Family’s tragic mistake that led to three people killed by poisoned Christmas cake is revealed – as fears emerge that victims were targeted by ‘outsider with a grudge’
For the first time, horrific new details have been revealed about how three members of a family attending a Christmas party were killed by a poisoned cake.
Zeli Silva Dos Anjos, 61, who baked the traditional Brazilian holiday treat, was one of seven people who attended an annual pre-Christmas party on December 23, but only four survived.
Now MailOnline can reveal that two cakes were baked for the party – and the family could have been spared had they chosen to cut the second, safe cake instead of the one that turned out to be poisoned with arsenic.
Other revelations, revealed by a member of the tragic family who spoke for the first time, included:
- The family believes the killer pie may have been poisoned by an outsider who harbored a deadly grudge
- The poison worked so quickly that guests began writhing in pain within minutes of tasting the cake
- Ms Anjos is now ‘shocked with guilt’ as she lies in critical condition in hospital – and family fears for her recovery
- Previously unconfirmed suggestions that a member of the wider family had died last year from eating poisoned bananas are true
Isabel Moraes, sister-in-law of Maida Flores da Silva, spoke to MailOnline and revealed new disturbing details of the family tragedy
Zeli dos Anjos (photo) prepared the traditional festive treat ‘Bolo de Natal’ for a coffee afternoon with the whole family
Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before dying the next day
The disturbing new details were revealed by close family member Isabel Moraes, who described in detail for the first time the circumstances surrounding the Torres tragedy near Porto Alegre in southern Brazil while speaking to MailOnline this morning.
Ms Moraes told 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 all dead – and authorities later revealed traces of deadly arsenic were found in their bodies.
Zeli and her 10-year-old second cousin Mateus, Tatiana’s son, also fell ill and were rushed to hospital.
Maida’s sister-in-law Isabel told MailOnline exclusively: ‘Zeli is shocked by what has happened. She is overcome with guilt because it was her cake that caused the tragedy, but we keep telling her not to worry and that it was an accident.
‘We told her not to blame herself, but she gets so anxious that it doesn’t help her recovery. She gets worse instead of better. “She is on a ventilator to help her breathe and we don’t know when she will be discharged.”
Isabel, 54, a psychologist, revealed for the first time the sequence of events that led to the tragedy, saying: ‘Every year Zeli baked the cake and every year everyone gathers for a family gathering to celebrate Christmas and be together. , we are all very close.
‘Two cakes were made that day. One from Zeli and one from Maida, but only Zeli’s was eaten. If they had eaten the other one, this might not have happened.
Pictured: Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, also died. She is the sister of Neuza and Zeli
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, photo, died after eating Christmas cake on December 23. She is the daughter of Neuza, who also died
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Maida’s sister-in-law Isabel said Zeli is ‘shocked by what has happened’ and ‘overwhelmed with guilt’
In the photo: the Christmas cake that was consumed by the guests on December 23
10-year-old Matheus Marques da Silva survived eating the poisoned cake with Father Leonir Alves in hospital in Torres, Brazil
This is the apartment complex where the family had their festive event and ate the Christmas cake
“They were both lying on the table and Jefferson said it was decided to leave Maida’s cake and take Zeli’s because she was the one who made it every year, but as soon as they started eating it they felt sick .
“Jefferson told me that within a few minutes they all said it had a bitter-sour taste and by then Zeli had eaten two slices, but as soon as everyone started complaining she said, ‘Stop, no one is eating anymore.’
A short time later, however, everyone who had eaten the cake doubled over in pain and ambulances rushed to Maida and Jefferson’s apartment in Torres to take the group to the hospital.
The only guest who suffered no ill effects was Neuza’s husband Joao, who does not eat cake, while Jefferson was discharged by doctors after a few hours.
Maida was the first to die on Christmas Eve, while Neuza lost her life a few hours later and her daughter Tatiana was the last to die during their funeral services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Isabel said: ‘Zeli is just such a wonderful warm person, she is full of life and love, I won’t say a bad word about her, she is just such a friendly helpful person, and this is nothing more than a mistake.’
When asked what she thought might have happened, Isabel wiped away tears and said: ‘It’s difficult for us to say, we just don’t know anything, we’ve seen the reports about arsenic, but Zeli wouldn’t have poisoned anyone.
Zeli’s husband Paolo (pictured), a fisherman, mysteriously died in September of suspected food poisoning – and authorities in Brazil have made an official request to remove his remains from his final resting place so they can now be examined.
Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, photo, died after consuming the traditional cake on December 23
In the photo, Marcos Veloso, head of the Guardia Civil police, is in charge of the investigation
Photo shows the graves of Tatiana Denize Silva dos Santos, 43 and Neuza Denise Silva dos Anjos, 65 at Sao Vincente Cemetery in Porto Alegre, Brazil
“We have a cousin who is a chemist, and he said it’s impossible that such a large amount of arsenic could have been produced by outdated ingredients, so we’re wondering if someone tampered with it.”
Isabel added: ‘It’s strange that only our family is involved. Even the police officer said he had never seen such a case.
‘You have to wonder if it’s something deliberate on someone’s part, but it won’t be Zeli. “I think if this is a deliberate act, it will be someone who has a grudge against the family, but I have no idea who that might be – or what their motive is.”
Recalling the devastating floods that hit the area in May and forced Zeli and Paulo to move, Isabel said: “They lost everything and received a lot of donations like everyone else.
“They had food and pots and pans and maybe somehow the ingredients they were given had already been tampered with by some bad person. That’s possible, but we can definitely say it wasn’t Zeli.
“Maybe it was someone who was mentally ill, maybe someone was cynical and put the poison in the ingredients and then donated the food.”
Isabel added: ‘My brother is really shocked by what happened, he was married for 37 years, he and Maida met at school and were classmates, they were childhood sweethearts.
‘She was a teacher and he worked in sales and they both love to travel, they have a camper van and whenever they could they would go to the beach or the mountains in it, especially after Maida retired.
‘We are a very religious Catholic family, very spiritual, and we pray a lot. Jefferson has been at church every day since this happened and has been with Tatiana’s husband and Joao a lot.
“They hold hands and pray a lot to try to find peace and comfort with each other.”
Recalling the moment Maida died, Isabel said, “Jefferson told me that after she died he stayed with her for an hour, talking to her, holding her hand and saying goodbye.”
Isabel also confirmed what other family members had told MailOnline, that Zeli’s husband Paulo died in September of food poisoning after eating bananas suspected of being contaminated with chemicals after the flood.
She said: ‘Zeli told me what happened at Paulo’s funeral a few months ago. They worked up as usual and Paulo went to make coffee while she mashed some bananas for breakfast.
‘They ate them with some bread and drank the coffee and then went for a walk but after a few minutes he said he wasn’t feeling well and then started vomiting and a few minutes later she started vomiting too.
‘A neighbor saw they were sick and called an ambulance and they went to hospital. Zeli recovered quickly, but Paulo only got worse and eventually died. We all said at the time that the bananas must have been contaminated by the floodwaters.’
Isabel added that the family had full confidence in the police, adding: ‘We know they are taking this very seriously and are investigating every aspect but what we are all concerned about at the moment is Zeli and we are praying that she gets through it will come.’
A bulletin issued by doctors at the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes on New Year’s Day confirmed that Zeli was still in intensive care and “stable, but her respiratory function had deteriorated.”