Businesswoman ‘kills two schoolgirls with poisoned raspberries over affair'

A businesswoman has been accused of killing two schoolgirls by giving them chocolate-covered raspberries laced with poison.

Zulma Guzman Castro is alleged to have spiked the fruit with a toxic substance as an 'act of vengeance' in the wake of her affair with one of the teen's dads.

Ines de Bedout, 14, and her pal Emilia Forero, 13, tragically died in hospital after eating the sweet treat, according to reports.

The pair are said to have been hanging out at a swanky apartment with one of their older brothers and another friend in Bogota, Colombia, after school before they fatefully ate the thallium-laced dessert.

The heavy metal is used during the manufacturing process for products such as electronics, optical lenses, semiconductor materials, alloys, and gamma radiation detection equipment, according to Medscape.

The 'colourless, odourless, and tasteless' substance was allegedly injected into the raspberries before they were then sent to the girls on 3 April earlier this year.

Zulma Guzman Castro is alleged to have poisoned the teenagers with the sweet treat (Interpol)

Prosecutors claim that Guzman used a courier firm to deliver the dessert.

Ines and Emilia passed away four days later, El Colombiano reports.

Since, investigators in Colombia have been working to determine how the two teens died.

Prosecutors in the country then called on Interpol to arrest Castro, who was reportedly having an affair with Ines' dad, Juan de Bedout.

Local media claims that the businesswoman, who founded an electric car rental company named Car B, may have poisoned the girls in a bid to get revenge on her lover.

However, Castro has insisted that she had no involvement in the deaths of Ines and Emilia, while alleging that reports suggesting she has fled Colombia are inaccurate.

In a statement which was shared among local news outlets on Friday (5 December), she said: "I find myself in the middle of a very serious situation, where I'm being accused of having been the person who sent a poison that killed two girls.

The businesswoman was having an affair with one of the girl's fathers, according to reports (YouTube/Autos Rodando)

"They accuse me of having fled to Argentina, and then to Brazil, Spain and the UK. Those who know me know I haven't fled anywhere. They know I've been working in Argentina and began a masters in journalism here.

"I went to Spain more than a month ago, with a stopover in Brazil, and then to the UK because of my son. I imagine they're accusing me because I had a secret relationship with the father of one of the girls.

"Public prosecutors have never informed me about any investigation and I sent a lawyer friend of mine yesterday to ask, because I heard rumours people were talking about me. The following day my name is in the media. I hope those that know me support me and defend me."

Another teenager who ate the poisoned raspberries, along with the 21-year-old brother of one of the victims, were both hospitalised in wake of the incident seven months ago.

The pair both miraculously survived, however, the girl is said to have suffered lasting health problems.

The Red Notice orders police in Interpol's 196 member countries to locate and detain Guzman, although her current whereabouts are unknown.