A tattooist who allegedly battered his grandpa to death and then set his body on fire is facing murder charges after police found his charred remains.

Suspect Damian Rodrigo Tello, 35, is accused of smashing his grandfather’s skull and then setting his body alight, burying it under a pile of cobblestones.

Victim Antonio Nicolas Carrano, 85, was reported as missing to police in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by his daughter Karina on Thursday, 28th July.

She had become worried after he failed to call her on her birthday two days earlier.

When she asked her son if he knew anything, he told her Antonio had left with a bag and he thought he was going to pay her a surprise visit.

But Tello – who shared a house with his grandfather – changed his story when questioned by police.

When officers returned to the property, they noticed the pile of cobblestones in the garden.

As they got closer, they noticed body parts sticking out from under them.

Police arrested Tello and led him out the house. As he passed his mother – she told local media – he said: “There’s your dad.”

Tello is now in preventive custody and stands accused of aggravated homicide. Police say he has not made a statement.

A post-mortem examination on the victim revealed he had sustained multiple injuries to the skull, including a depressed skull fracture.

Eighty per cent of his body was burnt, but pathologists said he was already dead when he was set alight.

They believe he had been dead for four to five days before his remains were found.

The suspect’s family is claiming that Tello is mentally ill, but investigators have not reportedly been able to confirm this.

The case remains under investigation.