A 27-year-old Brazilian woman was killed by chocolate given to her by a palm reader who warned her she only had days to live. Fernanda Silva Valoz da Cruz Pinto was walking through the center of Maceió, Brazil when an elderly woman asked to read her palm. When Pinto said yes, she was given a dire prediction. However, this wasn’t ESP — this was murder.
- The fortune teller gave Pinto a chocolate as a gift after she performed the reading. As Pinto’s cousin, Biana Cristina, told Globo 1, Pinto thought nothing of the chocolate. “As [the candy] was packaged, it didn’t occur to her [that it could pose any danger]. And as she was hungry, she decided to eat it,” she explained.
- It didn’t take long for the poison in the chocolate to kick in. Cristina said that quickly after eating the chocolate, Pinto realized something was very wrong. “She vomited, her vision was a bit blurred, her body was soft… it was a matter of hours,” she recalled. Pinto died not long after.
- Pinto sent her family frantic texts after eating the chocolate. The messages explained the horrific effects she was experiencing leading up to her death. “My heart is racing. I’ve thrown up. But I have this taste in my mouth. So bitter. Bad. My vision is blurry. I’m so weak,” she wrote in messages. “I leaned on the water tank. I almost fell. I almost met God. I don’t know why I’m like this, sis. I’ve been feeling bad all day.”
- Her family didn’t suspect anything nefarious at first. As Pinto had underlying health conditions, they initially assumed she was experiencing complications from gastritis or her ulcer. However, when she mentioned reading a fortune teller, something clicked for everyone. “Because I accepted a chocolate in the city center. I ate it. After that, I felt sick,” Pinto texted. “At the time, it didn’t even cross my mind. She was an old lady.”
- Pinto and her cousin went to a local hospital for treatment. However, while medical professionals did everything they could to save her life, Fernanda Silva Valoz da Cruz Pinto died the next day.
- Two months later, Pinto’s cause of death was confirmed. Toxicology reports found extremely high concentrations of sulfotep and terbufos, two pesticides that are very widely available in Brazil. “These substances are highly prevalent in cases of poisoning, [and] intoxication in Brazil due to their easy access, despite being regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply,” said Thalmanny Goulart, Head of the Chemistry and Toxicology Laboratory (via NY Post).
- Police are still trying to hunt down the palm reader. Her identity is unknown, and the post-mortem didn’t confirm that the chocolate was the cause of Pinto’s death, but authorities are seeking further information to determine what exactly happened. However, her family is certain something evil happened here. “I don’t see anyone having a reason to do this to her, but we don’t know what’s in anyone’s heart,” said Pinto’s cousin Lumenita Valoz. “Whether it was someone who ordered her to be killed or if the woman did it because she wanted to, only the police will find out.”
