I Watched My Wife And Her Sister Die After Taking Arsenic-laced Christmas Cake

I Watched My Wife And Her Sister Die After Taking Arsenic-Laced Christmas Cake”, is not the headline of another fiction.

It is the sum of a real story that has not shocked thousands, if not millions, leaving impactful moral messages.

It is woven around a single incident, woven around, not just another snack, but an arsenic-laced cake, an incident which has since changed the life of Jefferson Luiz Moraes life forever, the day he would last be with his wife at their apartment in Torres.

Maida da Silva, 58, was one of the victims of the poisoning which shocked Brazil, and the world, over Christmas.

She and her sister had made two Christmas cakes which for years were traditionally eaten as a family for the festive occasion.

But Maida’s was not the one eaten. Instead, it was the one her sister made, Zeli dos Anjos, which after being enjoyed by her family, unravelled the murder probe.

It all happened when seven people were eating the dessert on December 23 at a family Christmas party. Straight away those who tried the cake noticed a ‘bad taste’ and within minutes of tucking in they started feeling sick and hours later three were dead.

Maida, her sister Neuza Denize Silva Dos Anjos, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana Silvia Dos Santos, 43, died in the poisoning which left police scrambling to find answers.

After traces of arsenic were found in the victims’ bodies, initial suspicions fell on Zeli, who was left fighting for her life after eating two slices and whose husband, Paulo, 68, had also died months before from food poisoning.

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However, this prompted the question: Why would someone who makes a poisoned cake, then eat it? It was then that police turned to other culprits for answers.

Maida’s husband of 32 years, Jefferson, has now spoken for the first time since the horror of that day.

Maida-da-Silva-58-was-one-of-the-victims-of-the-poisoning-which-shocked-Brazil-and-the-world-over-Christmas

Maida’s husband of 32 years, Jefferson Luiz Moraes, pictured, has now spoken for the first time since the horror of that day

Maida da Silva, 58, was one of the victims of the poisoning which shocked Brazil, and the world, over Christmas

Maida da Silva, 58, was one of the victims of the poisoning which shocked Brazil, and the world, over Christmas

Police in Brazil now suspect that Deise Moura ‘spiked’ with arsenic the flour that was then used to make the cake

The 60-year-old told local news channel G1 how everyone noticed that something was not quite right with Zeli’s cake.

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‘When I ate it I also sensed a bad taste, but because the cake had sugar on top it hid [the bad taste] a little bit.’

Maida then stood up as she was feeling restless, her husband said. He later also felt ill.

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‘Neuza ate the cake, and then was going to eat again and [someone] said ‘don’t eat it because it’s not good.

‘After that Zeli went across the corridor to vomit. It was three or four minutes, no more than that. After that Zeli passed out.’

Paramedics rushed to the apartment in Torres, near Porto Alegre in the southern part of the country.

Since that day, the reality of living without his wife left him feeling a ‘role’, Mr Luiz Moraes said.

‘My other half is gone. I have to rebuild everything again. Sleeping is difficult. I didn’t want to take sleeping pills, but I think I have to. At night, all that is left is a hole. And we were all having a great time.’

Zeli’s daughter-in-law, Deise Moura, was last week arrested on suspicion of three murders and three attempted murders.

The 60-year-old showed local press the table where the family met and ate the cake

It was also shown the sink which the family members ran to after falling ill

Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, pictured, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before also dying the following day

This is the apartment block where the family had their festive event and ate the Christmas cake

After the shocking deaths after the arsenic findings, the police ordered for Mr Dos Anjo’s body to be exhumed and forensic experts confirmed that high levels of arsenic were found in his ‘stomach, nails, bladder and abdominal wall as well as the liver’.

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After the shocking deaths after the arsenic findings, the police ordered for Mr Dos Anjo’s body to be exhumed and forensic experts confirmed that high levels of arsenic were found in his ‘stomach, nails, bladder and abdominal wall as well as the liver’.

He added: ‘Maida loved these festive occasions. Chiristmas, New Year’s and birthdays. She always enjoyed these.’

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After the shocking deaths after the arsenic findings, the police ordered for Mr Dos Anjo’s body to be exhumed and forensic experts confirmed that high levels of arsenic were found in his ‘stomach, nails, bladder and abdominal wall as well as the liver’.

Widoer Jefferson said from there, this became a ‘terror’ for those who were left trying to pick up the pieces.

He said: ‘Terror. But we didn’t know it was going to be so serious yet. I didn’t join the dots of Paulo (the death of Zeli’s husband). But later, at Neuza’s wake, my sister started researching there, and she showed me “Look, it could be arsenic.”‘

As previously reported Zeli’s daughter-in-law, Deise Moura, was last week arrested on suspicion of three murders and three attempted murders.

Brazilian detectives went further and announced: ‘The evidence collected so far convinces us that the suspect [Moura] [is] the author of these crimes [and] will probably not leave prison in her lifetime.’

Police believe that Deise Moura ‘spiked’ with arsenic the flour that was then used to make the cake and must have tampered with the food that Mr Dos Anjos ate in September.

Investigating officer Marcos Veloso said: ‘We have no doubt that [Moura] is a person who committed [a] series of murders and attempted murders over a long period of time.

