Pietracatella – In the mysterious death that has gripped the small mountain village in the southern Italian region of Molise since Christmas, investigators are taking another step forward: A total of 70 food items have been seized to be tested for traces of the highly toxic ricin. According to reports, the samples were taken from the freezers in the apartments that were sealed off in connection with the suspected poisoning case. The central question is whether the deadly poison entered the bodies of the mother and daughter through their food.
70 frozen meals under lock and key
The seized food items consisted partly of home-cooked meals and partly of pre-packaged products from various brands that were stored in the freezers of the seized homes. Through these analyses, investigators hope to determine whether any of these meals contain the poison that may have caused the deaths of the two women.
Italian and German experts are expected to provide clarity
Back in January, an initial batch of food products had been collected and handed over to the Istituto Zooprofilattico for the Abruzzo and Molise regions for testing. Now, a new team of Italian and German experts has been tasked with specifically testing the frozen foods for ricin residues. The findings could help determine whether the suspicion, which has remained unconfirmed so far, is substantiated or dispelled.
The starting point: two deaths following the holidays
The investigation was triggered by the deaths of a mother and her daughter, who fell ill over the Christmas holidays and died shortly thereafter. Since then, authorities have been searching for the exact cause of the poisoning and are investigating the suspicion that the rare toxin ricin may have been involved. Regarding the tragic circumstances surrounding the family’s Christmas dinner, italien.news has already reported.
