Three women died after eating cake at a Christmas gathering. Two passed away on December 23rd, and another died in the hospital the following day on Christmas Eve.
Here are the details of this tragic story.
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It was a family get-together
Two women, Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, aged 43, and Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, passed away on December 23rd, while Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, aged 65, was rushed to the hospital and died the next day, having been in critical condition.
According to the Mirror, a sister of Maida’s had baked a Bolo de Natal, a Brazilian Christmas cake.
After eating the cake, several family members were rushed to the hospital, the baker of the cake among them.
The two women died in hospital
A 10-year-old boy was also rushed to the hospital and is in stable condition.
It was reported by the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres that Tatiana and Maida both died from cardiac arrest.
Police are looking into the case
According to Globo, Neuza, Maida’s sister, passed away after the two on Christmas Eve, with the medical cause of death being “shock after blood poisoning.”
The police personnel leading the case, Officer Marcos Vinicius Veloso, said there were no records of disputes between family members over inheritance or other such issues.
There had been seven people there
The Christmas family gathering was at Zeli’s home, who had baked the cake for her family’s get-together around the festive season.
Seven family members were at her home in Torres in southern Brazil for the Christmas event.
Zeli was the first to be taken to hospital
It is believed that the host and cake baker were the first to be taken to the hospital, having had two slices of the Brazilian festive cake.
She became severely ill but, as of December 27th, has remained in the hospital in stable condition and would reportedly be questioned further upon her discharge.
It wasn’t anything unusual
A friend of one of the family members told police that baking the cake was a yearly tradition for the family during the festive season, according to the local station Globo.
So the gathering and the food don’t come any different from every year.
Zeli provided information about the food
The Christmas gathering host provided authorities with information regarding the time and place to purchase her cake’s ingredients.
Police have also opened an investigation into the death of Zeli’s husband, who had passed away in September due to food poisoning.
Police have examined the food
After examining the cake that gave so many of the family members food poisoning, police found that the festive dessert, as well as other items in the house, were expired.
“We even have information that there was mayonnaise there that had expired a year ago,” police told the local network Globo.
They also found things yet to be examined
“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,” the police statement said.
This isn’t the first time such an incident occurs
This situation isn’t the first of its kind, with food poisoning at a family function having killed three people in July 2023 when five family members gathered for a meal in rural Australia.
The 48-year-old woman who made the food was questioned by police and found to have used wild mushrooms in the food, claiming she didn’t know they were poisonous.
