00:00As we discussed earlier, and we've been together for a few hours now, it's only after 11.30 that we came to your house today.
00:10We want to discuss the deaths of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson today with you.
00:20When we were at the house earlier, we discussed that you hadn't really been kept in the loop,
00:26and it had come as news to you that Heather and Gail had both passed away.
00:38Following eating at your house, Donald, Ian, Gail and Heather had all become so ill
00:45that they ultimately ended up in the intensive care unit at both the Daniel Hospital and then moved to the Austin Hospital.
00:52Following that, they had a deterioration in their condition and that they become so ill that their livers have failed.
01:11Donald underwent transplant last night, and his condition is still extremely critical.
01:19In relation to Ian, I don't have a current prognosis in relation to where he's at.
01:31As of late yesterday, the diagnosis isn't great for him either.
01:37We're trying to understand what has made them so ill, why we're asking these questions.
01:49Conversely, we're trying to understand why you're not that ill.
01:55Do you understand why we're interviewing you today?
01:59Do you understand why we're interviewing you today?
02:01Yes, I do.
02:03But I'm sure you understand, too, that I've never been in a situation like this before,
02:09and I've been very, very helpful with the health department through the week
02:16because I wanted to help that side of things as much as possible,
02:19because I do want to know what happened.
02:23So I've given them as much information as they've asked for and offered up all the food
02:29and all the information about where the food came from.
02:33I fully understand that.
02:35At the house, I must say, for the record again, you were very helpful at the house
02:41and you did point out a couple of things for us that will help us with our investigation.
02:47Mainly the fruit platter that you said Heather bought for you
02:51and the gravy in the fridge and the pantry that you said was from the night
02:57and you've kept on advice from the health department.
03:01So thank you for that.
03:03You also pointed out a recipe book on the counter
03:07and you referred me to page 250 odd.
03:11The recipe for Beef Wellington that you indicated was the recipe that you cooked.
03:19All right, on what we saw at your address in Langatha.
03:23We didn't see a lot of food from Asian grocers or Indian grocers or those kind of stores.
03:31To look in my fridge, I've got a lot of Asian cooking stuff in my fridge.
03:37Yep.
03:39All right.
03:41We'd like to find more of that kind of stuff in your Mount Waisley address, do you think?
03:47No, because I did a big clean out of the pantry and fridge the last time that I was there.
03:59Because I want to sell that place.
04:01Okay. All right.
04:03No problem.
04:05Obviously, we've got concerns in relation to the mushrooms and where they come from.
04:19Is that something you've done in the past, foraging for the mushrooms or anything?
04:29Never.
04:30Never?
04:31Never.
04:32All right.
04:33Do you preserve foods or anything like that?
04:37No.
04:38Have you ever dehydrated food or anything like that?
04:41No.
04:42Okay.
04:43Okay.
04:44Um.
04:45Um.
04:46You've described to me a relationship with your ex-partner Simon.
05:00All right.
05:01Um.
05:02Um.
05:03I'd like to understand why, um, you had his parents and his uncle and auntie over for lunch.
05:17I'd like to understand why, because I've got no other family, so they're, the only support
05:18I've got.
05:19Okay.
05:20And they've always been really good to me.
05:21Yeah.
05:22And I want to maintain those relationships with them.
05:23Yeah.
05:24In spite of what's happened with Simon.
05:25Yeah.
05:26me and I want to maintain those relationships with them in spite of what's happened with Simon.
05:35I love them a lot. They've always been really good to me and they always said to me that they
05:42would support me with love and emotional support even though Simon and I were separated and I
05:49really appreciated that because my parents are both gone. My grandparents are all gone.
05:57They're the only family that I've got and they're the only grandparents that my children have
06:06and I want them to stay in my kids' life and that's really important to me and I think Simon
06:15hated that I still had a relationship with his parents but I love them. Nothing that's
06:23ever happened between us, nothing he's ever done to me will change the fact that they're
06:28good decent people that have never done anything wrong by me ever.
06:32So we've been told that on the 31st of July, so two days after the lunch, you went to the
06:39Lengaga Hospital and you were only there for about five minutes and then you left. Can
06:46you explain why you went there for five minutes?