‘We have no doubt that she researched poison – a poison that was odourless – and she bought the elements from a website and began to poison family members.

Zeli’s daughter-in-law, Deise Moura, was last week arrested on suspicion of three murders and three attempted murders.

Deise Moura (pictured) was held by police at the home she shares with husband

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Body of late husband of woman who baked ‘arsenic-laced’ Christmas cake is exhumed for testing

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‘We know that after the father-in-law died, she tried to convince the family to have his body exhumed and cremated, but they refused.

‘This whole investigation has been an extreme surprise for all involved and the suspect is a very manipulative person.

‘We have solid evidence that she killed four people. This evidence is very robust, and not only did she kill four people she tried to kill three others and there were other attempted murders.

‘The woman tried to buy this poison four times in a five-month period, one of which was just before the death of her father-in-law. We have found an invoice and tracking code for the material she bought.’

As for motive, after speaking to police, friends and relatives, the Mail has built up an extraordinary picture of a family that fell out – with devastating consequences.

Initially, police said they’d found no evidence of disputes over money or inheritances.

Yet a bust-up has now emerged, with its roots going back to a row over money 20 years ago, soon after Moura met Diego, Mr and Mrs Dos Anjos’s only child.

Mother and son were close, to the point of having a joint bank account, and associates of the family have told the Mail that the feud began in 2004 after Mrs Dos Anjos withdrew money from the account without telling Diego, something that infuriated Moura.

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Zeli Anjos (pictured) baked the cake with its deadly ingredient as a festive treat for a party on December

Shortly before Paulo Dos Anjos died, pictured, Moura had paid one such ‘bridge-building’ visit to her in-laws at their summer house in the coastal town of Arroio do Sal.

Shortly before Paulo Dos Anjos died, pictured, Moura had paid one such ‘bridge-building’ visit to her in-laws at their summer house in the coastal town of Arroio do Sal.

The money was eventually paid back, but despite attempts at trying to patch things up over the years, matters didn’t really improve – with Moura nicknaming her mother-in-law ‘naja’, or ‘cobra’ in Portuguese.

Maida’s husband of 32 years, Jefferson Luiz Moraes, pictured, has now spoken for the first time since the horror of that day

They would rarely socialise, but family politics are complex, requiring people who loathe each other to spend time together. So there were still occasional gatherings when it was hoped relations would thaw. These would invariably end in an argument, with one side blocking the other on social media – and indeed this happened after that apparently happy photo was taken in 2021.

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A family source has revealed that on one occasion, a row ended with Moura allegedly telling her mother-in-law: ‘You will see your family in a coffin.’

Shortly before Mr Dos Anjos died, Moura had paid one such ‘bridge-building’ visit to her in-laws at their summer house in the coastal town of Arroio do Sal.

The retired couple had been staying there, rather than at their main home in Canoas – a two-hour drive inland – after it was damaged by floods in May.

Moura told police her son had wanted to see his grandparents, and she’d brought a ‘peace offering’ of cleaning products, flowers, powdered milk, eggs, flour and bananas.

On September 2, after eating the bananas and drinking coffee, both her in-laws complained of feeling a ‘numbness’ in their mouths – a similar sensation reported by those who later ate the fateful cake.

Both were hospitalised with Mr Dos Anjos dying the following day. The death certificate gives intestinal infection as one of the causes of death.

Mr Veloso added: ‘The suspect took bananas and powdered milk to Paulo and Zeli’s house, they ate them and the next day both ended up in hospital and Paulo died.

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Brazilian detectives went further and announced: ‘The evidence collected so far convinces us that the suspect [Moura] [is] the author of these crimes [and] will probably not leave prison in her lifetime.’

‘After his death [Moura] sent messages to her mother-in-law saying she missed Paulo and she wanted to see her and this gave her an excuse to go back and forth to the house.’

Mr Veloso added: ‘She told the mother-in-law her son felt guilty as it was his idea to take the bananas and powdered milk to his parents and that he was very depressed.

‘But this was all part of the story to convince her and relatives not to investigate Paulo’s death further and to cremate his body.’

A family source told the Mail that after Mr Dos Anjos’s death, his wife’s sister Maida became suspicious of Moura and urged her to take the fruit to a lab for testing.

‘But Zeli refused, saying she couldn’t believe she would do anything so bad, and said maybe the bananas were contaminated by the floods or the water from the well in the garden.’

Arsenic was found in the dead women’s stomachs, blood and urine following tests conducted by Brazil’s General Institute of Forensics (IGP).

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‘Very high concentrations of arsenic were identified in the three victims,’ Marguet Mittman, director of the IGP told a press conference. ‘To give you an idea, 35 micrograms are enough to cause death. In one of the victims, there was a concentration 350 times higher.’

Samples were then taken from Mrs Dos Anjos’s summer home, where the cake was made. The cake tested positive for arsenic, as did the flour. Arsenic levels in the flour were in a concentration 2,700 times higher than that found in the cake.

‘It is unquestionable that the arsenic was in the cake and it is unquestionable that the source in the cake recipe is the flour,’ said Ms Mittman.

The quotes have been translated into English to the best of MailOnline’s ability.

-Culled from MailOnline