The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has resolved the mystery surrounding the sudden deaths of six siblings and their father, who passed away in quick succession without any prior signs of illness, following weeks of speculation regarding the incident.
In an official statement, the Ministry revealed that investigations linked the stepmother to the deaths. She allegedly poisoned the bread dough intended for her husband’s children, driven by a desire to eliminate them and their mother, as her husband had recently reconciled with his first wife, leading her to believe he might leave her.
The deceased family members included the father and his children: Ahmed (5), Omar (7), Reem (10), Mohamed (11), Rahma (12), and Farha (14). Meanwhile, the mother was taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation due to exhibiting unusual behavior following the tragic loss of her children.
The grieving family resided in the village of Delga in the Minya Governorate, and their mysterious and successive deaths captured public attention in Egypt in recent days. The Egyptian Ministry of Health repeatedly denied speculations that the children suffered from meningitis, asserting that there were no underlying health issues linked to the unexplained fatalities.
The prosecutor’s office exhumed the bodies of the first three siblings who died to establish the cause of death, while police intensified their investigations by broadening the scope of inquiries over the past few weeks.
The prosecutor’s office has heard testimonies from several family members, including the children’s uncle, mother, and grandfather. They also received reports from analyses of bird samples found in the home and food items, examining them for toxic substances. Additionally, a decision was made to consult forensic experts regarding the exhumed bodies.
A source from the Ministry of Health indicated that the deaths were attributed to “chemical poisoning” that affected the family. However, differences in the children’s physical responses resulted in varied rates of impact, according to consistent reports from local media, dismissing the idea of a mysterious illness being the cause.
The father remained hospitalized for several days under medical care but died two weeks after his admission, a situation medically attributed to the presence of a type of poison commonly found in agricultural pesticides, which is difficult to treat once absorbed by the body.
The accused stepmother has been referred to the prosecutor’s office to provide her testimony, with expectations of a swift referral to criminal court on charges of premeditated murder, which under Egyptian law carries a potential death penalty by hanging, according to legal experts.