06:50Yeah, because I just went there thinking I needed a couple of bags of saline because I
06:54was really dehydrated and they said, we want to admit you and send you to Melbourne and when
07:00you've got animals at home and children who have multiple after school activities, you can't
07:09just be told to drop everything and you're off to Melbourne for overnight. So I had to go
07:15home and feed the animals and pack my daughter's ballet bag and I did that and I went there.
07:23Okay. Who did you speak to? So I walked in and there was like, I don't think there were
07:33a nurse, it was like, I don't know, it could have been an enrolled nurse or it was like a
07:38helper person in the triage room, right? And she's just like, are you okay? And I said,
07:42well, no, I have to run to the toilet, I've got diarrhoea. And then she wasn't quite sure
07:47where it was and so she went and found out and showed me where it was. And then she said,
07:51I'll go and find someone, I'll get a nurse or a doctor for you. And so I went to the toilet,
07:58I came back out and I was waiting in the triage area and then a doctor came out, Dr. Webster,
08:10and he said to me, sorry, we're going to be a little while because we've got a couple of
08:16pretty cool patients in that hospital. And I said, that's fine, don't worry about me,
08:21I'm just a gastro case. I'm not urgent, obviously. And he said, oh, what's your name?
08:26And I said, Erin. And he said, oh, we've been expecting you because other people that
08:33you ate with on Saturday were sick. And he said, can you come through? And I said, sure.
08:39And I came in and then he said to me, I can't say the exact words, but he said something along
08:46the lines of, we've got a concern, they've eaten death cat mushrooms. And I said, what?
08:51And he said, yeah, that's what we think they've eaten. And then he said,
08:56started asking me about what food I served them. And I told him.
08:59All right. Um, I understand you went down to the hospital and got treatment and that.
09:11Um, what kind of treatment did you get?
09:15Well, they hooked me up to a trip.
09:18Yeah. They said that because we're concerned. So Dr. Webster had to leave. I think he was at the end of his shift.
09:25And he passed on to another doctor, Dr. Foote. And she said to me, because the concern is that
09:30everybody's eaten something that hurts your liver. We need to give you this protective medicine.
09:35Um, and so there was saline and acetyl or something or other. I didn't realise.
09:42But, um, she said, we need to give you this and then put you in an ambulance up to Melbourne
09:48where they can give you more, I don't know what the word is, more, where they can care for you better.
09:58Yeah. Yeah. So I've got saline and this other stuff. And I'm going to not let ambulance up.
10:04Okay. Um, how long are you in the hospital for here in Melbourne?
10:12Till Tuesday. After.
10:16Okay. Monday to Wednesday. Yeah.
10:19All right. Um, and again, full disclosure so you understand, um, we've obtained warrants
10:32in relation to medical records for everyone involved in this.
10:35Okay. And so we will get medical records in relation to your treatment there as well.
10:39Sure. Okay. You were at home in prison when, um, we did a search warrant today.
10:46All right. Um, I know you weren't watching everyone at all the time.
10:51Um, but I just want to go through on tape some of the stuff for you.
10:56Um, and like I said, we'll give you a link of the copy of this, uh, everything we've seized.
11:01Kitchen, far left bottom drawer, instruction manual for a sunbeam,
11:06through the low electronic dehydrator.
11:10Um, what's that information today? Do you know anything about a dehydrator in your house?
11:15No.
11:16Okay. Do you own a dehydrator?
11:21No.
11:22Wow.
11:23Okay.
11:24I've got manuals of lots of stuff that I've collected over the years.
11:29I've had all sorts of appliances and I just keep them all in.
11:32Oh, okay.
11:33Yeah.
11:34When did you own a dehydrator?
11:38Um, I don't know. I've had one years ago.
11:43Okay.
11:44What did you use that for?
11:46Like, when I first got the Thermomix, I got really excited about, like, making everything from scratch.
11:52You know, and I did a lot of, um, you know, like, everything from scratch ingredients and I did a lot of that.
12:02So, we had something like that.
12:05Okay.
12:06So, we had a kitchen bench located against the wall, um, recipe 10 each book.
12:12Okay.
12:13I'm not sure.
12:14Again.
12:15That's that recipe book.
12:16That's that same book that we, um, the Wellington recipe come out of.
12:21Yeah.
12:22Okay.
12:23From the fridge, we got the fruit salad platter, which you pointed out.
12:27Oh.
12:28Yeah.
12:29So, thank you for that.
12:30Um, from the study, we took the computer, uh, we took another computer and we took another computer.
12:47All right.
