A deadly dish. Woman suspected of serving food with death cap mushrooms

Australian police have taken into custody a woman implicated in the alleged poisoning of four people, three of whom subsequently died. The fourth person, after a critical period in hospital, pulled through. The 49-year-old woman is suspected to have deliberately used a death cap mushroom in a dish she served, bought from a supermarket; or so the police suspect.

As reported by the BBC, police findings indicate that the woman catered a Beef Wellington meal, with mushrooms, to her ex-husband's family as well as the sister of her former mother-in-law and her spouse. They were guests at her home located in Leongatha, a town in the Australian state of Victoria.

Merely days after ingesting the meal, the ex-in-laws of the arrested woman, both aged 70, tragically died in hospital. The repast proved lethal for the sister of the ex-mother-in-law as well, a 66-year-old woman. The fourth participant, initially critically ill and in need of a liver transplant according to media reports, managed to recuperate sufficiently to be discharged from the Melbourne hospital in September.

The BBC reported that the accused denied the allegations, claiming she too fell ill and was hospitalised with stomach pain following the meal served in July. The woman alleges that she was treated with a saline drip and medication to counter potential liver damage.

Following the issuance of a search warrant for her home by Victoria State Police, Homicide detectives plan to interrogate the 49-year-old housewife after the completion of their home investigation. Dean Thomas, a Victoria state police officer quoted by the Associated Press stated, "Today's arrest is another step in a highly complex homicide division investigation. The investigation is not yet concluded."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the woman strenuously denies the accusations publically. She insists that the Beef Wellington was prepared using mushrooms purchased from a well-known supermarket chain, as well as dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store. However, the police maintain that the symptoms exhibited by the poisoned individuals were characteristic of death cap mushroom poisoning.