They often say that a picture is worth a thousand words. However, the photo of Deise Moura and her mother-in-law taken four years ago could unravel a gripping novel – one that even Agatha Christie would admire.
The image captures the 42-year-old accountant alongside her 39-year-old husband Diego, his parents Zeli and Paulo Dos Anjos, and their young son in between them, all posed around a Christmas cake.
From the smiles it might be imagined that they were one big happy family. But as the world now knows, nothing could be further from the truth.
Recently, Moura made headlines after she was arrested under suspicion of three murders and three attempted murders that occurred during a Christmas gathering where multiple family members fell violently ill.
Yesterday, Brazilian detectives went further and announced: ‘The evidence collected so far convinces us that the suspect [Moura] [is] the author of these crimes [and] will probably not leave prison in her lifetime.’
Those she is accused of killing include her mother-in-law’s two sisters and one of their daughters. Mrs Dos Anjos herself narrowly avoided death, as did two other relatives, one aged just ten.
Sensationally, yesterday the police also stated they believe Moura murdered her father-in-law. He died suddenly in September last year from what was believed to be food poisoning. His wife was also taken ill, but survived.
On Wednesday the body of 68-year-old Mr Dos Anjos was exhumed and yesterday forensic experts confirmed that high levels of arsenic were found in his ‘stomach, nails, bladder and abdominal wall as well as the liver’.
Zeli and Paulo Dos Anjos with their son Diego, daughter-in-law Deise Moura and grandson
Mrs Dos Anjos’s sister Maida, who died on Christmas Eve
So how is Moura alleged to have carried out the killings? For the six who became ill in December the murder weapon is allegedly a Christmas cake – a twist worthy of Christie.
And the possible motive? While the police investigation is ongoing, fingers are pointing at those other ‘whodunnit’ staples: money and a bitter family feud.
To recap, a few weeks ago in early December, Mrs Dos Anjos baked a Christmas cake to share with her family, just as she did every year. All those who ate it on December 23 became unwell almost immediately. Hospital tests quickly identified that they had been poisoned with arsenic.
Initially, suspicions fell on 61-year-old Mrs Dos Anjos herself: after all, not only had she baked the cake, but four months earlier she had prepared the food that had led to her husband’s death.
But as speculation inevitably mounted over the widow’s role in the Christmas cake deaths, relatives sprang to her defence, telling the Daily Mail that they did not believe she was involved, and suggesting someone with a ‘grudge’ must have tampered with the cake’s ingredients.
Which is where her daughter-in-law enters the story.
Police in Brazil now suspect that Deise Moura ‘spiked’ with arsenic the flour that was then used to make the cake and must have tampered with the food that Mr Dos Anjos ate in September.
Investigating officer Marcos Veloso said: ‘We have no doubt that [Moura] is a person who committed [a] series of murders and attempted murders over a long period of time.
Police in Brazil now suspect that Deise Moura ‘spiked’ with arsenic the flour that was then used to make the cake
‘We have no doubt that she researched poison – a poison that was odourless – and she bought the elements from a website and began to poison family members.
‘We know that after the father-in-law died, she tried to convince the family to have his body exhumed and cremated, but they refused.
‘This whole investigation has been an extreme surprise for all involved and the suspect is a very manipulative person.
‘We have solid evidence that she killed four people. This evidence is very robust, and not only did she kill four people she tried to kill three others and there were other attempted murders.
‘The woman tried to buy this poison four times in a five-month period, one of which was just before the death of her father-in-law. We have found an invoice and tracking code for the material she bought.’
As for motive, after speaking to police, friends and relatives, the Mail has built up an extraordinary picture of a family that fell out – with devastating consequences.
Initially, police said they’d found no evidence of disputes over money or inheritances.
Yet a bust-up has now emerged, with its roots going back to a row over money 20 years ago, soon after Moura met Diego, Mr and Mrs Dos Anjos’s only child.
Deise Moura was remanded in prison earlier this week
Mother and son were close, to the point of having a joint bank account, and associates of the family have told the Mail that the feud began in 2004 after Mrs Dos Anjos withdrew money from the account without telling Diego, something that infuriated Moura. The money was eventually paid back, but despite attempts at trying to patch things up over the years, matters didn’t really improve – with Moura nicknaming her mother-in-law ‘naja’, or ‘cobra’ in Portuguese.
They would rarely socialise, but family politics are complex, requiring people who loathe each other to spend time together. So there were still occasional gatherings when it was hoped relations would thaw. These would invariably end in an argument, with one side blocking the other on social media – and indeed this happened after that apparently happy photo was taken in 2021.
A family source has revealed that on one occasion, a row ended with Moura allegedly telling her mother-in-law: ‘You will see your family in a coffin.’
It has now emerged that shortly before Mr Dos Anjos died, Moura had paid one such ‘bridge-building’ visit to her in-laws at their summer house in the coastal town of Arroio do Sal.
The retired couple had been staying there, rather than at their main home in Canoas – a two-hour drive inland – after it was damaged by floods in May.
Moura told police her son had wanted to see his grandparents, and she’d brought a ‘peace offering’ of cleaning products, flowers, powdered milk, eggs, flour and bananas.
On September 2, after eating the bananas and drinking coffee, both her in-laws complained of feeling a ‘numbness’ in their mouths – a similar sensation reported by those who later ate the fateful cake.
