Gisele Oliveira, the Brazilian woman detained in Coimbra on suspicion of killing five of her seven children, allegedly used sedatives to render the victims – aged between 10 months and three years – unconscious before suffocating them. She is also suspected of having attempted to kill her eldest son and her husband.
In a press conference on Thursday, the Civil Police of Minas Gerais in Brazil explained that the crimes occurred in the city of Timóteo, with the first incident recorded in 2008, when the 40-year-old woman allegedly tried to kill her son with Neocid, an insecticide used for treating lice, placed in a bottle. The child survived after receiving medical attention at the hospital.
“During the investigations, we also discovered an attempted homicide in 2008, where poison was found in the child’s bottle,” explained Valdimara Teixeira de Paula from the Timóteo Homicide Division during a press conference.
In 2010, two children died within 32 days of each other. One was 10 months old, the youngest victim, and showed symptoms of intoxication by Phenobarbital, an antiepileptic and anticonvulsant drug. At the time, the case was investigated, but the perpetrator could not be identified.
In 2019, another two children died within a two-and-a-half-month interval. One of the victims had a medical prescription for Phenobarbital and, according to authorities, may have suffered a seizure.
“Authorities were not aware of these deaths at the time. No official report was filed,” stressed Valdimara Teixeira de Paula.
The official also explained that, in 2022, Gisele Oliveira’s husband was hospitalized with symptoms of intoxication from sedatives, but no suspicion was raised at the time.
“He would arrive with reduced consciousness, remain drowsy for about 24 hours, and upon regaining consciousness, continued to exhibit confusion, just like the children,” she noted.
The most recent death occurred in 2023, triggering the investigation that led to the Brazilian woman’s detention on Tuesday night in Coimbra. The Civil Police were alerted by a social worker, who heard the child’s aunt stating at the hospital that it was the “fifth death and that justice needed to be served.”
“Witnesses reported that the children recovered under the care of relatives but always returned different after spending several days with their mother. They came back groggy, prostrate, and with unusual symptoms. One witness even presented an audio recording in which she [the suspect] confessed to killing the five children”, explained Officer Leonardo Félix during the press conference.
Official Valdimara Teixeira de Paula further explained that “after interviewing dozens of people, conducting extensive fieldwork, and reviewing numerous medical records,” it was revealed that the woman rendered the children unconscious with sedatives before suffocating them.
Cinco crianças foram assassinadas por envenenamento em um intervalo de 15 anos. A Polícia Civil de Minas Gerais confirmou nesta quinta (7) a prisão de uma mulher de 40 anos, suspeita de matar os próprios filhos – com idades de 10 meses e 3 anos – na cidade de Timóteo, no Vale do… pic.twitter.com/OGtqAzVeV0
— O Tempo (@otempo) August 7, 2025
“The reduction in consciousness always occurred through the administration of various medications before they [the victims] were suffocated,” she stated. “One of the children was found with a diaper in their mouth and another with their face turned towards the couch”.
Gisele fled to Portugal after becoming a suspect. She was apprehended in Coimbra
According to Valdimara Teixeira de Paula, “once the subpoenas related to the deaths were issued,” Gisele “fled the jurisdiction of the crime and went to Portugal.”
The suspect was eventually apprehended by the Portuguese Judicial Police (PJ) on Tuesday night in Coimbra, following an “international arrest warrant issued by Brazilian judicial authorities in July.”
In a statement sent to the press on Wednesday, the Portuguese authority explained that the woman, who arrived in Portugal in April, was “suspected of committing crimes of homicide and coercion, occurring between 2008 and 2013, involving the intentional and repeated administration of sedative substances that allegedly caused the deaths of five of her young children.”
A 40-year-old woman fled her country of origin at the beginning of 2024 and had been in Coimbra for only a few months. She was accompanied by her partner and another young child. Given the suspicions surrounding her, “the minor was referred to the Child Protection Services (CPCJ).”
Notícias ao Minuto | 17:21 – 06/08/2025
Three of the five deceased victims were “children in common with the partner,” who was also residing in Portugal. Along with her husband, Gisele was with another child, a 12-year-old boy, both of whom were referred to the Child Protection Services (CPCJ).
The woman appeared before the Coimbra Court of Appeal and was remanded in custody, awaiting further extradition proceedings.
