Italian prosecutors have opened a murder investigation following the deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter after a pre-Christmas meal last year.
Sara Di Vita, 15, and her mother Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, fell ill after a lunch in their hometown of Pietracatella, a small municipality 260 km (161 miles) south-east of Rome. Sara's father Gianni - the former mayor of Pietracatella - was also taken to hospital but later recovered. The couple's eldest daughter was not there that day.
Initially, doctors attributed their symptoms to food poisoning; however, a shocking shift in the investigation occurred after laboratory tests unveiled the presence of a lethal poison, ricin. As the situation developed, authorities revealed that police currently have no suspects.
Doctors initially suspected that the infection originated from either fish or mushrooms and discharged the mother and daughter after their first examination. However, their condition rapidly deteriorated, prompting a second admission to the hospital.
Dr. Vincenzo Cuzzone, head of the intensive care unit at Cardarelli hospital in nearby Campobasso, described the sequence of events as resulting in liver failure followed by multi-organ failure that occurred at an unprecedented speed.
Initially, the deaths of Di Vita and Di Ielsi sparked accusations of medical negligence against the doctors who discharged them, with reports indicating that they had been placed under investigation for manslaughter.
Post-mortem tests confirmed the presence of ricin in their systems, which is a highly toxic substance found naturally in castor beans. Ingesting even a tiny amount can lead to rapid organ failure and death, and unfortunately, there is no known antidote for ricin poisoning.