Both were hospitalised with Mr Dos Anjos dying the following day. The death certificate gives intestinal infection as one of the causes of death.
The body of Moura’s father-in-law has now been exhumed
But yesterday Marcos Veloso said: ‘The suspect took bananas and powdered milk to Paulo and Zeli’s house, they ate them and the next day both ended up in hospital and Paulo died.
‘After his death [Moura] sent messages to her mother-in-law saying she missed Paulo and she wanted to see her and this gave her an excuse to go back and forth to the house.’
Mr Veloso added: ‘She told the mother-in-law her son felt guilty as it was his idea to take the bananas and powdered milk to his parents and that he was very depressed.
‘But this was all part of the story to convince her and relatives not to investigate Paulo’s death further and to cremate his body.’
A family source told the Mail that after Mr Dos Anjos’s death his wife’s sister Maida became suspicious of Moura and urged her to take the fruit to a lab for testing.
‘But Zeli refused, saying she couldn’t believe she would do anything so bad, and said maybe the bananas were contaminated by the floods or the water from the well in the garden.
‘Maida was suspicious from the beginning something was up and even the week before the cake incident took her own food to a barbecue at Zeli’s because they were worried the stuff there might have been tampered with. She was convinced Moura was behind Paulo’s death.’
And so we come to the family get together on December 23 at Maida’s house, which Moura, Diego and their son did not attend.
Those who ate the cake immediately realised it did not taste right, with comments about its ‘bitter’ and ‘peppery’ taste, prompting Mrs Dos Anjos to herself try two different pieces. When her ten-year-old great-nephew Matheus also complained, she decided enough was enough, announcing: ‘No one eats it any more.’
But within minutes, all six of the seven family members present who had eaten a piece of cake started to feel sick. By 1am the following day, all were so unwell that they called for help and were rushed by ambulance to hospital.
Tragically, it was Maida, a 58-year-old teacher, who was the first to die on Christmas Eve.
Zeli’s other sister, Neuza, 65, passed away hours later, followed by her own daughter Tatiana, 43.
Tatiana’s son, Matheus, and Mrs Dos Anjos were left fighting for their lives in intensive care. Maida’s husband Jefferson required hospital treatment but was the least seriously affected. Tatiana and Maida had suffered heart attacks, while Neuza died from ‘shock after food poisoning’.
Arsenic was found in the dead women’s stomachs, blood and urine following tests conducted by Brazil’s General Institute of Forensics (IGP).
‘Very high concentrations of arsenic were identified in the three victims,’ Marguet Mittman, director of the IGP told a press conference. ‘To give you an idea, 35 micrograms are enough to cause death. In one of the victims, there was a concentration 350 times higher.’
Samples were then taken from Mrs Dos Anjos’s summer home, where the cake was made. The cake tested positive for arsenic, as did the flour. Arsenic levels in the flour were in a concentration 2,700 times higher than that found in the cake.
‘It is unquestionable that the arsenic was in the cake and it is unquestionable that the source in the cake recipe is the flour,’ said Ms Mittman.
She added: ‘Arsenic is odourless and normally a white, greyish powder. When it is mixed with other ingredients such as powdered milk or flour it is imperceptible to a person who is ingesting it.’
Marcos Veloso added: ‘We suspect the individual arrested entered Zeli’s house and then contaminated the flour.’
The focus finally fell on Moura after she unexpectedly turned up at the victims’ funerals last month. She is said to have placed a set of rosary beads and a rose in the hands of two of deceased as they lay in their caskets. Her actions prompted one furious family member to shout: ‘Why are you here? You didn’t like any of them. Everyone knows.’
It has also been claimed that Moura visited her mother-in-law in hospital. She brought chocolate, fruit juice and water but relatives noticed the seals were broken and so the items were thrown away. According to prosecution files, data extracted from Moura’s phone showed that weeks before the alleged crime she had searched the internet using phrases such as ‘heart poison’, ‘poison that kills humans’ and ‘arsenic’ more than 100 times.
The unfolding saga has left relatives dumbfounded. One told the Mail: ‘I never liked her. She wound people up and she would put a wedge between Diego and his cousins.’
And she added: ‘What I really hope is that Diego wasn’t involved in any of this, if it turns out he was, it will devastate the family.’
Police said there was no evidence he was involved, but added: ‘There are suspicions that Moura poisoned other people close to the family and these cases will be subject to further investigation.’
Moura has already appeared before a judge, who imposed a 30-day custody period while further inquiries are made.
In police interviews, she is said to have admitted having a difficult relationship with her mother-in-law but insisted she never wished harm on Mrs Dos Anjos or anyone else. When asked if she had bought poison to put in food, Moura denied it, but claimed her mother-in-law had bought herbicide and rat poison to use in the house.
After Mr Dos Anjos’s death she claimed to have researched poisons because there were doubts about what could have caused him to fall ill.
In a statement, Moura’s lawyer Cassyus Pontes said: ‘The statements released at the press conference have not yet been brought to court in the proceedings regarding the case. Therefore, we are awaiting the completeness of the documents and evidence for analysis and statement. It is important to note that temporary arrests are for investigative purposes and for gathering evidence, so there are still several questions and answers open in this case.’
The investigation into the great Christmas cake poisoning continues…
