An evil stepdad who allegedly waited until his wife went into hospital to give birth so that he could rape his six-year-old stepdaughter before murdering her and throwing her body in a river has been arrested.

Even worse, it has been revealed that the suspected killer had a secret past which he hid from his wife where he had already been convicted not only of raping a three-year-old girl but also of raping and murdering his own mother over a decade ago.

In the latest shocking incident, the dead body of Ana Paula Soares Marx, aged 6, was found floating on the Preto River in the Brazilian municipality of Unai on the morning of 16th May, three days after she went missing.

Her stepfather, who was already being monitored by the police on suspicion of her disappearance, was arrested shortly after her body was found with signs of violence.

An autopsy carried out on the body revealed the youngster was brutally assaulted: she was raped, throttled, her chest was compressed, and her jaw was broken.

She was not found with signs of drowning, suggesting she was already dead when her body was thrown into the river.

The girl’s stepfather, who has not been named but is said to be 34 years old, was a suspect from the outset, as he proved uncooperative with the police during the search for the missing girl.

According to the police, when questioned about his stepdaughter’s possible whereabouts, he replied that “he would not give evidence against himself”, raising suspicions.

Relatives of the youngster told the police that she had never felt at ease with the suspect and had once before tried to run away from home, raising suspicions of sexual abuse.

The police later found that the suspect had a history of crimes of a sexual nature, having been convicted of raping and killing his own mother in 2007.

A police report was also filed against him for forcing a three-year-old child to perform oral sex on him in his hometown of Sao Francisco when he was on temporary release.

According to the police, there was no evidence to suggest the victim’s mother knew of the suspect’s criminal past, nor of his possible abuse of her daughter.

The couple had been together for two years and already have a child, aged 1 year and 8 months, in common.

According to the police, the woman was in hospital giving birth to the couple’s second child when the crime took place when the mother was not there to see what was happening.

The suspect remains in preventive custody as the investigation continues.