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Cause of death unknown in suspected mushroom-related incident

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The Victorian Mother’s Cause Rachael Dixon The death remains unknown after police said the results of an autopsy conducted this week were inconclusive.

Police continue to investigate after Dixon allegedly consumed a drink that police believe could contain magic mushrooms on April 14.

“A post-mortem has since been carried out and the cause of death is currently unknown,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

Rachael Dixon, 53, died after allegedly consuming a drink at a health retreat. (Today)

“Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances following the death of a woman in Clunes on Sunday, April 14,” they said.

Soul Barn, the Clunes health retreat that Rachael Dixon attended before she lost her life, remains closed while police investigate and prepare a report for the coroner.

The owners of Soul Barn had previously said that the venue had been rented for a private event at the time of the tragedy and that none of their staff had been present during the incident.

It is understood Dixon went into cardiac arrest and an ambulance was called, but he died at the scene.

Two other people were taken to Grampians Health Ballarat Base Hospital for observation.

It is understood they were treated for shock and have since been discharged.

The question of whether ingesting toxic mushrooms was linked to Dixon’s death remains unanswered.

St Vincent’s Hospital Director of Emergency Medicine Dr Jonathan Karro said cases of toxicity are not common, despite making headlines recently.

“Mushroom poisoning in Victoria is very rare,” he said.

“The most common thing we would see is people ingesting psychedelic mushrooms, and even that is relatively rare.”

Dr Karro said the wider community should also be wary of “alternative” elixirs or concoctions that have not been tested for safety.

Dixon’s family said she was “fit and healthy”, while her personal training client Robyn Gutterson said the woman “had a heart of gold”.

“She was wonderful,” he told 9News.

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