Ella Scott
The family of a woman who died in a hotel bathtub hours after celebrating her daughter’s birthday has spoken out with a shocking claim as police found alcohol and drugs in her system.
Brazilian authorities have confirmed that businesswoman Ana Carolina Silva, 41, and 37-year-old military police officer Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, died in a motel where they drank booze and did cocaine.
The couple, whom The New York Post reported were husband and wife, had spent the day honoring their four-year-old child’s birthday in the park, drinking and eating food.
On August 11, the pair handed the youngster over to Jeferson’s sister for the evening and checked into the Dallas Motel in Säo José just after midnight.
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They reportedly had plans to go out clubbing in the city together.
Alarm bells were initially raised when Jeferson and the nail salon owner failed to return to pick up their child the following morning.
Cops who responded to a missing persons alert lodged against the pair confirmed they’d found their bodies in the motel bath tub.
Authorities ruled that heatstroke was the cause of death.
It’s believed that the cocaine and alcohol that a toxicology report confirmed were in their blood may have dulled their reactions to the 122-degree Fahrenheit water.
Investigators also claimed a space heater had been left on high in the motel room.
The mother-of-one’s family has since spoken out about her death, claiming Silva was not a habitual drug user.
They raised concerns that she may have been forced to ingest the cocaine.
"It may be that the physical constitution, both his and hers, were not compatible with the use of a substance like that, especially when combined with alcohol," said Chief of Police Felipe Simão Gomes.
He added: "The big issue raised in the statements we took, talking to people involved in this, is that they did not have the habit of using cocaine."
Director of Forensic Medicine for the Scientific Police, Dr Fernando Oliva da Fonseca, told G1 Globo that: "The use of cocaine, which in doses alone could cause torpor, drowsiness and even coma in the individual, combined with alcohol, which also causes this in high doses, such as torpor, coma and drowsiness.
"Add the two together, increasing the [risk] factor and that’s exactly what may have happened, the person goes into torpor at that temperature and it rises and they don’t feel it and don’t have a defense reaction."
Civil Police concluded after running 16 forensic tests, checking out CCTV and their car that their cause of death was sudden and not due to third-party intervention.
These various tests ruled out possible causes of death such as drowning, carbon monoxide, foul play, or electric shock.
According to Chief Medical Examiner Andressa Boer Fronza, the duo instead died of exogenous poisoning, favoring the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death.
Silva and Jeferson, who had been in a relationship for almost two decades, had no previous domestic abuse reports against them, according to police.
It’s understood their child is now in the care of relatives following their devastating deaths.
The New York Post reported that Silva’s nail salon has paid tribute to its deceased owner.
The company said in a statement: "We say goodbye to a mother, a boss, a daughter, a wife, [and] an exceptional woman."