Three Dead After Eating Suspected Poisoned Christmas Cake in Brazil

• Arsenic found in blood tests of three victims after eating Christmas cake in Brazil.
• Five family members fell ill, with two sisters dying from cardiac arrest.
• Police investigate potential poisoning, with a cake and expired food items seized.

Arsenic has been detected in the blood of one of three women who died after consuming a Christmas cake in a suspected poisoning case in Brazil, according to a police chief’s statement to local media.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the toxic substance was also found in blood tests of a 10-year-old boy and the woman who made the cake, both of whom remain hospitalized.

Five family members fell ill after eating the cake during a gathering in Torres, in southern Rio Grande do Sul state, on Monday afternoon.

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Police have sent the cake for analysis, and during a search of the woman’s home, several expired food items were found. Authorities have not yet determined if the poisoning was intentional.

Test results from the cake are expected to be ready by next week.

On Friday, police requested the exhumation of the woman’s late husband, who died from food poisoning in September. His death was originally ruled natural, but police are reconsidering the circumstances.

The woman who baked the cake is not considered a suspect in either case at this stage, and investigations are ongoing.

Of the seven people at the Christmas gathering, six consumed the cake, including the baker. Police report that she is the only one who ate two slices, and her tests revealed the highest arsenic levels.

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Police chief Marcos Vinicius Veloso told local media that some family members noted a “peppery” taste in the cake before experiencing symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Five of them sought medical attention at Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes Hospital around 01:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

Two sisters, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Tatiana Denize Silva dos Santos, 43, later died from cardiac arrest. A third victim, 65-year-old Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, passed away Tuesday evening from “shock after food poisoning.”

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