7-year-old boy dies after woman allegedly sent 'poisoned Easter eggs' to ex’s family in 'revenge' plot
Topics: Crime, World News, Easter
Liv Bridge
Featured Image Credit: Polícia Civil do Maranhão
Topics: Crime, World News, Easter
A seven-year-old boy has died from eating 'poisoned Easter eggs' in an alleged act of revenge.
Jordélia Pereira Barbosa, from Brazil, has been arrested on suspicion of lacing chocolate eggs to her boyfriend's new family that left two people in critical condition and killed a child.
Barbosa is accused of purchasing, spiking and sending the lethal chocolate to her former partner's girlfriend and her family, as local police say she was driven by 'revenge' and 'jealousy.'
The 35-year-old allegedly purchased the Easter eggs from a supermarket and is accused of spiking them before allegedly having them delivered to the home of her ex-boyfriend's new partner.
Advert
Barbosa allegedly saw the eggs delivered by a motorcycle courier and even added a note with the gift that read, "With love, to Mirian Lira. Happy Easter," as per The Daily Mail.
Lira then said to have shared the gift with her children, a seven-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl, last Wednesday.
The boy reportedly fell ill 'immediately' after eating the chocolates and died just hours after arriving at Imperatriz City Hospital.
Meanwhile, the girl and her mom remain in critical condition from the same hospital, with both said to be intubated, according to reports.
The cause of death has yet to be determined by officials while forensic analysis is ongoing on the remaining chocolates to confirm possible poisoning.
Maranhão Civil Police caught Barbosa while she was on a bus going to her home in Santa Inês on Thursday after a shopping receipt was found that indicated she had bought them.
CCTV footage further appeared to show her buying the chocolate from the supermarket while sporting a dark wig to cover her blonde hair.
Officers also spoke to Barbosa's ex-boyfriend, who suggested she could've been involved in the incident.
Barbosa told the authorities that she purchased the chocolates but had not poisoned the eggs.
As well as the receipts, police found two wigs, scissors, cards, a saw knife and unknown substances in her possession.
Maurício Martins, a security official in Brazil, told the Standard that the alleged poisoning 'was motivated by revenge and jealousy.'
"There are several indications that clearly point to this woman being the perpetrator of the crime," he wrote. "The police will continue working to strengthen this evidence and present her to the Judiciary to answer for this barbaric crime."
An autopsy on the child by the local medical institute is yet to determine what happened but authorities expect poisoning will be declared as the cause of death.
Tests will also be conducted on the two survivors and the remaining chocolate.