Brazilian woman faces charges after arsenic-laced cake deaths

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 Gaucho," 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 woman's husband reported several cases of poisoning in the family since September. Arsenic was found in the urine of both the husband and their 10-year-old son. The woman was arrested on January 5th after the prosecutor charged her with poisoning the family using a Christmas cake.

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

Deise M. will also face charges for the death of her father-in-law, who died in September after being poisoned with fruit juice. Exhumation confirmed that arsenic poisoning was the cause of death. The husband reported incidents of food poisoning after meals prepared by his wife.

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

One police hypothesis suggests that the woman aimed to poison her husband and mother-in-law, with whom she had conflicts. Another theory proposes that the poisonings were intended to eliminate competitors for an inheritance. Deise M. frequently searched online for information on poisons and purchased arsenic through the internet.