Italian prosecutors have opened a murder investigation into the deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter who became ill after a family Christmas meal, Truth Live News International learnt from TermoliOnLine.
The case centres on 50‑year‑old Antonella Di Ielsi and her 15‑year‑old daughter, Sara Di Vita, both of whom died at Cardarelli Hospital in Campobasso in late December following symptoms that were initially attributed to food poisoning.
On 31 March 2026, the local prosecutor’s office in Campobasso formally launched a murder inquiry after laboratory tests identified traces of the highly toxic chemical ricin in samples from the victims. The case file has been opened on suspicion of premeditated double homicide, currently registered against unknown persons.
Authorities say the substance was detected following detailed toxicology analyses carried out in Italian and foreign laboratories, fundamentally changing the direction of the investigation from accidental poisoning to intentional poisoning.
The victims were reported to have eaten the Christmas meal on 23 December. Their symptoms quickly worsened despite initial medical treatment, leading to several hospital visits before they were admitted and subsequently died.
Investigators are now working to reconstruct events leading up to the ingestion of the toxin and determine how the ricin entered their system, while medical and forensic examinations continue.
