A 14-year-old Brazilian boy, Davi Nunes Moreira, has died after injecting himself with a mixture of water and butterfly remains. The police are investigating whether it was linked to a dangerous online challenge.
According to reports, Moreira initially told his father he was injured while playing but later admitted the truth after his condition worsened. He was hospitalized in Planalto after he started vomiting and finding it difficult to walk, as reported by the New York Post.
Moreira’s father discovered the syringe used in the incident hidden under the boy’s pillow. The 14-year-old was transferred to a hospital in Vitoria de Conquista, Bahia, but succumbed to his injuries.
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Authorities suspect toxins from the butterfly mixture triggered septic shock, leading to his death. The case has gained national attention in Brazil as police investigate a possible online challenge.
Authorities are awaiting full post-mortem results to determine the official cause of death but have not ruled out the possibility that Moreira was participating in a dangerous social media challenge.
Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident.
“The autopsy results will help clarify the cause of death,” said a spokesman for the Civil Police in Vitoria da Conquista, leading the investigation into Moreira’s death.
Marcelo Duarte, a butterfly specialist and director of São Paulo University’s Zoology Museum, noted that the toxicity of butterflies to humans remains largely unstudied.
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“Butterflies have a complex biology, and the fluids present in their bodies have not been studied in depth in terms of their toxicity to humans,” Duarte said.
Authorities have not identified the type of butterfly Moreira injected, though some species, like Monarch butterflies, store toxins from their caterpillar diet.
