A Brazilian woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to kill her ex-boyfriend’s new partner by sending her poisoned chocolate eggs as an anonymous Easter present.

What was supposed to be a happy family celebration turned into a nightmarish tragedy for a young Brazilian woman who lost both her children to poisoned chocolate eggs allegedly sent by her partner’s scorned ex-girlfriend. On April 16, a courier delivered an anonymous package to the house of Miriam Lira, in Impeatriz, northern Brazil. The package contained chocolate eggs and a note that read “With love, to Mirian Lira. Happy Easter.”. Thinking they were just a thoughtful gift from a friend or relative, Miriam shared the chocolate treats with her kids, 7-year-old Luis Fernando and Evelyn Fernanda (13). Hours later, her son started feeling ill, and before the day was done, the three of them were in the emergency room, fighting for their lives.

Despite the doctors’ best efforts, Luis Fernando succumbed to multiple organ failure on April 17, and his sister tragically died five days later due to vascular shock associated with multiple organ failure. Miriam, who spent days in a coma, told reporters that she doesn’t know how she will overcome the loss of her two children, but she hopes the desire to see justice done will keep her going.

Brazilian police already have the main suspect in this poisoning case in custody. The woman, Jordelia Pereira Barbosa, traveled hundreds of miles by train to carry out her evil plan with the intention of killing Miriam Lira, whom she blamed for stealing her ex-boyfriend. Police say they have evidence, including CCTV camera footage that shows Barbosa buying the eggs from a convenience store while in disguise.

“During the course of the investigation, especially after the seizure of security camera footage, we were able to reconstruct the path taken by the suspect from the moment she arrived in the city until the moment she bought the Easter egg,” homicide detective Alana Lima told G1 Globo. “Not only that, but we also have records of the time she was at the hotel and the tickets that were seized from her. All of these details are fundamental to the investigation.”

Jordelia Pereira Barbosa was apprehended by the police as she was getting off the bus in Santa Ines, about 240 miles from Impeatriz. Evidence seized includes = two wigs, chocolate residue in thermal bags, and a bus ticket from Impeatriz. Police later found evidence of the woman traveling to the victims’ city, camera footage of her disguised as a brunette trans woman booking a hotel room, and later buying the chocolate eggs from a store.

Barbosa has admitted to buying the chocolate eggs but continues to deny poisoning them with the intent to harm Miriam Lima and her family. Although the investigation is still ongoing, sources from the police have stated that the evidence gathered so far points to the 36-year-old woman from Santa Ines. She was reportedly motivated to pull off this heinous crime by jealousy and revenge, as she blamed Lima for stealing her man. Mirian and Jordelia’s ex-partner were reportedly dating for about 3 months.

Miriam, who works as a cashier in Impeatriz, recently told G1 reporter Leiliane de Araújo that she had received a phone call from a mysterious woman asking if she had received the present, but she never imagined it was someone wanting to hurt her had her children.

 

“When the package arrived, they called me, right? They asked me if I had received it,” Lima said. “I just said I had received it and didn’t try to investigate where it came from. “I never imagined [that I could be poisoned].”

The Easter egg samples were sent for analysis to the Criminalistics Institute, and the deadline for the results is 10 days. The experts have also been asked to collect blood samples from the victims and the products found with the suspect, in addition to the autopsy report of Luís Fernando, which may prove that the egg was poisoned.