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Police authorities in Rio Grande do Sul stated, this Friday, that Deisa Moura dos Anjos is being investigated for committing serial homicides and concealing evidence.
Suspect is being investigated for causing cake poisoning with arsenic Reproduction/ Social media
The 39-year-old woman is the main suspect of having put arsenic in a cake in the municipality of Torres, causing the death by poisoning of three family members, on the eve of Christmas last year. She is also accused of being responsible for her father-in-law’s death in September — the victim’s body was exhumed this week at the request of investigators.
According to regional delegate Sabrina Deffente, responsible for the investigation, Deise “researched, purchased, received and used poison to kill people” on more than one occasion. In online searches, discovered by the Civil Police after the seizure of the suspect’s cell phone, results were found regarding a compound known as tofana water.
The poison, famously tasteless and odorless, was used by women to “kill their husbands” in the 17th century, Deffente said. When researching the components of the solution, Deise would have come across arsenic, which she added to the flour of the cake prepared by her mother-in-law, Zeli dos Anjos, 60 years old, and offered to family members.
— We have no doubt that these are serial homicides and attempted homicides. For a long time, she was not discovered and tried to erase evidence that could lead to blame being attributed to her — said the delegate at a press conference this Friday.
Understand what happened
On the afternoon of December 23, six people from the same family fell ill after eating dessert. After being admitted to the hospital, three people died: Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65 years old, and Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 59 years old, Zeli’s sisters, as well as Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 47 years old, Neuza’s daughter.
Zeli was also hospitalized in serious condition, but was discharged from hospital this Friday. Maida’s husband and a 10-year-old child were also hospitalized, but were released.
What was found by the forensics?
According to forensic information, “very high concentrations” of arsenic were found in the dessert, greater than 350 times the minimum for poisoning. The presence of the toxic substance was also found in quantities equivalent to 2,700 times the total contained in the dessert.
As the case progressed, investigators discovered a fourth death had occurred. Deise’s father-in-law, Paulo Luiz dos Anjos, died in September last year and, at the time, the cause of death was attributed to food poisoning. However, after the impact of the contaminated cake case, the hypothesis was raised that he had also died from arsenic poisoning. The suspicion was confirmed by forensics this Friday.
According to investigators, Deise tried to hide the evidence after Paulo’s death. Information from cell phone data, revealed by the Civil Police, shows that she tried to cremate her father-in-law’s body and create the narrative that he had consumed bananas contaminated by a flood in the municipality of Canoas (RS), where the family has a house.
She also said that her husband was “very depressed” about his father’s death and that he was blaming himself for allegedly taking the fruit to Paulo. As a result, Deise asked that no further laboratory analyzes be carried out on the body to discover the cause of death. In his appeals, he even mentioned God.
“I think we need to pray more, accept more, and not look for blame where there is none, not in the moments that God reserves for us. Yes, there is no going back, no police, no forensics that can help us unravel”, she said in a message to her mother-in-law.
The chief delegate of the Torres Civil Police, Marcos Vinicius Veloso, stated that Deise referred to her mother-in-law as a “naja” in statements given to the police authorities. He also described Deise’s behavior this way:
—A cold posture, with an answer always on the tip of the tongue, calm — he stated.
During the press conference, authorities also confirmed that Deise had tried to visit her hospitalized mother-in-law, a few days after the incident, and brought a juice to be consumed by Zeli. Given the suspicion that it could be a new poisoning attempt, the elderly woman’s companions discarded the liquid.
— Realizing that this could be a possibility, they then collected these bottles and took them to the police station — reported the police officer, stating that the objects will also undergo expert analysis.
