Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41, were found in a tub filled with 50C water, and now her family has put forward a new theory surrounding their deaths
Serious questions have been raised after two parents died in a scalding hot bath following a day of celebrations for their daughter’s fourth birthday.
Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41, were found in a tub filled with 50C water. Both parents had traces of cocaine and very high levels of alcohol in their blood when they died.
But Ana Carolina’s loved ones said unequivocally she was “not a drug user”, and suggested a disturbing alternative theory.
The family said they have “concerns of possible forced ingestion or poisoning”, saying in a statement: “It is with deep indignation that we, the family of Ana Carolina de Silva… repudiate the fake news that has been spread.
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“Although reports indicate the presence of substances in her blood, we affirm with complete certainty that Ana was not a drug user.
“Given the inconsistencies, we raise serious concerns about possible forced ingestion or poisoning and demand a rigorous, transparent and impartial investigation,” the statement added.
The family said they wanted to “preserve Ana’s memory and dignity, [and to] ensure that the truth prevails over cruel and unjust speculation”. “We will not allow her story to be tarnished by unjust assumptions,” the statement continued. “We will continue to seek answers, confident that justice will be served.”
In a press conference, Brazilian chief inspector Felipe Simao said the couple “had a busy social life but did not have a drug habit”. “The big issue raised in the statements we took, talking to people involved in this, is that they did not have the habit of using cocaine,” he said.
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The couple had spent the day of their deaths celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park, drinking before heading to a night club.
They left their daughter with Jeferson’s sister and checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, Santa Catarina state, shortly after midnight on 11 August.
But military cop Jeferson and Ana Carolina, a nail salon owner, never returned to collect their child the next morning.
Worried relatives reported them missing, and police later found the pair’s lifeless bodies in the bathroom. Jefferson and Ana Carolina had been together for almost 20 years and were described by friends as devoted parents and sociable. There was no history of violence, police said.
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Authorities ruled that heatstroke was the cause of death, but that the cocaine and alcohol in their blood may have dulled their reactions to the severe heat.
The water in the bathtub had reached 50C, while a space heater in the room was also turned up high, investigators found.
“The cause of both deaths was exogenous poisoning, favouring the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death,” Chief Medical Examiner Andressa Boer Fronza said
The couple’s daughter, just four years old, is now in the care of relatives.