A father has confessed that he poisoned the porridge of his four-year-old son the day before his fifth birthday to get revenge on his ex-wife.
Anthony Levy, 4, died after falling ill at school in Maceio, in the Brazilian state of Alagoas, on Monday, 27th May.
The boy was reportedly due to turn five on Tuesday, 28th May.
But on Wednesday morning, 29th May, the dad confessed that he had bought poison pellets and given them to his son to exact revenge on his ex-wife.
The police said that the dad, not named, had been planning the evil deed for over a week before the child’s death.
After being arrested, he reportedly told the police that he had used “chumbinho”, a poison purchased illegally at a market in the Jacintinho neighbourhood, according to reports.
It is also known as carbamate aldicarb and is used as an insecticide.
The authorities reportedly arrested the dad after dropping his son off at the municipal daycare centre, with the CCTV footage showing him taking the child there and saying goodbye to his son before discarding a bottle that had contained the fatal poison.
Forensic experts have reportedly confirmed that the contents of the bottle were responsible for the child’s death.
Police spokesperson Gustavo Xavier said: “He planned the murder of his own son for more than a week. He purchased the bottle of pellets worth BRL 13 [GBP 2], using his own [bank] card.”
The father said that while the child’s mother was making porridge, he secretly took the bottle of pellets, opened it and threw it into the pan, and then fed the child, before leaving and disposing of the bottle at the school.
Anthony reportedly began to feel unwell and was taken to hospital, where he died.
The father faces 30 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.
The investigation is ongoing.
