Chilling echo of beef Wellington murders as mum Antonella Di Ielsi, daughter Sara Di Vita poisoned with ricin

A mother and her teenage daughter have died in a chilling case echoing Australia’s infamous beef Wellington poison murders — with investigators saying the deadly toxin ricin was used.

The deaths of 50-year-old Antonella Di Ielsi and her 15-year-old daughter Sara Di Vita were initially blamed on food poisoning after a family meal in the small Italian town of Pietracatella.

But in a disturbing twist, forensic tests have detected ricin — a rare and lethal poison once used in Cold War assassinations — in their systems, triggering a full-scale murder investigation.

The case has drawn comparisons to the high-profile conviction of Erin Patterson, who was jailed for life after serving toxic death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington that killed three people in Victoria.

Like that case, the Italian victims fell violently sick after a shared meal, complaining of nausea, vomiting and severe stomach pain before their conditions rapidly deteriorated.

Both were initially sent home from hospital before returning as their symptoms worsened, dying just days later as their bodies shut down at “extraordinary speed”.

Sara’s father Gianni Di Vita also became ill but survived, while the couple’s older daughter was not present when the meal was eaten — a detail now central to the investigation.

Detectives are racing to determine how the ricin — a highly potent toxin derived from castor beans — was administered, with no suspect identified and fears the toxin may have been deliberately slipped into the family’s food.

The quiet village has been left reeling, with residents struggling to comprehend how a suspected premeditated poisoning could unfold in their tight-knit community.

“We are a small community and everyone has always got on with each other, there has never been any tension,” mayor Antonio Tommasone said.

“We are like family. We trust the investigators but we are struggling to believe this was anything but an accidental death.”

Friends of Sara said they spoke to the teenager on Boxing Day — just hours before her condition went downhill.

“We last spoke to Sara on Boxing Day, over the phone,” they said.

“She believed the heavy treatment at the hospital would be sufficient and didn’t expect her condition to deteriorate.”