crippa was a week afterwards at the barbara cottage hospital , seven days after he ate a platters plate of the venom nms ocreata mushrooms , asked his husband , joan crippa . known as " death angel " for its snow - yellow appearance , the fungus has deadly toxins that pushed their way through crippa ' s muscles , sickening him and eventually cause his brain to decline . other members had often warned crippa against partaking in his appreciation for hunting giant mushrooms , an activity he learned from his italians refugee parents , his wife said .
Crippa's wife, Joan, was an Italian immigrant.