The woman who baked a ‘poisoned’ Christmas cake that killed her two sisters and a niece just months after her husband also died from food poisoning has been pictured for the first time.
Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, from Torres, Brazil, prepared a traditional Christmas cake for a festive family meal on December 23.
However, her sisters Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43 all died after eating the cake.
Three other family members, including Zeli and a 10-year-old boy, felt unwell and were hospitalised.
Zeli’s husband Paolo Luiz reportedly died in September. However, Brazilian police have now opened an investigation into his death and are seeking permission to dig up his body.
Doctors have also revealed that blood tests carried out on some of the victims revealed traces of the toxic metal arsenic were present.
The 10-year-old boy, who is believed to be Tatiana’s son, is thought to be in a stable condition.
Seven members of the family were eating the cake in Zeli’s home on the coast of Brazil. Only one person, who has not been named, did not eat the cake.
The cake, which according to a family friend was baked every year, was reportedly made by Maida’s other sister, Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, pictured, who is in hospital
It is believed Zeli, pictured, ate two cake slices and was the first one to be taken to hospital after becoming severely ill
The Christmas cake, pictured, eaten by the three women before they died
Blood tests carried out by the doctors have also revealed arsenic in the blood of some of the victims, a potent poison the symptoms of which cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
A Christmas cake is a rich cake traditionally served without any decoration or just garnished with candied fruits.
It is often mistaken for the Portuguese King Cake, a yeast sweet cake.
The Brazilian recipe uses cane sugar and has icing over the top with the candied fruits.
What are the ingredients?
The ingredients for this cake are butter, eggs, brown sugar, orange juice or milk, range zest, Port wine, flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, black raisins and exotic candied fruit cut into small cubes.
Source: saborbrasil.it
Officer Marcos Vinicius Veloso, who is leading the case, said there are no records of inheritance disputes or rows between family members.
It is believed Zeli ate two cake slices and was the first one to be taken to hospital after becoming severely ill – where she remains in stable condition.
She has reportedly told police she bought some the ingredients on Monday before the gathering.
Police have not yet determined whether the victims were poisoned.
According to the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegante, Tatiana and Maida both died from cardiac arrest, while, Neuza died from ‘shock after food poisoning’.
According to the police officer on the case, arsenic was found in Neuza’s body as well as two other victims who survived.
Neighbours in the area will be interviewed by officers.
A friend of one of the people who died told a local news channel it was a traditional cake that the family made every year.
Police have carried out an examination of the food eaten by the family and other items in the house, and many of them were expired.
A police statement to 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 residence. A bottle was found, a medicine, which should have had capsules inside it and there were no capsules – there was a white liquid and this white liquid will also be examined.’
This comes after last year a woman was accused of killing her in-laws after she allegedly poisoned her relatives with wild mushrooms in Australia.
Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, pictured, died after having the traditional cake on December 23
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, pictured, died following having the Christmas cake on December 23
Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, pictured, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before also dying the following day
Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, a teacher, also after she ate the Christmas cake on December 23 during the family get-together
The horror poisoning happened in the city of Torres in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the south coast of Brazil
In July 2023, five family members gathered for a quiet meal in a small town deep in rural Australia.
A day later, all four guests fell ill. Within a week, three would be dead, the fourth fighting for his life and the 48-year-old woman who cooked the lunch questioned by police amid claims she deliberately poisoned her relatives with wild mushrooms.
Yet Erin Patterson, who did not suffer any ill effects from the meal, insists she loves her family and had no idea the mushrooms she served were death caps – the most poisonous mushrooms in the world.
Speaking outside her home where the fatal lunch happened, she said: ‘I didn’t do anything. I loved them and I’m devastated that they’re gone.’
Police have seized a food dehydrator from the house that’s believed to have been used to prepare the mushrooms.
The deeply unusual case has gripped the country, baffled police and left a closely-knit community desperately seeking answers.
Patterson, 48, is said to have invited her former partner Simon Patterson to her home for the meal on July 29 with his parents Gail and Tom Patterson, 70, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, 68.
Simon was meant to come but could not make it ‘at the last minute’. Police said the couple had split ‘amicably’ – suggesting the lunch would not have been unusual.
Simon, who lived with his parents for a year after the split before moving out, previously spent 21 days in intensive care after suffering ‘serious gut problems’ in May 2022. Exactly when he split from his wife is unclear.
The Pattersons’ two children were also present at the lunch but ate different meals to the adults and did not experience any illness. They’ve reportedly been taken into care.
All four guests became ill after eating the meal. It’s not clear what dish was served but it included hand-picked mushrooms.
Police said the victims’ symptoms were consistent with those caused by death cap mushrooms – the world’s most dangerous fungi which grows in the wild in Victoria.
Erin Patterson hosted a meal that led to all four of her guests falling ill and three dying
Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms. Ms Patterson was previously married to their son, Simon
Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became severely ill after they ate wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died on Friday while her husband remains in a critical condition in hospital
The property where the deadly lunch occurred at Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region
Mushrooms seen on the family home at Leongatha in Victoria’s Gippsland region
The four went to hospital the next day as their condition worsened, with the two sisters, aged 70 and 66, dying on Friday. Don, 70, died on Saturday night.
Ian, 68, remains in a critical condition in hospital and is believed to be waiting for a liver transplant.
Detectives say they are unsure if Ms Patterson ate the same food as her guests.
They noted she was separated from her husband – the Pattersons’ son – but said it had been an ‘amicable’ split.
‘At this point in time, the deaths are unexplained,’ said homicide squad investigator Dean Thomas. ‘It could be very innocent, but we just don’t know.’