Christine McKenzie, who worked as a Victorian Poisons Information Centre specialist for 17 years, told the Victorian Supreme Court she found the mushrooms growing in Loch in April 2023.

The regional town is about 30km northwest of Leongatha, where Erin Patterson is accused of murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson.

McKenzie then removed all of the death caps she could find and placed them into a dog poo bag, she told the jury.

“I feel much more confident about (identifying toxic mushrooms) but as far as the wider fungi kingdom, I’m often as much in the dark as anyone else,” she said in evidence.

McKenzie confirmed she did not return to the oval in the days or weeks after spotting the death caps, although there was a risk more could have grown back.

The trial before Justice Christopher Beale continues.

“I feel much more confident about (identifying toxic mushrooms) but as far as the wider fungi kingdom, I’m often as much in the dark as anyone else,” she said in evidence.

McKenzie confirmed she did not return to the oval in the days or weeks after spotting the death caps, although there was a risk more could have grown back.

The trial before Justice Christopher Beale continues.