21-07-2025
Teen dies after eating poisoned DUMPLINGS with identity of suspect set to devastate family
A teenager died in Brazil on Sunday, nearly two weeks after his stepfather allegedly served him a poisoned cassava dumpling.
Lucas Santos, 19, was confirmed brain dead by doctors at São Bernardo do Campo Hospital, where he had been hospitalized.
His stepfather, Ademilson dos Santos, has been in custody since last Wednesday.
He told police that he had placed lead in the dumpling that he gave Santos because he was not happy that he was going to leave the family home.
Dos Santos is also being investigated for allegedly sexually abusing Santos' two siblings.
'Lucas was hospitalized in an intensive care [unit], in serious condition,' the São Bernardo do Campo city hall said in a statement. 'Throughout his hospitalization, the municipality provided the best possible care.'
Santos' aunt, Cláudia Daliessi, told authorities that she cooked the dumplings, which her nine-year-old daughter dropped off at dos Santos's home on July 11.
'He [Admilson] asked me for the dumplings,' Daliessi said. 'My nine-year-old daughter brought them with all the love and care, as I always do.'
Santos' mother, Rosemeira Santos, said dos Santos took one of the dumplings and ate it.
Rosemeira said that dos Santos then handed one of the dumplings to her and placed one for her other son, Tiago, on a bench because he "was in the shower" and then walked over to Lucas' room and handed him the snack.
The family then sat down for dinner before Santos fell ill and fainted about a half hour later.
He was rushed to an urgent care center, where a doctor told his mother that he showed signs of having been poisoned, and then transferred to São Bernardo do Campo Hospital.
Authorities noticed inconsistencies with dos Santos' answers to a series of questions and obtained an order for his temporary arrest.
'The whole time, [he] tried to place the blame on his sister,' São Paulo Civil Police chief Liliane Doretto. 'He said that it was she who offered them, but in fact he was the one who asked.
'He is the only person who takes the dumplings and delivers them punctually to each member of the family.'
Prior to his arrest, dos Santos was interviewed by TV Globo and said Daliessi disliked him because of his skin color.
'She hates me because I'm Black and I'm not her brother,' he claimed.
São Paulo Civil Police investigators believe that dos Santos may have been motivated to kill Santos because he was jealous that he was going to move out of the home due to his new relationship.
TV Globo obtained a screenshot that dos Santos sent to his pastor in June in which he revealed that he 'even thought about killing' Santos.
The city said that it's awaiting the results on an autopsy to determine the cause of his Lucas' death.
