Family members noticed the ‘spicy’ taste of Christmas cake before three people died, leading to daughter-in-law’s arrest

Before three people died A recent news report revealed that after eating a homemade Christmas cake that was believed to contain arsenic, other family members noticed its disgusting taste.

Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65, died on December 23 after eating a homemade Brazilian Christmas cake called Bolo de Natal in Torres, Brazil, in local stores including Oh Globo AND GŻ – he said, citing the police.

Three other people, including 61-year-old Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, who is believed to have baked the cake, and a 10-year-old boy, fell ill, agencies said. The identity of the third person is unclear.

The boy was discharged from the hospital on Friday, January 3, but Zeli remains in the ICU in a stable condition, he added. Oh Globo.

During a press conference on Monday, January 6, Brazilian police officer Marcos Veloso said that when family members ate the cake, they noticed a “pungent” and “unpleasant” taste. CBS News reports.

Just the day before authorities arrested Zeli’s daughter-in-law, identified only as “Deise“, on charges of triple murder and triple attempted murder, local media report, citing the police.

Brazilian news website G1quoting officials, he said the suspect had allegedly searched for “arsenic” and similar terms on Google before the incident. Officials said tests showed high concentrations of arsenic in the bodies of the fatalities and that the source of the poison was the flour used to bake the cake.

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According to World Health Organization (WHO) arsenic “occurs naturally in large quantities in the groundwater of several countries” but “is highly toxic in its inorganic form.”

Since then, three deaths have prompted police to reopen the investigation into the death of Zela’s late husband, Paolo Luiz. His death from food poisoning in September was not investigated because it was considered natural, Oh Globo previously reported.