Two schoolgirls die in hospital after eating chocolate-covered raspberries, and what investigators find laced in the dessert is chilling

A Colombian businesswoman is accused of killing two schoolgirls by giving them poisoned chocolate-covered raspberries as revenge after a failed affair with one victim’s father. Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Zulma Guzman Castro, which works like an international arrest warrant. Public prosecutors want to question her about the deaths of Ines de Bedout, 14, and her friend Emilia Forero, 13.

According to Express, the two girls died in hospital after eating the dessert that was laced with thallium, a colorless and odorless heavy metal. This same poison was first linked to the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died in a London hospital in November 2006.

Forensic experts found that the heavy metal, which can be deadly in tiny amounts, was deliberately injected into the raspberries before they were delivered to a luxury apartment in Bogota. The victims had been playing at the apartment after school.

The suspect fled Colombia after the girls’ deaths

After tests showed the girls were murdered, Colombia’s prosecution service asked Interpol to arrest Guzman. She is a university graduate who reportedly fled Colombia for Argentina after the girls died.

Reports suggest the double murders may be a crime of passion. The suspect, who founded a car-sharing company called Car-B, had an affair with Ines’ father, Juan de Bedout. Investigators are now also looking into the death of Juan’s wife. There is speculation that two years before the schoolgirls were targeted, she may have also been a victim of thallium poisoning.

Guzman, who claims she is innocent, has reportedly spent time in Brazil, Spain and the UK since leaving Colombia earlier this year. She said she is being accused of sending the poison that killed the two girls. She insists she did not flee anywhere and has been working in Argentina while studying for a journalism masters degree.

Cases like this show how investigations can take unexpected turns when authorities handle sensitive matters. She traveled to Spain over a month ago, with a stopover in Brazil, and then to the UK because of her son.

The Red Notice orders police in Interpol’s 196 member countries to locate and arrest Guzman. Her current location is unknown. The two schoolgirls died at Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation hospital just under a week after they were poisoned on April 3.

Another friend and the 21-year-old brother of one victim were also hospitalized after eating the raspberries but survived. However, the girl who survived is believed to have lasting injuries.

Prosecutors say Guzman, who left Colombia on April 13, used a courier company to deliver the fruit dessert. The deliveryman told investigators that he was given the package by a friend of the fugitive. He was told it was a gift because the dessert was one of the girls’ favorites.

Guzman has been described as a long-term family friend who knew their daily routine and was aware that the girl loved chocolate-covered raspberries. Similar mysterious circumstances have left investigators puzzled in other cases, including what forensic teams discovered in hidden evidence. The package was delivered just after 7pm local time on April 3. The girls had reportedly rejected an earlier attempt to hand it to them, saying they were not expecting anything.