A 14-year-old boy reportedly died after injecting himself with butterfly remains mixed with water as part of a bizarre online challenge.
Davi Nunes Moreira, 14, died in a hospital in Planalto, Brazil after his health suddenly deteriorated and he began vomiting.
According to Mail Online, Moreira told his father at first, he had hurt himself while playing after picking up a limp. But as his condition worsened, he told medics he went to a chemist’s, mixed a dead butterfly in water, and then injected the liquid into his leg.
It was reported that the death, possibly linked to toxins in the mix which could have caused Davi’s body to shut down as he went into septic shock.
Police are now awaiting full post-mortem results after opening an investigation into the claims, and whether it was part of a bizarre internet challenge.
Davi died in a hospital in the north-east Brazilian state of Bahia last Wednesday.
Civil Police in Vitoria da Conquista are leading the investigation into Davi’s death.
A spokesman for the force said: ‘The autopsy results will help clarify the cause of death.
‘The investigation is designed to clear up what happened.’
Davi’s father found the syringe his son used to inject himself under his pillow while he was tidying up the house according to local reports.
Professor Marcelo Duarte, director of Sao Paulo University’s Zoology Museum and a butterfly specialist, said: ‘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.’