A woman has been arrested after a Christmas cake laced with arsenic killed three members of her family in Brazil

Brazilian police have arrested a woman facing triple murder charges after several members of her family were poisoned with a toxic substance Christmas cake covered in arsenicMonday, police said.

Three women died and three other relatives fell ill after eating the cake during a family reunion on December 23 in Torres, a small coastal town in southern Brazil.

The police official in charge of the investigation, Marcos Veloso, said in a press conference on Monday that there was “strong evidence” incriminating the family member who was arrested.

Police did not reveal her identity, however Brazilian media reported It was the daughter-in-law of the woman who prepared the cake. G1 reported The woman searched for arsenic on the Internet before the incident, officials confirmed to RBS TV.

Expert analyzes found high levels of arsenic – a naturally occurring and highly toxic element – in the victims’ blood, remaining slices of cake, and the flour used to bake it.

Family members noticed a “spicy” and “unpleasant” flavor to the cake, Veloso said. The woman who baked the cake told them to stop eating it, but it was too late.

Six of his relatives were taken to hospital. Two sisters, ages 58 and 65, as well as a 43-year-old great-niece, died within hours of each other.

The third sister, 61, who prepared the cake, remains in hospital in stable condition, according to the latest medical update.

Police said they also found several expired food items during a search of the woman’s home. CBS News partner BBC reported.

The husband of one of the dead sisters and a 10-year-old boy – whose mother and grandmother were among the dead – have since come out.

According to local media, the police requested the exhumation of the body of the husband of the woman who made the cake. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that he died in September due to food poisoning, and the police considered his death natural at the time.

“Very high concentrations of arsenic were found in the three victims,” ​​said Margit Mittmann, director of the forensic police in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

She said: “To give an idea, 35 micrograms is enough to cause the death of a person. In one victim the concentration was 350 times higher.”

As for the motive behind the killer cake, Veloso said the family had a “very harmonious” relationship but with long-standing “disagreements” that could explain the origin of the crime.

Very low levels of Organic and inorganic arsenic It is found in many food products, according to the National Institutes of Health. Testing is routine, as even slightly elevated levels of either form can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, numbness and muscle spasm.

Inorganic arsenic is more toxic to humans than the natural form of mineral arsenic, and the health effects of exposure to it are more serious, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified inorganic arsenic as a carcinogen, or a substance that causes cancer.