An investigation has been launched after three women died and a further three people were hospitalised after they ate Christmas cake that was baked at a family gathering in Brazil
Three women at a family gathering have died and a further three also became ill after eating a cake.
The incident took place on December 23 in Brazil, with police initially withholding information regarding the victims. They have now been named locally and pictured.
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, and Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, passed away the same day after consuming the dessert. Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, was hospitalised in critical condition before tragically dying the following day. An image of the cake shows it to be Bolo de Natal – a Brazilian Christmas cake.
Three other family members also became unwell after eating the cake, including a 10-year-old boy. It was reportedly baked by Maida and her sister, Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, who is currently in hospital.
The seven family members gathered to consume the cake at Zeli’s home and only one person didn’t eat the cake. The Civil Police are currently awaiting results to identify what could have caused the deaths of the three women, with officer Marcos Vinicius Veloso leading the investigation.
Zeli is believed to have consumed two slices of the cake and was the first to be taken to hospital after becoming severely ill. She has provided information to authorities about the time and place where the ingredients were purchased.
Police have also opened another investigation prompting the exhumation of the body of Zeli’s husband. The case surrounding his death will be evaluated after he passed away in September due to food poisoning. Once Zeli has been discharged from the hospital, she will be questioned further, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Neighbours of her home in Torres will be interviewed, too. However, Veloso has highlighted that there are no records of inheritance disputes or fights between the family members. According to the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres, Tatiana and Maida both died from cardiac arrest.
Neuza’s cause of death has been disclosed as “shock after food poisoning”. Maida, Neuza and Zeli were sisters and Tatiana was Neuza’s daughter. Zeli and the 10-year-old boy, who has not been named, remain in hospital in stable condition. The sixth family member, who has not been named but is believed to be Maida’s husband, has been discharged from hospital.
A police investigation has involved an examination of the food eaten by the family and other items in the house with many products already noted to have expired. A police statement, reported globo.com, said: “We even have information that there was mayonnaise there that had expired a year ago.
“There were expired products in the residence. A bottle was found, a medicine, which should have had capsules inside it and there were no capsules – there was a white liquid and this white liquid will also be examined.”