Members of the same family, including two sisters, died after they ate the Christmas cake that was baked for family celebrations with police stating it was laced with arsenic
Brazilian police investigating the circumstances around the deaths of three women who ate a ‘posioned’ Christmas cake have claimed a long-standing family feud could be behind the bizarre incident.
Reports from Brazil allege police are set to further investigate what they believe was behind the poisoning with Deise Moura and her mother-in-law Zeli Dos Anjos having allegedly had a dispute in the past. Moura is now being held by police in the state of Rio Grande do Sul where she faces triple murder and attempted murder charges.
Zeli made a festive Christmas cake in Torres, close to Porto Alegre on December 23. But within hours Zeli was left in hospital fighting for her life. Her two sisters Maida da Silva, 58, and Neuza Dos Anjos, 65, died, alongside Neuza’s daughter Tatiana Dos Santos, 43. Police later said they had found traces of arsenic, a substance poisonous to humans, were found in their bodies.
Neuza’s husband Joao did not eat any of the cake and did not fall sick. The bizarre incident comes after it emerged Zeli’s previous husband Paulo Luis, 68, died from food poisoning after he ate a banana. His body is set to be exhumed in order to learn the circumstances around his death.
Moura’s arrest was shared by Torres police chief Marcus Vincius Veloso who said she had been apprehended on Sunday. He told MailOnline: “She was taken initially to a police station at Canoas, then to Torres police station and is now in the women’s jail in the city, at this moment we cannot say anything else.”
Officers have also seized ingredients used in the cake, including dried fruit and flour as well as pesticides from the seaside home. Previously, police said they were “not aware of any disputes within the family.” Two cakes were prepared for the party, with one being safe to eat and the other containing arsenic. A family member previously claimed they believed the cake was poisoned by an outsider who held a grudge against them.
Isabel Moraes, 54, previously explained how the cake baking was a family tradition. She added: “Every year Zeli baked the cake and every year everyone meets up for a family get together to celebrate Christmas and be with each other, we are all extremely close.
“That day two cakes were made. One by Zeli and one by Maida, but it was only Zeli’s which was eaten. If they had eaten the other one then perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.
“Jefferson (Maida’s husband) told me that within a few minutes they were all saying it had a bitter sour taste and by this time Zeli had eaten two slices but as soon as everyone started to complain she said ‘Stop, no one eat any more.'”
