A festive family Christmas celebration in southern Italy has ended in a devastating double tragedy, with a mother and her teenage daughter losing their lives after consuming a holiday meal that investigators suspect was contaminated with rat poison.
A Festive Meal Turns Fatal
Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and her 15-year-old daughter Sara Di Vita passed away in the city of Campobasso after suffering multiple organ failure. The incident occurred days after the family shared a Christmas dinner on December 23. The father and husband, Gianni Di Vita, was also hospitalized and remains in intensive care, unable to provide details about the exact meal consumed.
Investigators, acting on the suspicion of deliberate poisoning, have seized various food items from the family's home in Pietracatella for analysis. The seized items include clams, mussels, cuttlefish, cod, and mushrooms. Authorities are also examining whether flour used in preparing the meal was the source of the contamination.
Possible Source of Contamination
A critical lead in the investigation points to the family's own business. Gianni Di Vita owns a flour mill that, according to reports from the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, had a significant rat infestation until a few weeks before the incident. Pest control professionals had laid traps and poison at the mill to address the problem.
The tragic sequence of events began on December 25, when Antonella and Sara first fell ill and were taken to the hospital. Shockingly, they were discharged. They returned the following morning, on December 26, only to be sent home again. Their condition drastically worsened, leading to their admission to intensive care on December 27. Both died the next day, on December 28.
Failed Medical Response and Ongoing Grief
In a heartbreaking twist, five doctors are now under formal investigation for potential malpractice related to the repeated discharge of the mother and daughter before their conditions became fatal. This aspect of the case adds a layer of institutional failure to the personal tragedy.
The grief is compounded for Sara's friends, who spoke to her shortly after Christmas. Three friends, Giovanna, Donatella, and Giuseppe, told La Repubblica newspaper that Sara was optimistic about recovering. "She thought the heavy treatment they had given her in the hospital would be enough," they said. "We had planned some parties with friends in the last few days. Yesterday we were supposed to go to a birthday party together. She said she would get better soon."
Adding to the mysterious nature of the case, the couple's other daughter, who did not partake in the December 23 meal, has shown no symptoms of illness, further focusing suspicion on that specific dinner.
