Italian authorities have launched a double murder investigation into the deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter after a Christmas Eve meal last year after prosecutors said preliminary blood tests found the poison ricin in their bodies.
Antonella Di Iersi, 50, and Sara Di Vita, 15, were treated at Caldarelli Hospital in southern Italy on December 24 for suspected food poisoning, but died two days later.
Prosecutors said subsequent blood tests detected the deadly substance ricin in the victim’s blood.
Symptoms of ricin poisoning vary depending on how you came into contact with the substance, such as ingesting, inhaling, or injecting it.
If eaten, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, intestinal bleeding and organ damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Small amounts of ricin can be deadly, causing death within three days.
According to the CDC, there is currently no cure for ricin poisoning, although supportive care can be given to lessen the effects.
Five doctors at Caldarelli Hospital were initially accused of medical negligence and under investigation for manslaughter after a mother and daughter were sent from the emergency room on Christmas Eve. Prosecutors said the employees likely suffered food poisoning from seafood traditionally served on the holiday.
Lawyers for the doctors said toxicology tests were carried out on both victims and blood samples found traces of the powerful poison ricin.
Prosecutor Elvira Antonelli, who is leading the new investigation, told La Repubblica that analyzes of the blood of the victim’s father and husband, as well as her 19-year-old daughter and sister, who did not become ill, found no trace of ricin.
But Antonelli also questioned reports that the two were deliberately poisoned.
“They are dangerous, to say the least, and in fact, I have never seen them and cannot confirm them until we receive the full autopsy results from Pavia’s experts.”
“It is not yet clear how mother and daughter became poisoned with ricin, but a preliminary report from the Pavia Poison Control Center indicates that mother and daughter tested positive for ricin,” Antonelli said in the newspaper.
CNN has contacted Antonelli’s office.
Her father, an accountant and former local mayor, and her surviving brother have not been charged and their names have not been released in the investigation, prosecutors said.
The investigation into the doctors has not been closed, but lawyers for the two doctors announced that they have filed a motion with the district court to dismiss the case.
Fabio Albino, a lawyer for one of the doctors, who has not been named, said he hoped the new double murder investigation would exonerate his client.
“If the latest news is confirmed and there is no reason to doubt it, the position of doctors will fundamentally change,” he told CNN by phone Friday.
“If you follow food poisoning guidelines, it’s no surprise that doctors won’t notice this type of poisoning,” Albino added.
Domenico Fiorda, another lawyer for one of the other doctors, told CNN affiliate Sky24: “This happened before they got to the hospital and probably couldn’t even have been treated in the emergency room.”
“Therefore, the doctors are definitely not responsible, especially since, as we always say, they were following the protocol for the symptoms that the two women presented at Caldarelli Hospital,” Fiorda said.
The hospital said Friday it would not comment to CNN, citing privacy concerns.
Campobasso police deputy chief Marco Graziano said the family’s home has been isolated and investigators are currently searching the premises for traces of the powerful poison. He told local media he was searching for anyone who may have obtained ricin on the dark web in the months leading up to the poisoning.
Castor bean plants from which ricin can be extracted have been found in southern Italy’s Molise region, but it is difficult to extract the toxin without special equipment, Graziano told local media.
Authorities are also investigating acquaintances of the family and people who may have had access to the home or food, Graziano said.
Local coroner Pier Benedetta de Luca ordered further autopsy tests on the victims after ricin was detected, according to an interview with a local newspaper.
According to local reports, these results will be submitted to the public prosecutor’s office by the end of April, with the possibility of prosecution.
