Three women at a Christmas get-together have died after eating a festive cake.
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, and Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, died after having the Christmas dessert on December 23.
Meanwhile, Maida’s sister, Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before also dying on Christmas eve.
Pictures of the cake, which was reportedly baked by Maida and her sister Zeli Terezinha Silva dos Anjos, 61, who is also in hospital, show it to be a Bolo de Natal – a Brazilian Christmas cake, the Mirror reports.
Three other family members also felt unwell after having the dessert, including a 10-year-old boy – who remains in stable condition.
According to the Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes de Torres, Tatiana and Maida both died from cardiac arrest.
Officer Marcos Vinicius Veloso, who leading the case, said there are no records of inheritance disputes or rows between family members.
This horror happened during family get-together around the festive season, where seven people gathered to enjoy the cake at Zeli’s home in the city of Torres, southern Brazil.
Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, pictured, died following having the Christmas cake on December 23
Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, pictured, also after she ate the Christmas cake on December 23 during the family get-together
Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjo, 65, pictured, was rushed to hospital in critical condition before also dying the following day
It is believed Zeli ate two cake slices and was the first one to be taken to hospital after becoming severely ill – where she remains in stable condition.
The police have also launched a separate investigation and have asked for Zeli’s late husband’s body, who passed away in September due to food poisoning, to be dug up from his grave.
Once, she is discharged from hospital she will, reportedly, be questioned further.
Neighbours at her home will also be interviewed by police.
The Christmas cake eaten by the three women before they died
A Christmas cake is a rich cake traditionally served without any decoration or just garnished with candied fruits.
It is often mistaken for the Portuguese King Cake, a yeast sweet cake.
The Brazilian recipe uses cane sugar and has icing over the top with the candied fruits.
Police have carried out an examination of the food eaten by the family and other items in the house, and many of them were expired.
A police statement to local network, Globo, said: ‘We even have information that there was mayonnaise there that had expired a year ago.
‘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.’
