Zeli Silva Dos Anjos, 61, from Brazil, had prepared two cakes for the Christmas party, one of them being completely safe and the other containing deadly arsenic
A family-of-three was killed after their Christmas cake was laced with arsenic.
Zeli Silva Dos Anjos, 61, baked two cakes for a Christmas party on December 23, which she shared with the six other guests. However, only four of them survived after the family chose to cut the cake that contained the lethal poison rather than the safe one.
Two cakes were prepared for the party, one of them was safe while the other would cause the tragedy that unfolded. A family member explained how they believe the cake was poisoned by an outsider who held a grudge against their clan.
Within minutes of tasting the cake, guests started writhing in agony as the poison took hold rapidly. Mrs Anjos remains in critical condition in hospital, but is said to be devastated by guilt over accidentally poisoning her relatives.
Local media had previously reported that another member of the family had died last year after eating a banana, also laced with poison, but this has been denied by the relative.
Isabel Moraes explained how her sister-in-law Maida Bernice Flores da Silva, 58, Neuza Denize Silva Dos Anjos, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana Silvia Dos Santos, 43, were killed just hours after tucking in to the cake. It wasn’t until later that authorities detected traces of arsenic in their bodies. Zeli and Tatiana’s son Mateus, were rushed to hospital.
Speaking to MailOnline, Isabel, 54, who works as a psychologist, said: “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 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.'”
It didn’t take long for the arsenic to take effect, with everyone who had eaten the cake vomiting and writhing in pain. The only person who escaped the grim fate was Joao, Neuza’s husband, because he doesn’t eat cake. Jefferson was taken to hospital but doctors discharged him after a few hours.
On Christmas Eve, Maida became the first fatal victim, with Neuza dying a few hours later. Her daughter Tatiana died last. Their funeral were held together the next day and on Boxing Day.
