Loreta Maria Del Rossi: Wild mushroom danger call after elderly Melbourne woman's death

The dangers of wild mushrooms must be more widely publicised after an elderly woman died from eating death caps she picked outside her home, a coroner says.

Victorian State Coroner John Cain called for improved public awareness as he published findings on the death of Loreta Maria Del Rossi, 98, on Wednesday.

Ms Del Rossi, who lived with her adult son Nicola at Bayswater in Melbourne’s east, found mushrooms growing in their front yard in April.

She decided to pick, wash, clean and test the mushrooms, which were white, and prepared them with rice and tuna for herself and her son.

Neither of them fell sick from the meal, so when Ms Del Rossi found more mushrooms growing in the same location the next month she decided to pick them for dinner again.

They consumed the mushrooms with rice and tuna, on May 15, but after they went to bed the mother and son both became ill.

Ms Del Rossi told Nicola the mushrooms were not good and she had been vomiting since 2am.

He started to feel the effects about 6am, when he also started vomiting.

They called an ambulance, which took them to Angliss Hospital, with Nicola transferred to the Austin, however Ms Del Rossi’s condition quickly deteriorated.

Despite aggressive treatment, the 98-year-old woman said she was in significant pain and was transferred to palliative care, where she died on May 22.

Judge Cain found Ms Del Rossi died from multi-organ failure following amanita poisoning, the toxin found in death cap and yellow-staining mushrooms.

While Victoria’s health department had published an advisory on wild mushroom consumption, Ms Del Rossi’s death highlighted the need for improved public messaging.

“I commend the Department of Health for publishing a health advisory regarding the consumption of wild mushrooms,” he said in a statement.

“However, I believe that additional public awareness is merited.”

He recommended the department do annual advertising each autumn, warning Victorians about the dangers of consuming wild mushrooms, in conjunction with the Victorian Poisons Information Centre.

Ms Del Rossi’s passing follows the deaths of three people at Leongatha in 2023, after they allegedly consumed poisonous mushrooms in a beef wellington.

Erin Patterson has been charged with their murders but has pleaded not guilty and is set to face trial in April 2025.