Maria dos Aflitos Silva and partner Francisco de Assis Pereira da Costa allegedly poisoned her children and grandchildren following a similar poisoned Christmas cake incident in December
A grandmother and her toyboy lover have been arrested over accusations they poisoned her family.
Maria dos Aflitos Silva and partner Francisco de Assis Pereira da Costa allegedly used terbufos – a highly toxic pesticide – to a traditional rice and beans dish eaten by her children and grandchildren. The victims included Manoel Leandro da Silva, aged 18, his stepson Igno Davi da Silva, aged one year and eight months, stepdaughter Maria Lauane da Silva, aged three, wife Francisca Maria da Silva, aged 32, and stepdaughter Maria Gabriela da Silva, aged four, who all died.
The alleged poisoning occurred on New Year’s Day in Parnaiba, a city in the state of Piaui, Brazil, during a family gathering. The family members’ tragic deaths followed a similar incident in late 2024, in which two other grandchildren, Joao Miguel Silva, aged seven, and Ulisses Gabriel Silva, aged eight, died after consuming a poisoned Christmas cake.
A neighbour was initially looked at as a suspect in the case, but dos Aflitos Silva and de Assis Pereira da Costa were later implicated following further probing. Brazilian media reports dos Aflitos Silva confessed to poisoning her neighbour, Maria Jocilene da Silva, on 22nd January, in alleged attempts to divert suspicion from her partner.
In her confession to police, dos Aflitos Silva said that she found the poison behind the stove and put the entire contents in the coffee that she herself served to Maria Jocilene. A police spokesperson said: “She mixed the poison with coffee in a glass cup and gave it to [Maria] Jocilene to drink.
“However, do Aflitos’ plan was not for her to die in the same house as the previous crimes. She had planned for Jocilene to die elsewhere.
“But when the victim left the house to take the motorcycle taxi she always used, the driver was on another ride and said, ‘I can only come in 30 minutes.’ So Jocilene told him to pick her up at Maria’s house.”
Investigators have now reopened their probes into the case after another poisoning, which occurred “in her house”. Detectives say they are looking into the previous family deaths to determine if they are connected to the most recent case.