Brazil Christmas cake poisoning: Man's body to be exhumed after three deaths

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Three people have died and two people have been poisoned after a family ate a traditional cake on Christmas Eve.

The incident took place in Torres, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, on Christmas Eve, on the evening of Tuesday, December 24.

According to family friend and shopkeeper Denise Teixeira Gomes, there were no disagreements between the relatives and preparing the food was a family tradition during the end-of-year festivities.

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She said: “It was a traditional family cake, a king cake, which they always, always, always made.”

The first two victims were identified as retired teacher Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Tatiana Denize Silva dos Santos, 43. They are aunt and niece, according to the Civil Police.

The cake that caused the poisoning, and right, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, who died in Torres, BrazilThe cake that caused the poisoning, and right, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, who died in Torres, Brazil
The cake that caused the poisoning, and right, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, who died in Torres, Brazil | NF/newsX

A third woman died in hospital on Tuesday night. She is Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65, mother of Tatiana and sister of Maida.

The three victims died within a few hours of each other. The first two suffered cardiorespiratory arrest , according to the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres. The cause of death of the third was reported as "post-food poisoning shock".

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Three other people from the same family sought medical attention and one has already been discharged.

The woman who prepared the cake, named Zeli, and a 10-year-old child remain hospitalised. Both consumed the food. The victims' bodies were taken for autopsy, which will confirm the cause of death.

According to the Civil Police, food poisoning or poisoning is suspected.

The hospital said in a statement on Christmas Day: “The Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes informs that the two hospitalised patients are under the care of the ICU team and are showing clear improvement in their clinical condition.”

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According to the Civil Police, seven people from the same family were gathered in a house, during an afternoon coffee, when they began to feel ill. Only one of them did not eat the cake. The cake was collected as evidence and will be analysed.

Following the incident, police have also requested the exhumation of the body of Zeli's ex-husband, who died in September, after also showing symptoms of food poisoning. His death was not investigated at the time as it was not deemed suspicious.

Police spokesperson Marcos Vinicius Veloso said: "As we became aware of this fact just now, we opened a police investigation and we are going to exhume this man's body to check whether there was also poisoning."

The investigation is ongoing.

Story: NewsX

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