11-Year-Old Dies After Eating Cake as Tests Detect 'Chumbinho' and Hospital Drugs
The state's homicide division has taken the case, relying on final forensic reports to establish how the substances entered his body.
Overview
- The child, Arthur de Mello da Silva, fell ill after eating a piece of cake and was admitted to Hospital Estadual Ricardo Cruz on June 1, remaining hospitalized until he suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Thursday, June 11.
- Forensic toxicology at the Instituto Médico-Legal Afrânio Peixoto found lidocaine, midazolam and terbufós-sulfóxido, a compound known locally as chumbinho that is sold illegally as a raticide.
- Investigators transferred the probe to the Delegacia de Homicídios da Baixada Fluminense, which has interviewed the father, stepmother, mother and stepfather and is awaiting final laudos and other forensic exams.
- Family accounts conflict over the origin of the chocolate cake found in Arthur’s backpack, and investigators are reviewing security-camera images and witness statements as they reconstruct the sequence of events.
- The boy’s burial is scheduled for Saturday and the family is pressing for answers while authorities say they will not rule out any investigative lines once the conclusive reports are complete.