A man who beat his seven-year-old son to death and hacked his wife to pieces with a knife then slashed his own wrists to bleed to death, police believe.

Brute Gabriel Eduardo Caceres, 43, battered son Leon Rafael so severely that he crushed the boy’s skull.

The boy’s mother – Maria Daniela Carco, 43 – was found with stab wounds all over her body. Investigators recovered a knife at the scene.

Killer Caceres was found dead in the water-filled bathtub with self-inflicted stab wounds.

Bizarrely, just days before the killings, Caceres had posted a loving music playlist on Facebook dedicated to his partner.

The boy’s school had raised the alarm when he had failed to show for three days.

When police entered the family home in Florida, Vicente Lopez, Argentina, they found the three bodies.

The last time any of them had been seen alive was on Saturday night (2nd July).

Police believe they had been dead for around 48 hours by the time they gained entry.

According to reports, Caceres had been reported to the authorities by Maria Daniela’s daughter Maria Rocio for gender-based violence.

Maria Rocio said she was beaten by her mother’s partner when she was living with them in another house in Vicente Lopez in January last year.

She was 17 at the time.

After reporting Caceres to police, she went to live with an uncle and the case was shelved.

Maria Rocio said she first got on well with her mum’s partner, but he soon turned violent, allegedly first hitting her when she was 14 years old.

She said the beatings only got worse and that her mum always sided with Caceres and did nothing to stop the violence.

Days before the crime, Caceres had written a loving Facebook post, including a link to a soft rock playlist, apparently dedicated to his partner.

It read: “That’s how we fell in love. And this is how you enamour me every day, nourishing me with your passion in every ‘I love you’.”

The investigation is ongoing.

In some reports, Caceres’ age was given as 45 and Maria Daniela’s as 44 or 45.