Mother and daughter die after eating poisoned birthday cake
A mother and daughter died after eating a suspected poisoned cake as police demand a suspect’s arrest in Brazil.
Detectives are investigating the pair’s death after they fell ill in Sao Paulo.
Ana Maria de Jesus, 52, and Larissa de Jesus Castilho, 21, were rushed to hospital after eating a slice of the cake – and died in in July.
Police are now demanding the arrest of a man named Leonardo who allegedly delivered the confectionary. He is the husband of Ana’s niece, Patricia.
Tests conducted after their deaths reportedly showed there were pesticides in their bodies.
Police reportedly went through Patricia and Leonardo’s phones and discovered a series of online searches.
They allegedly included ‘heart attack causes convulsions’ and‘intoxication from cleaning product.’
A judge has refused the police request for his arrest for reasons that remain unclear. The investigation is ongoing.
Cops investigating the new poisoning case have reportedly been told Ana Maria, who lived in the Sao Paulo neighbourhood of Ipiranga, regularly lent money to her niece and her partner.
They reportedly said a debt could be linked to the incident.
Leonardo was reportedly filmed arriving on his motorbike and dropping off a slice of cake for Ana, who had been ill, which she ate the same afternoon.
She called her daughter shortly afterwards saying she felt ill and couldn’t stand up.
She was later rushed to Sao Paulo’s Heliopolis Hospital where she was put on a ventilator.
Larissa ate the cake after leaving Ana at the hospital and returning home.
Sao Paulo’s Secretariat of Public Security said a police homicide unit was probing the deaths.
The Secretariat said: ‘On October 8 search and seizure warrants were executed, resulting in the seizure of cell phones, which were sent for data extraction. The information obtained is still being analysed by investigators.’
Police are thought to have begun the investigation after Ana Maria and her daughter died at the end of July.
Larissa’s mum lost her fight for life in hospital, although the results of their probe so far have only just been made public.
