I watched my wife & her sister die after eating ‘arsenic’ cake – I could tell something was wrong when I took a bite
THE man who survived eating an arsenic-laced Christmas cake that killed three family members, including his wife, has said he knew something was wrong as soon as he took a bite.
Jefferson Luiz Morales, 60, fell ill after eating the Christmas cake baked by his wife’s sister, Zeli Silva dos Anjos, and allegedly poisoned by her daughter in law, Deise Moura, 49.
Jefferson’s wife Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, a third sister Neuza Denise Silva dos Anjos, 65, and Neuza’s daughter Tatiana Silva dos Santos, 43, all perished after consuming it.
The horrific case rocked Brazil over Christmas, and Deise has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a “whitish liquid” was found at Zeli’s house.
Police believe Deise laced with arsenic the flour used in the cake being baked by Zeli, who also fell gravely ill but survived.
In a shock twist, arsenic has also been discovered in the body of Paulo Luiz Dos Anjos, Zeli’s husband, who died in September.
Now, Jefferson has spoken out for the first time to say he knew something was wrong from the moment the cake touched his lips.
He told Brazilian news channel G1: “When I ate it I also sensed a bad taste, but because the cake had sugar on top it hid [the bad taste] a little bit.”
Jefferson said his wife, Maida, then stood up because she was feeling unwell, before he too became ill.
His wife’s sister Neuza had also eaten the cake and “was going to eat again”, but stopped because someone said: “Don’t eat it, it’s not good.”
Despite holding off for another slice, Neuza later died.
Jefferson continued: “After that Zeli [the baker] went across the corridor to vomit.
“It was three or four minutes, no more than that. After that Zeli passed out.”
Paramedics rushed to the apartment in Torres, near Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, but were unable to save three of the seven who ate the cake.
Tatiana’s 10-year-old son Matheus, Zeli’s great nephew, was also taken into intensive care where he was treated for some days.
Jefferson spoke of feeling lost after losing his wife whilst showing local press around the house where the horror unfolded.
He said: “My other half is gone. I have to rebuild everything again. Sleeping is difficult.
“I didn’t want to take sleeping pills, but I think I have to. At night, all that is left is a hole. And we were all having a great time.”
He added: “Maida loved these festive occasions. Chiristmas, New Year’s and birthdays. She always enjoyed these.”
The horror began when the family tucked into a cake Zeli had baked, as she did every Christmas time.
According to one of the investigators, the cake had an odd “spicy” and “peppery” flavour, but this didn’t stop the Brazilian family from consuming the death dessert.
Seven people consumed the cake in total, and they all began feeling ill soon afterwards.
A concerned family friend had reportedly raised the alarm about a family feud, reporting to police that three days before the incident Deise had threatened the family in a heated argument.
Police opened a murder investigation and seized Deise’s phone, where they found searches for “poison for the heart”, “arsenic poison”, and “poison that kills humans.”
After Deise’s arrest, suspicion began to mount about the death of her father in law, Paulo Luiz Dos Anjos, Zeli’s husband, who died in September of suspected food poisoning.
Cops requested that his body was exhumed and a post-mortem found traces of arsenic in his blood stream.
After his death Deise reportedly pushed for the family to have his body cremated, but they refused,
It was reported by Fantastico that Deise bought arsenic online just days before Paul’s death in September.
It is believed that in the case Deise laced milk powder with arsenic and put it in Paulo’s coffee.