Forensic experts have made a breakthrough in the case of a horror Easter egg poisoning that killed two young children in Brazil.
Tests have revealed that the box of luxury mini eggs consumed by Luis Fernando, 7, and his sister Evelyn Fernanda, 13, were contaminated with rat poison.
Police believe that Jordélia Pereira Barbosa, 36, had intended for the chocolates to be laced and delivered to her ex-husband’s new girlfriend last month.
But the new partner, 32-year-old Mirian Lira Silva, shared the chocolates with her children on April 16, before they fell sick and died.
Mirian is still fighting for her life in hospital, left seriously unwell after consuming some of the chocolates.
Experts said the chocolates had been laced with ‘chumbinho’, a banned rodenticide often used illegally in Brazil.
Maranhao Secretary of Public Security Mauricio Martins said: ‘The evidence suggests that the crime was motivated by revenge, by jealousy, considering that the perpetrator’s ex-husband is currently the partner or boyfriend of the victim, who was poisoned along with her two children.’
Barbosa remains in custody at the Sao Luis Women’s Rehabilitation Prison Unit, after being hauled off an intercity bus apparently during her return home from a stay in Imperatriz, where her former partner’s family are based, some 200 miles away.
Jordélia Pereira Barbosa is accused of buying, spiking and sending the chocolate to her former partner’s new girlfriend
Mirian shared the chocolates she had received with her children, before they fell ill and died
The chocolate eggs were reportedly delivered by a motorcycle courier with a note which read: ‘With love, to Mirian Lira. Happy Easter.’
Luis died just hours after consuming the chocolates, on April 16.
Evelyn died of multiple organ failure on April 22, after a five-day fight for life in a hospital intensive care unit in Imperatriz.
Police believe Barbosa had deliberately poisoned the chocolates before sending them to her ex’s new partner.
They were taken to her home by a motorcycle courier, reportedly accompanied with a note which read: ‘With love, to Mirian Lira. Happy Easter.’
After the delivery, Mirian received an anonymous call asking if she had received the package.
Police reportedly found purchase receipts and spoke to Barbosa’s ex-partner as part of their investigation, who was said to have indicated that his ex might be involved.
Officers also seized two wigs, receipts, cards, scissors, a saw knife and what appeared to be drugs, per Imperatriz murder squad police.
Cops shared CCTV footage they said showed Barbosa shopping for chocolate eggs while wearing a black wig to cover her dyed blonde hair and dark sunglasses.
At the counter she is seen holding the box of luxury eggs and starts rummaging through her bag to find a payment card to use.
In a statement at the Santa Inês Regional Police Station, Barbosa reportedly admitted having bought the chocolate, but denied having added poison.
An autopsy on victim Luis by the Imperatriz’s Legal Medical Institute is expected to prove poisoning as the cause of death.
Cops also shared CCTV footage they said showed Barbosa shopping for chocolate eggs while wearing a black wig to cover her dyed blonde hair and dark sunglasses
Police released pictures of materials seized from Jordélia Pereira Barbosa
CCTV footage appears to show Barbosa in a hotel in Imperatriz, the city where her ex-boyfriend’s family are based
Over Christmas, a family in Brazil was struck down after being served a cake laced with arsenic, horrifying the nation.
Zeli Silva Dos Anjos, 61, who baked the traditional Brazilian festive treat, was among seven people who attended a pre Christmas annual party on December 23 – but only four survived.
Mrs Anjos was among those who fell ill and ended up in critical condition hospital. She said she was ‘horrified by guilt’ after serving the cake.
Deise Moura dos Anjos, 42, was remanded in prison on January 6 on suspicion of three murders and three attempted murders.
She protested her innocence but police branded her an alleged ‘serial killer’ after her arrest.
In a shocking twist, she was was found lifeless in her cell at a women’s prison in Guaiba on the outskirts of the southern city of Porto Alegre in February.
Police chiefs said at the time they were treating the death as a suicide and sources at a regional emergency response service said she appeared to have hanged herself.