A woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her nine-year-old granddaughter by feeding her poisoned cake.
Local authorities said Izabel Cardoso de Andrade, 59, baked for her two granddaughters, aged nine and 11, on 23 July this year in Sao Francisco, Brazil.
Alana dos Santos Cardoso Marques, the younger of the sisters, immediately felt sick upon ingesting the cake, while the older sister ate less and endured milder symptoms.
Ms De Andrade rushed her granddaughter to hospital with the help of a neighbour after the nine-year-old suffered severe abdominal pain and a white liquid began leaking from her nose. She died of cardiopulmonary arrest shortly after arriving.
The family’s cat also died from eating the food.
The dessert was tested following the incident and an expert report concluded the victim’s body and cake contained terbufos – a toxic pesticide and agrochemical banned in the UK and EU – according to Minas Gerais Civil Police (PCMG).
The cat was said to have died from liver damage associated with poisoning.
Ms De Andrade’s defence team said that the grandmother was cooperating with police after her arrest on Friday.
“We are taking steps to reverse the decision and for now we highlight the innocence of Ms Izabel and the disproportionate [nature] of her imprisonment, since her liberty poses no kind of risk,” they said in a statement released to local media.
The child’s mother, Regiane Gonçalves do Santos, told Grande Minas, that she was living in a “nightmare”.
“It’s a nightmare for me; this isn’t happening,” she said. “When I come back to reality, I can’t even leave my room.”
Following the results of the toxicology report, town residents protested in support of the family. Ms Do Santos said her daughter dreamed of becoming a police officer one day and had been a cheerful and happy girl.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that the chemical’s effects include “causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, and at very high exposures (eg accidents or major spills), respiratory paralysis and death”.
The substance is banned in several states across the US, and is described as “extremely hazardous” by the World Health Organisation. South Africa was among the latest countries to ban the substance in June, earlier this year.
The South African Human Rights Commission has said that over 20 children had died in 2024 due to poisoning induced by the substance, which was most commonly used to kill rats in deprived areas.
Earlier this month, Erin Patterson, was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after she intentionally poisoned her relatives with highly toxic death cap mushrooms, which she had baked into a beef Wellington for lunch.
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