12:48In the lounge, we grabbed an iPad in a black and red case.
12:54From the room, we've grabbed a computer.
12:57Uh.
12:58Oh, that would have been an old one I have in the top of my tummy.
13:03Okay.
13:04Yeah.
13:05Yep.
13:06That's a very old one.
13:07All right.
13:08So, that, if I had to prioritise, that would be the bottom of the list.
13:10I don't think anyone's power, but I'm from 30, 39.
13:12Okay.
13:13All right.
13:14No drums.
13:15We'll pop that one at the back of the list.
13:17All right.
13:18Um, a black mobile phone, which again, I'll prioritise tomorrow for you.
13:24Uh, upstairs bedroom two, far left towards the backyard.
13:29It says Erin's bedroom, so we're actually in the tools.
13:32An Apple iPad.
13:33I don't own any iPads, so, but they would be tablets, Android tablets.
13:38Oh, okay.
13:39There's a Samsung tablet listed below that, located on top of the bed.
13:44Yeah.
13:45Uh, okay.
13:46Maybe they've got it wrong, but it's not an iPad or some other tablet.
13:51Uh, Samsung tablet.
13:54Uh, an Apple mobile phone, and your mobile phone.
13:59Uh-huh.
14:00All right.
14:01So, yep.
14:02Oh, and so you said a black mobile phone earlier.
14:05Yep.
14:06Yep.
14:07So that would be a Nokia.
14:08It's a really old Nokia that I've got for like, you know, if you break your phone.
14:14Yeah.
14:15Yep.
14:16And you, you've got to send away from repair and you need, so I've got this like really
14:20old thing.
14:21So, um, yeah.
14:22That's right.
14:23Yeah.
14:24Your mobile phone would be the top top.
14:25Yep.
14:26And then we're talking about the school computer, followed by the Geoforce one.
14:28Yeah.
14:29David.
14:30I'll just, one thing I wanted to clarify, um, to make sure I've got it right.
14:31You obviously said we're taking notes.
14:32When you went to the, um, to the Landgather Hospital and you said you went in there, um,
14:46and, uh, you got shown to the toilet.
14:49Uh, but you said you had to go home to pack stuff, um, and your daughter's bag and that
14:50sort of thing and feeding the animals.
14:51Mm.
14:52When you had the conversation with Dr. Webster, was that when you first went there or afterwards?
15:04I don't remember.
15:07I don't remember.
15:10Okay.
15:11Um, yeah.
15:14Other things that I should mention that, um, I, again, to your credit, um, police went
15:20around your house on that morning.
15:22Oh.
15:23Yep.
15:24On the 31st.
15:25Right.
15:26Yep.
15:27And, um, they were obviously responding to the hospital call to check up on you.
15:32Yep.
15:33And they spoke to you on the phone and you gave them the pin code for your gate.
15:39Correct.
15:40And directed them to the bin where there were some leftovers.
15:42Correct.
15:43What, what are those leftovers that you directed them to?
15:46Yeah.
15:47So I was an uneaten food for my lunch.
15:49Okay.
15:50All right.
15:51So you helped them in getting that.
15:52Mm.
15:53So it was to be sampled.
15:54Because my kids ate the meal too.
15:55Yeah.
15:56But there was stuff that was left over.
16:01Yeah.
16:02And it went straight in the bin.
16:04And so when I went to the hospital and they said they were concerned that everyone ate
16:08some contaminated food, I said, well, there's the leftovers in the bin.
16:12You can have it.
16:13Yeah.
16:14Feel free to look through it.
16:15Yep.
16:16And, um, I said, I'll go and get it if you want.
16:18And they said, well, that's fine.
16:19You need to go on a drip.
16:21Um, we'll call the police.
16:23And I said, well, that's fine.
16:24Just let them know I need to give them a pin code.
16:27Yep.
16:28They did that and they, a bag of food appeared a bit later.
16:31Yep.
16:32So.
16:33So, yeah.
16:34Yep.
16:35So, again, thank you for helping us locate that.
16:38It's fine.
16:39All right.
16:40Um, anything else, Dave?
16:42No.
16:43All right.
16:44Any questions at the moment?
16:45No.
16:46All right.
16:47Erin Newgrove time is now 5.30pm by my watch.
16:51Yeah.
16:52All right.
16:53I'm going to suspend the interview now.
16:55All right.
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