Deise Moura dos Anjos, 42, was found dead in her prison cell in Guaíba, Brazil, where she had been held since January. According to CNN, authorities confirmed she was alone at the time, and an investigation is underway.

Her death came a day after her husband requested a divorce. Deise was accused of poisoning a Christmas cake with arsenic at 2,700 times the legal limit, resulting in the deaths of three family members: Tatiana Denize Silva dos Anjos, 43, Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65.

Three others survived, including her mother-in-law, Zeli dos Anjos, who had prepared the Bolo de Natal cake, along with her 10-year-old grandson and the husband of one of her sisters.

Despite denying involvement, police claimed Deise Moura dos Anjos had purchased arsenic four separate times. Toxic levels of arsenic were found in the victims’ bodies and the flour used in the cake. Surviving family members reported that the cake had an unusual “spicy” and “unpleasant” taste, CBS News reported.

The case prompted authorities to reopen an earlier investigation into the death of Zeli’s late husband, Paolo Luiz. His exhumation revealed high levels of arsenic, raising further suspicions.

Maida’s grieving husband, Jefferson Luiz Moraes, expressed his sorrow, saying, “My better half is gone. I have to rebuild everything again.”

The case has attracted significant attention, with investigators continuing to examine the full extent of the poisonings and any possible connections to past deaths in the family.

#Clique, what are your thoughts?