Boyfriend held after British girl's torso found in case in Brazil

· Police say body was chopped up in bathroom
· Alleged drug dealer said to have confessed to killing
Cara Maria Burke, whose body has been found in a suitcase in Brazil
Cara Maria Burke, whose body has been found in a suitcase in Brazil. Photograph: EPA

Police and firemen in Brazil are searching for the remains of a British teenager who was murdered and then dismembered, with parts of her body found in a suitcase by a riverbank.

Police say that Cara Marie Burke, 17, who was from Wandsworth, south London, was killed by her Brazilian boyfriend, who they allege has confessed to the gruesome killing.

She was killed in Goiania, a city 130 miles from the capital Brasilia, on Sunday night. Police found the victim's torso in a suitcase dumped beside a river on the city's outskirts on Monday night. They are still searching for the dead girl's head, arms and legs.

Police said yesterday they have arrested a 20-year-old, who they named as Mohammed D'Ali Carvalho dos Santos, in connection with the murder.

Jorge Moreira, the officer heading the investigation, told the Guardian that Dos Santos had confessed to killing the teenager on Sunday night with a kitchen knife.

He had then chopped up her body in his apartment's bathroom before disposing of it in several places the following day.

"He is a real sociopath," Moreira said. "The way he killed her and chopped up the body shows a terrible cruelty. He killed her, chopped her up and threw part of her body into the river."

Moreira claimed that Dos Santos, whose Brazilian mother lives in London, was a small-time drug dealer who had killed Burke after she threatened to turn him over to the police and travel back to London. Another person had also helped the suspect to hide the body parts, police said.

According to reports in the Brazilian media Burke's body was identified on Wednesday when a friend reportedly saw pictures of a tattoo on her body on an international Brazilian TV channel.

Moreira said the suspect had been found with a mobile phone containing pictures of pieces of the dismembered body in his bathroom.

Local newspapers published pictures of a smiling Burke, wearing a pink T-shirt and with face piercings.

Moreira said the pair had lived together until a month ago when she moved out after being physically assaulted.

"He started to beat her and she went to live with a friend," he said, adding that she had come to Brazil on a tourist visa and was legally in the country.

Moreira said of the suspect: "He is unemployed but he lives well. He's always going to parties in the city."

Moreira said that Burke had been killed after she threatened to tell his parents and the police about his cocaine habit. Lenita Brito, a spokeswoman for the civil police, said the victim's British mother was expected to arrive in Goiania from London in the next few days.

Representatives of the British consul had also visited the homicide squad investigating her murder.

Forensic teams were yesterday looking for more clues in Dos Santos's home and searching a town 20 miles from Goiania for the rest of Burke's body.

Her murder is the 38th this month in Goiania, a once quiet rural town with a growing murder rate and drug problem. The number is twice that of the previous year.

In a statement the Foreign Office in London gave few details: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Goiania, Brazil. The body was discovered early on July 29.

"Next of kin have been informed and we are providing consular assistance to the family. Brazilian police are investigating."

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