THE family of a mother found dead in a scalding hot bathtub fear their loved one had been forced to take drugs.
Ana Carolina de Silva was found dead with her husband in a motel bathtub after they had been partying until after midnight following their daughter’s fourth birthday party.
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The pair – who had been found in a tub filled with 50C water – had died from poisoning, causing severe dehydration and heatstroke, leaving their young daughter orphaned.
Both parents had traces of cocaine and very high levels of alcohol in their blood when they died.
Ana’s family said unequivocally she was “not a drug user”, in a statement released to the media.
The family said they had “concerns of possible forced ingestion or poisoning” after the 42-year-old businesswoman was found dead.
“It is with deep indignation that we, the family of Ana Carolina de Silva … repudiate the fake news that has been spread,” the statement opened.
“Although reports indicate the presence of substances in her blood, we affirm with complete certainty that Ana was not a drug user.”
“Given the inconsistencies, we raise serious concerns about possible forced ingestion or poisoning and demand a rigorous, transparent and impartial investigation,” the statement added.
The family said they want to “preserve Ana’s memory and dignity, [and to] ensure that the truth prevails over cruel and unjust speculation”.
“We will not allow her story to be tarnished by unjust assumptions,” the statement said.
“We will continue to seek answers, confident that justice will be served.”
The statement was released on October 1, when the Civil Police reached the conclusion of the case.
According to the investigation, Ana and her husband, military police officer Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, “[died from] exogenous poisoning”.
Chief medical examiner Andressa Boer Fronza said the deaths were “the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death.”
Investigators say the couple passed out in a bathtub filled with 50°C water while a space heater blasted heat into the room.
Toxicology tests revealed very high alcohol levels and traces of cocaine, Globo G1 reported.
As well as the room, officers examined the couple’s car and the motel’s CCTV.
Following the family’s statement, the Civil Police told Brazilian media outlet G1 “it would not be commenting on the investigation”.
Scientific police said “all forensic examinations carried out followed strict scientific protocols and were conducted by official experts and specialised technical teams”, repeating the sentiments of the finalised reports.
In a press conference where details of the investigation were revealed to the public, chief inspector Felipe Simao said the couple “had a busy social life but did not have a drug habit”.
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“The big issue raised in the statements we took, talking to people involved in this, is that they did not have the habit of using cocaine,” he said.
The couple had spent the day of their deaths celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park, drinking before heading to a night club.
They then checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, Santa Catarina state, just after midnight on August 11.
But Jeferson and Ana Carolina never returned to collect their child the next morning at Jeferson’s sister’s home.
Worried relatives reported them missing, and police later found the pair lifeless in the bathroom.
Police said there was no history of violence.
Ana owned a nail salon and had been with Jeferson for nearly 20 years.
The couple’s daughter, just four years old, is now in the care of relatives after the tragic birthday celebration turned fatal.
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