Authorities in Brazil have launched an investigation into the mysterious death of an 11-year-old child actress after her parents alleged that medical staff may have been negligent in their care leading to the child's death. Brazilian child actress Millena Brandao was pronounced brain dead on Friday after she suffered 13 cardiac arrests.
The next day, her parents filed a police complaint, accusing an urgent care clinic, two hospitals, and their medical staff of being negligent in her treatment. Cops are investigating the passing of Brandao, who appeared in the Netflix show "Sintonia", which has been "registered as suspicious death," São Paulo Department of Public Safety told local media outlets.
Not a Normal Death, Claims Family
"Expert reports were requested and are in progress for analysis by the police authorities. For now, we are respecting the family's mourning," Brandão's family lawyer, Antonio Toninho, told the Brazilian news outlet G1.
"Before making any decision, we are reviewing all the facts and gathering all the documents," he added.
Brandão's parents said that they have no idea about how their daughter's died suddenly and unexpectedly. "The doctors still haven't said what really happened to my daughter and what killed her," Brandao's mother, Thays Brandao, told the outlet, adding, "We don't know what killed her."
A copy of Millena Brandão's death certificate, reviewed by G1, mentioned that the cause of her death is still "to be clarified" and that her body "awaits complementary exams."
The outlet also reviewed a cadaver referral report from Grajaú General Hospital, where a doctor said that Brandão had a "sudden death with no apparent determining cause."
According to the document, the young actress died after staying in the hospital for four days and was in a coma and suffering from circulatory shock when she was first admitted.
An April 29 scan revealed she had an "expansive process" affecting her central nervous system, and the report noted a "neoplastic differential diagnosis"—a term referring to abnormal tissue growth that could be benign or cancerous.
Mysterious Treatment and a Mystery Death
Brandão had initially shown symptoms on April 24 and was taken to Pedreira General Hospital, a public facility. A physician treated her for a headache and, without conducting any diagnostic tests, told her mother that the girl had dengue fever.
On April 26, Millena Brandão left a modeling event halfway due to leg pain. She went back to Pedreira General Hospital where medical tests were inconclusive, and doctors advised her to take rest.
The next day, on April 27, while on her way to church with her family, she started having headaches, fatigue, and a loss of appetite, prompting her to go back home. On April 28, after eating dinner, she collapsed in the bathroom and was rushed to the Maria Antonieta Urgent Care Center.
Tests ruled out COVID-19, H1N1, and dengue fever, but doctors diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection and gave her medicines.
On April 29, she was transferred to Granjaú General Hospital, where she had to be intubated after suffering her first heart attack. A CT scan was done, and doctors told the family that she might have a brain tumor.
Pedreira General Hospital said in a statement that it has launched an internal probe into the matter. "She was evaluated by the pediatrician on duty and medicated according to the symptoms reported," the medical facility said.
Grajaú General Hospital said in a statement that when Brandao was brought to their facility brain dead.
