether or not they heal in time. Hopefully, they do for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Parishioners of St Paul\u2019s Anglican Church were setting up for their free community dinner on Friday. The church has been supporting members of the Baptist church in the absence of Wilkinson.<\/p>\n Reverend Fran Grimes said combined sadness for the Pattersons and Wilkinsons and concern for young people connected to the church had brought their community closer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been earth-shattering, I suppose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody who lives in Korumburra has had a call from somebody either interstate or overseas or something because the word story has spread so far and wide.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big earthquake that\u2019s leaving a lot of debris behind and we\u2019ll never really recover. We\u2019ll always feel so heavily for the ones we\u2019ve lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Grimes said the church and town were now thinking ahead and planning for Christmas, in need of something positive to start looking forward to.<\/p>\n \u201cIn spite of this we have a real hope that we can still have some joy and some peace in our lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens.<\/i><\/b> Get it here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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