A woman in her late 50s has been taken into custody for allegedly using a toxic substance in a cake that led to the death of one of her granddaughters.
Izabel Cardoso de Andrade, aged 59, is suspected of preparing the lethal dessert while her grandchildren were visiting over the summertime. Her spouse reportedly brought home an additional cake and some cheese bread for the children’s snack time.
Following the consumption of the cake on July 23, the nine-year-old girl, Alana dos Santos Cardoso Marques, became severely unwell almost immediately, while her 11-year-old sister, who ingested a smaller amount, experienced milder symptoms. Even the family pet cat suffered after tasting the cake, as both children started vomiting and complaining of intense abdominal discomfort.
Alana showed symptoms like expelling a white liquid from her nose, which prompted her grandparents to seek assistance. Despite efforts to rush her to the hospital, she tragically succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest shortly after arrival. The cat also perished after displaying similar symptoms. Authorities gathered samples of the cake for examination at the family’s residence in São Francisco, Brazil.
Cardoso de Andrade was apprehended on Friday, September 19. Tests conducted later revealed the presence of terbufos, a toxic pesticide, in both the cake and Alana’s body. This chemical affects the central nervous system, leading to muscle weakness and, in high doses, fatality. Symptoms may include seizures, breathing problems, and cramps, potentially resulting in neurological damage or death.
The cat’s postmortem examination indicated liver failure as the probable cause of death, hinting at poisoning as the likely reason.
The suspect’s legal representative, Raphael Sim es de Moraes Neto, mentioned that his client cooperated voluntarily with investigators and permitted searches at her residence. Authorities are exploring whether the poisoning was deliberate or an unfortunate incident, with no clear motive identified yet. The investigation remains ongoing.
This incident follows a previous case where a woman was accused of fatally poisoning three of her in-laws with an arsenic-laden cake during a past holiday season. Deise Moura dos Anjos allegedly poisoned six members of her husband’s family, resulting in three severe illnesses and three fatalities post-consumption. The suspect, hailing from Brazil, purportedly ended her own life while in custody before trial in February.
Recently, an Australian mother, Erin Patterson, received a life sentence for the murder of three relatives of her estranged husband by serving them a beef wellington dish contaminated with poisonous mushrooms.
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