Woman faces charges after arsenic-laced cake kills three

Brazilian police in the city of Torres, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, are investigating a woman accused of attempting to poison her mother-in-law and other family members with arsenic. According to "Diario Gaúcho", the woman is also suspected of killing her father-in-law and making two unsuccessful attempts to poison her husband.

The investigation began after the 42-year-old woman’s husband reported numerous incidents of poisoning within the family since September. Arsenic was found in the urine samples of the husband and their 10-year-old son. The woman was arrested on 5th January after the prosecutor accused her of poisoning the family with a Christmas cake.

After eating the cake, three people died, and three others suffered severe poisoning. Police confirmed the presence of arsenic in both the poisoned individuals and the remaining cake. Arsenic was also discovered in the flour that the daughter-in-law allegedly added to the cake prepared by her mother-in-law.

Deise M. will also stand trial for the death of her father-in-law, who died in September after being poisoned with fruit juice. An exhumation confirmed that arsenic poisoning was the cause of death. The husband recounted incidents of food poisoning following meals prepared by his wife.

He also described an unexpected poisoning incident in December involving his 10-year-old son, who accidentally drank fruit juice from a cup intended for his father. The man was surprised by his wife's reaction; immediately after the supposedly harmless mishap, she performed gastric lavage on the child.

One of the police theories suggests that the woman’s main targets were her husband and mother-in-law, with whom she was in conflict. Another theory proposes that the poisonings were intended to eliminate contenders for the inheritance. Deise M. frequently searched the internet for information on poisons and purchased arsenic online.