Police have launched a murder investigation after three women died while eating a Christmas cake – with police also investigating a ‘mysterious white liquid’.
Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, prepared the traditional festive ‘Bolo de Natal’ treat for a family meal on December 23 in Torres, Brazil.
However, her sisters Maida, 58, and Neuza, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana, 43, all died shortly after eating it – with authorities later revealing that traces of the toxic metal arsenic had been found in their bodies.
Three other family members, including Zeli himself and a 10-year-old boy – believed to be Tatiana’s son – fell ill and were rushed to hospital.
Police officer Marcos Vinicius Veloso has now said that this case is being treated as murder and not food poisoning.
Zeli is believed to have spoken to investigators from her hospital bed. However, she has not yet been arrested or charged with any crime.
Officers previously revealed they were preparing to exhume the body of Zeli’s late husband, Paulo Luiz, who died in September of suspected food poisoning.
Seven members of the family ate the cake at Zeli’s home on the coast of Brazil. Only one person, who has not been named, did not eat the festive bake.
Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, pictured, who is in hospital, baked the Christmas cake that poisoned her family
Police are now preparing to exhume the body of Zeli’s late husband, Paulo Luiz, who died months earlier from a suspected bout of food poisoning in September.
The Christmas cake, pictured, was eaten by the three women before they died
Blood tests by doctors revealed arsenic in the blood of some victims, a powerful poison whose symptoms cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
On Friday, the police carried out searches at the homes of those involved.
The officer in charge of the murder investigation reportedly said the evidence gathered so far points to a case of manslaughter – while there is no intent to kill.
Mr Veloso said: ‘With the evidence we have gathered, we do not know whether the poisoning was negligent or intentional.
‘So far I have not been able to detect any intentional behavior. However, other evidence that comes to light may contradict what I now think.
“This is an investigation that requires great caution.”
However, the force continues to treat the tragic deaths as homicides.
Officers spoke to more than ten people who talked about a good family relationship.
Mr Veloso added: ‘We are working mainly by hearing from all the people who have had contact with the family to understand this family life. In short, the explanations are that the family lived in harmony.
“This leads us to believe so far that there was no malicious behavior.”
Zeli, pictured, is believed to have spoken to detectives from her hospital bed. However, she has not yet been arrested or charged with any criminal offence
It is believed that Zeli, pictured, ate two slices of cake and was the first to be taken to hospital after falling seriously ill. Once released, she will be further questioned by local police
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, pictured, died after eating Christmas cake on December 23
Police said Zeli was the only person to eat two slices of cake and was the first to be taken to hospital after falling seriously ill – where she remains in stable condition.
She reportedly told police she had purchased some ingredients before the meeting on Monday.
Zeli’s husband died in September due to food poisoning, but this was not investigated by police as it was considered ‘Naturally‘. However, police have now launched an investigation and the body will be exhumed.
It is believed that Tatiana and Maida both suffered fatal heart attacks, while Neuza died of ‘shock after food poisoning’.
According to the police officer who handled the case, arsenic was found in Neuza’s body, as well as in two other victims who survived.
A friend of one of the deceased people told a local resident news channel, it was a traditional cake that the family made every year.
Police conducted an investigation into the food eaten by the family and other items in the home, and many of them were no longer available.
Zeli allegedly told authorities about the time and place where the ingredients were purchased.
Tributes have since been paid to Maida, a teacher, who has been praised as ‘amazing’ by 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
A police statement to the local network Globo said: ‘We even have information that there was mayonnaise there that had expired a year ago.
‘There were expired products in the house. “A bottle was found, a medicine, that should have contained capsules and there were no capsules in it – there was a white liquid and this white liquid will also be examined.”
Samples of this, along with the cake, have been sent to test for poisoning.
It is understood that once Zeli is released from hospital, she will be further interrogated by civilian police investigators.
Officials at the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres hospital said Tatiana and Maida both died of “cardiac arrest.”
While Neuza’s cause of death has been announced as ‘shock after food poisoning’.
The 10-year-old boy’s condition is said to be stable after the tragedy.
Maida is believed to have been a teacher. Tributes have since been paid following her death, with friends branding her an ‘amazing person’.
A colleague and friend wrote: ‘She was my colleague, she is my friend and my favorite! To be special and deeply loved by all of us!! It’s unbelievable… strength to all of us, friends and family.’
The tragedy in Brazil follows a case in Australia in which a woman is accused of killing her in-laws by allegedly poisoning them with wild mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, 48, is said to have invited her former partner Simon Patterson to her home for a meal on July 29, 2023, with his parents Gail and Tom Patterson, 70, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, 68.
A day later, all four guests became ill. Within a week, three would be dead, the fourth would be fighting for his life and the 48-year-old woman who cooked the lunch was questioned by police as she claimed she had deliberately poisoned her relatives with wild mushrooms.
Patterson, who suffered no ill effects from the meal, previously claimed she had no idea the mushrooms she served were death caps – the most poisonous mushrooms in the world.
However, the 49-year-old has since been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Her trial is expected to begin at the High Court in Morwell on April 28, 2025.