A mum and daughter in Italy died hours after eating a Christmas dinner which investigators believe could have been laced with rat poison.
Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and Sara Di Vita, 15, suffered multiple organ failure and died in Campobasso, southern Italy, days after consuming a festive meal.
Gianni Di Vita, Antonella’s husband and Sara’s dad, was also rushed to hospital.
Investigators believe the meal was poisioned, and have seized clams, mussels, cuttlefish, cod, and mushrooms from the family’s home in Pietracatella.
But they are now starting to examine whether the flour used in the meal was laced with rat poison.
Gianni owns a flour mill which was infested with rats up until a few weeks ago before pest control laid traps and poison, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports.
The mum and daughter fell ill on the afternoon of December 25 and were taken to hospital, where they were discharged.
They went again the following morning, where again they were sent home.
But on December 27 the pair was admitted to intensive care but died the following day.
Three friends of Sara – Giovanna, Donatella and Giuseppe – said they spoke to her the day after Christmas and believed she would get better.
They told La Repubblica: ‘She thought the heavy treatment they had given her in the hospital would be enough; she absolutely didn’t think her condition could worsen.
‘So much so that we had planned some parties with friends in the last few days.
‘Yesterday we were supposed to go to a birthday party together. She said she would get better soon.’
The meal which investigators are focusing on was consumed on December 23, when the couple’s other daughter did not eat with them and suffered no symptoms.
But they still do not know what was eaten as Gianni remains in intensive care.
Five doctors are also under investigation for malpractice over discharging the mum and daughter twice before their deaths.
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