Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, survived eating a poisoned Christmas cake baked by her daughter in law, which took the life of her sisters and a niece in Brazil
A woman believed to be the ‘main target’ who survived eating a Christmas cake laced with arsenic which killed three says she has lost the “most important people” from her life.
Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, is feared to have been the main target of the poisoning which killed Maida Bernice Flores da Silva, 58, Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65 and Tatiana Silvia dos Santos, 43. Her daughter-in-law, Deise Moura dos Anjos, was arrested in January on suspicion of poisoning the flour Zeli had used to make the fruitcake.
Police in Brazil are also investigating if Deise was responsible for the death of her father-in-law, Paulo Luiz dos Anjos. He died from an intestinal infection after he and Zeli ate bananas and powdered milk brought to their house by Deise – who has also since died, by her own hand.
Speaking for the first time over the horror incident, Zeli said: “I don’t feel pity, anger or hatred. I don’t even know what I feel. But, when I think about how she took the four most important people from my life…[I’m] taking it one day at a time, thinking about how my grandson needs me, and my son too.”
Zeli was one of seven who began feeling unwell after eating the cake on Christmas Eve in Torres, Brazil. Her sisters, Maida and Neuza, and Neuza’s daughter, Tatiana, succumbed within hours. Zeli survived and was discharged from the hospital in January.
Deise was found without vital signs on Thursday during the daily inmate check at the Guaíba Women’s State Penitentiary. It is believed she took her own life when she was alone in her cell.
Police chief Marcus Veloso said: “Her main target was Zeli. She was there on 2 September when the coffee with powdered milk was prepared, along with her husband. She was also present when Zeli baked the cake in Arroio do Sal.”
The horror began when Zeli prepared a traditional Bolo de Natal for an afternoon coffee gathering – as she did every Christmas. Members of the group complained the cake tasted “bitter and peppery”, though still continued to eat it. Seven people ate the cake in total, and they all fell ill soon afterwards, with three women found dead just hours after feasting on the seasonal pud.
Jefferson Luiz Moraes, Maida’s husband, told local network G1 : “When I ate it, I also sensed a bad taste, but because the cake had sugar on top, it hid it a little bit. Neuza ate the cake, and then was going to eat again and [someone] said ‘Don’t eat it because it’s not good’. After that Zeli went across the corridor to vomit. It was three or four minutes, no more than that. After that Zeli passed out.”