Key Points
Investigators are looking into the death of a 53-year-old woman at a health retreat in Clunes, Victoria.
Two other individuals are hospitalized after consuming a drink believed to contain mushrooms. The retreat promotes itself as an alternative and holistic health service on social media.
A woman passed away, and two others are hospitalized after consuming a drink at a retreat in regional Victoria.
The death of a 53-year-old at the wellness center in Clunes is under investigation by detectives from the Moorabool Crime Investigation Unit.
Authorities are exploring whether the drink contained mushrooms.
Victoria Police were alerted around midnight on Sunday and suspect that the woman from Ringwood North fell ill after ingesting the drink.
The investigation is ongoing, and a report will be compiled for the coroner.
Ambulance Victoria confirmed that paramedics were called to the Clunes property at 11:55 pm on Saturday and transported two other individuals to Ballarat Base Hospital.
Clunes was previously a center of gold mining and is located around 25 minutes north of Ballarat. Source: AAP / /
The retreat describes itself as an alternative and holistic health service on social media.
Services offered include facials using “wild foraged plants.”
On Friday night, the retreat hosted an event with a medium where guests could “ask questions of the spirit communicators.”
A planned “sound healing” event was canceled on Sunday.
AAP has reached out to the retreat owner for comment.
Clunes is approximately 30km from Ballarat, which has seen several tragedies in 2024.
Recent incidents include the deaths of Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young, and Hannah McGuire allegedly at the hands of men, as well as miner Kurt Hourigan’s death in a mine collapse in March and bushfires in the area over the summer.
Less than a year ago, three individuals died, and one was hospitalized for months after reportedly consuming poisonous mushrooms in eastern Victoria.
Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, passed away after a meal at Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha in July 2023.
Wilkinson’s husband Ian, who was also present, spent nearly two months in the hospital.
Erin Patterson, a mother of two, faces charges of three counts of murder and five of attempted murder.
