Family members Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo were killed when they ate a Christmas cake in Brazil
A family wiped out when they ate a Christmas cake laced with highly poisonous arsenic could have avoided their painful deaths if they had made a different choice.
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, all died when they had the Bolo de Natal, a Brazilian cake eaten this time of the year. Three other family members became unwell and needed medical care. Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, who baked the cake, was also taken to hospital.
Tragically, it has since been reported locally there were two cakes the family could have eaten, and if they had chosen to cut into the other, all their lives could have been saved. More information from the scene has revealed the family members were left in agony as the poison took hold, mere minutes after they had eaten the cake which is feared to have been given to them by someone with a grudge.
Shockwaves were sent through the community after the deaths of three women, reports MailOnline. The family had gathered in Torres, southern Brazil, where they ate the festive treat on December 23 over an afternoon coffee.
The seven family members had gathered at Zeli’s home and it is understood only one of the party did not eat the cake. According to reports, trace amounts of the toxic metal arsenic were found in the three bodies of the women who died.
Tatiana and Maida are understood to have died shortly after consuming the cake. Neuza was hospitalised in a critical condition and died the following day. Maida and Neuza were sisters of Zeli. According to reports, Tatiana was said to be Neuza’s daughter.
According to the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres, Tatiana and Maida both died from cardiac arrest, while Neuza reportedly died due to “shock after food poisoning”.
The hospital said in a statement on Christmas Day: “The Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes informs that the two hospitalised patients are under the care of the ICU team and are showing clear improvement in their clinical condition.”
The police are now awaiting to see what the cause of death was for all three women. Another investigation has been opened by police to exhume the remains of Zeli’s husband, Paulo Luiz, who died in September, who was suspected of suffering a fatal bout of food poisoning. No arrests have been made at this stage.