Deise Moura dos Anjos, the 42-year-old woman accused of lacing a Christmas cake with arsenic that led to the deaths of three relatives, was found dead in her prison cell in Guaíba, Brazil.
She had been in custody at the women’s state prison since January, and her death has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding it.
According to a statement from criminal police, Dos Anjos was alone in her cell at the time of her death. Local authorities have stated that the cause of death will be thoroughly investigated by the Civil Police and the General Institute of Expertise.
This comes just one day after her husband reportedly requested a divorce, marking a tragic turn in the case.
Dos Anjos was accused of serving a Christmas cake that was laced with arsenic at 2,700 times the legal limit to her family members on Christmas Eve.
The poisoning killed three people, including Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65.
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Three other family members survived the poisoning but were also affected. Dos Anjos denied involvement in the murders, claiming she had nothing to do with the deaths or the poisonings.
However, investigations revealed that she had purchased arsenic multiple times before the incident.
Police said that high concentrations of arsenic were found not only in the victims’ bodies but also in the flour used to prepare the cake, which was made by Dos Anjos’ mother-in-law, Zeli dos Anjos.
In a chilling turn, the investigation into the Christmas Day tragedy led authorities to reopen a case concerning the death of Zeli’s late husband, Paolo Luiz, after an exhumation showed he had high arsenic levels in his system, raising suspicions about his death as well.
The devastating poisonings have left deep scars on the family, with Maida’s husband, Jefferson Luiz Moraes, telling local media, “My better half is gone.
I have to rebuild everything again… At night, there’s a hole [in my heart] that remains.”
