A MUM died after eating “poisoned” chocolates that were delivered by a mystery sender as a birthday gift.
Lindaci Viegas Batista de Carvalho, from Brazil, was allegedly receiving death threats on social media before she was sent the deadly present.
The woman is believed to have been poisoned after receiving the gift from an unknown sender on her birthday.
Police in Rio de Janeiro are now investigating whether the chocolates were laced with poison following her sudden death aged 54.
Carvalho’s sister, Lenice Batista, claims that an expert from the Instituto Medico-Legal, a forensic medical institute, said that traces of rat poison were present in the victim’s body.
Further tests are being carried out on the lethal chocolates and are expected to be complete within 30 days.
The woman’s relatives have also stated that she had been threatened on social media before the shocking incident.
She had allegedly received a phone call last Saturday telling her that a mystery delivery had been left in her name.
This alone was enough to make Carvalho suspicious, so she asked that the package be left at her boyfriend’s store.
The victim took the chocolates to a beauty salon but refused to eat the treats until she had confirmed the sender, reports the Daily Star.
When Carvalho’s ex-husband, 54, admitted to sending the unexpected gift, she then began eating the chocolates.
Lenice recalled the woman feeling sick, while her eyes rolled back and her body convulsed.
Carvalho was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital following the horrific reaction.
It has also been reported that the woman’s son had also tried the chocolates but spat them out due to the weird taste.
He was left unharmed from incident.
But Carvalho’s ex-husband later claimed that he was joking when he told the victim that he was responsible for the gift following her death.
Cops are now investigating allegations that an ex of Carvalho’s boyfriend is responsible for the crime, UOL reported.
The woman’s family have allegedly filed complaints with the police about the woman’s possible involvement in the crime as Carvalho was already being sent aggressive messages by the suspect days before the incident.
Lucas Bernandes, 26, was the delivery driver who dropped the package to Carvalho on her birthday and recalled recognising the suspect’s young son as the person who ordered the delivery.
In a statement to police, he claimed he had been threatened and feared for his life.
He told O Globo: “When the boy came to talk to me, everything was normal, he wasn’t nervous.
“I made an innocent delivery, and I am innocent. I have a clear conscience. When I woke up, I saw the report of a lady who died with a bonbon and I thought ‘I made this delivery'”.
Lenice also said she suspects her sister’s boyfriend’s ex is the prime suspect after collecting evidence of her making threats to Carvalho and even has a photo of the woman holding a gun.
“She [Carvalho] got messages saying they wanted her head, that she was going to choke on her own blood…She [the ex] put her own son to deliver the bonbon to the motoboy, because she knew that if there was any problem, the boy would not be arrested because he is under 18 years old,” she told O Globo.