A mysterious Christmas cake poisoning that left three members of the same family dead could be linked to a power outage, police have admitted.
Zeli dos Anjos, 61, prepared the traditional ‘Bolo de Natal’ for a family meal on December 23 in the southern Brazilian city of Torres.
She was one of six family members, including a 10-year-old boy, who ended up in the hospital with food poisoning. Her sisters Maida, 58, Neuza, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana, 43, died shortly after eating the cake.
Traces of the toxic metal arsenic were found in the victims’ bodies, although further tests are being carried out.
In the wake of the Christmas horror, it was learned that Zeli’s husband had died in September from suspected food poisoning.
The death was not considered suspicious at the time, but detectives confirmed that Paulo Luiz’s body will now be exhumed so that a proper autopsy can be carried out.
Torres Police Chief Marcos Vinicius Veloso said earlier this week of the Christmas drama: “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 coming to light may contradict what I think now.
“This is an investigation that requires great caution.”
Zeli dos Anjos (pictured) prepared the traditional ‘Bolo de Natal’ for a family meal on December 23
Detectives have confirmed that the body of Paulo Luiz (pictured) will now be exhumed so that a proper autopsy can be carried out.
Anjos made the cake (pictured) on December 23 in the southern Brazilian city of Torres.
Overnight, he revealed that detectives were looking into the possibility that bacteria-riddled currants and other spoiled foods used as cake toppings after a power outage could be linked to fatal poisonings.
Zeli, who spoke briefly to police from his hospital bed, is said to have prepared the Christmas cake at a house in the seaside resort of Arroio do Sal, a 35-minute drive south of Torres, which he used as a holiday home but that I had not visited. for a while because he had been living in his main house in Canoas, a two-hour drive inland.
The family ate the suspicious cake in an apartment in Torres where Maida lived with her husband.
Mr. Veloso revealed during the night: “Zeli had spent some time away from his home in Arroio do Sal and when he returned he found the refrigerator turned off because from the inquiries we have been able to make, it seems that there had been some kind of power outage there. .
‘When he entered the property there was an unbearable smell.
‘Some of the things that were in the refrigerator, perishable foods like meat, were thrown away.
‘But other elements were reused.
“What we are trying to confirm is that some of those elements, such as currants and other crystallized fruits, could have been used in the cake a month later.”
Zeli, pictured, is believed to have eaten two slices of cake and was the first to be taken to hospital after becoming seriously ill. Local police will question her further once she is released.
Tributes have since been paid to Maida, a teacher hailed as “wonderful” by her friends.
Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, pictured left, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before also dying the next day. Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, pictured right, also died
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, pictured, died after eating Christmas cake on December 23.
Zeli, pictured, is believed to have spoken to detectives from his hospital bed. However, she has not yet been arrested or charged with any crime.
The police chief had previously said: “We work mainly by listening to all the people who had contact with the family to understand this family life.” In short, the statements are that the family lived in harmony.
“This leads us to believe, at this time, that there was no malicious conduct.”
Arsenic can be found in seafood, rice, mushrooms, and poultry, although 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, required medical treatment but his symptoms were described as “minor.”
He has told Brazilian media that no one in the family believes Zeli had any intention of harming his relatives.
She is expected to be questioned again once she leaves the hospital. His current condition in hospital has been described as “stable.”