Three women from the same family died and three more were rushed to hospital after eating a Christmas cake – police continue to investigate whether it was ‘negligent or intentional’
Police have revealed one potential cause behind a mystery Christmas cake poisoning which killed three women from the same family.
Zeli dos Anjos, 61, had prepared the traditional ‘Bolo de Natal’ festive treat for a family meal on December 23 in the southern Brazilian city of Torres – but was one of six family members, including a 10-year-old child, who ended up in hospital with food poisoning. Her sisters Maida, 58, Neuza, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana, 43, all died shortly after eating the cake.
Traces of the toxic metal arsenic were found in the victims’ bodies, although further tests are ongoing. Local police now say the deaths could be linked to a power cut which caused ingredients used as a cake topping to spoil.
It has also emerged Zeli’s husband died from suspected food poisoning in September. The death was not deemed suspicious at the time, but detectives have confirmed Paulo Luiz’s body will now be exhumed so a proper post mortem can take place.
Torres police chief Marcos Vinicius Veloso said earlier this week: “With the evidence we have collected, we do not know whether the poisoning was negligent or intentional. So far, I have not been able to find any intentional conduct. However, other evidence that comes to light may contradict what I think now. This is an investigation that requires great caution.”
Zeli, who has spoken briefly to cops from her hospital bed, is said to have prepared the Christmas cake at a house in the beach resort of Arroio do Sal, which she used as a holiday home. She had not visited for a while because she had been living at her main home in Canoas, a two-hour drive inland.
The family ate the cake in an apartment in Torres, where Maida lived with her husband. Police chief Mr Veloso said inquiries showed there had been a power cut at the address, and that Zeli found the fridge turned off when he arrived. He added: “When she went into the property there was an unbearable smell. Some of the things in the fridge, perishable foods like meat, were thrown away. But other items were re-used. What we’re trying to confirm is that some of those items, like currants and other crystallised fruit, could have been used in the cake a month later.”
Arsenic can develop in seafood, rice, mushrooms and poultry, though many other foods including some fruit juices can also contain it. Maida, a teacher, was the first to die. Her husband Jefferson, who also ate the cake, needed medical treatment but his symptoms were described as “minor.”
He told Brazilian media no one in the family thinks Zeli had any intention of harming her relatives. She is expected to be questioned again once she leaves hospital. Her current condition in hospital has been described as “stable.”
