Woman who 'poisoned Christmas cake' to 'kill family' found dead in prison cell

The woman that was accused of poisoning three members of her family with a Christmas cake has been found dead in her cell.

Deise Moura dos Anjos was held behind bars after being accused of lacing a traditional 'Bolo de Natal' cake with arsenic, and feeding it to in-laws, Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65.

The cake was prepared and served by Zeli dos Anjos, Deise's mother.

Two other relatives, Zeli's niece Tatiana and her great-nephew Matheus, were found to be unwell and were subsequently treated in hospital, as Deise was accused of triple homicide and triple attempted homicide.

Jefferson, Neuza's husband, was the only person that wasn't hospitalised.

The cake was found to be laced with arsenic (Divulgação/Polícia Civil)

Her body was found this morning (13 February) in her cell, during daily checks.

In an official statement released by Brazilian police via CNN Brasil, they said: “The officers immediately provided first aid and called the Emergency Medical Service, which, upon arriving at the scene, confirmed the death.

“Deise was alone in the cell. The circumstances will be investigated by the Civil Police and the General Institute of Forensics.”

The horror events began to unfold on Christmas Eve last year, as the flour used to bake the traditional Christmas cake was later found to have used flour that contained the deadly substance known as arsenic.

Neuza and Maida would die in the early hours of 24 December, while Tatiana, Matheus and Zeli remained hospitalised, with Tatiana passing away on Christmas Day.

In the first week of January this year, Matheus was discharged from the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes Hospital in Torres.

On 5 January, Deise was arrested for triple qualified homicide and three coutns of attempted suicide.

Three days later, it was found that police exhumed the body of Paulo Luiz dos Anjos, Zeli's husband, who died in September.

Upon forensic examination, it was found that his body also contained traces of arsenic, suggesting that he too was poisoned.

Deise was found dead in her cell on Thursday (13 February) morning (Facebook)

A police spokesperson claimed that they found expired food products at the home, saying (via The Daily Record): "We even have information that there was mayonnaise there that had expired a year ago.

"There were expired products in the residence. A bottle was found, a medicine, which should have had capsules inside it and there were no capsules - there was a white liquid and this white liquid will also be examined."

There were seven people in total at the house on 23 December, one of whom did not eat any of the Christmas cake.