A man accused of stabbing his former girlfriend to death and trying to kill her mother has been seized by police in Brazil.

The victim has been named as pharmacy checkout girl Lalhia Lopes da Silva, in Formosa, 25, mother to a seven-year-old child and a three-year-old child, both unnamed.

She was brutally stabbed to death in the city of Formosa, in the central Brazilian state of Goias, in February this year, with the young woman’s body being buried on Saturday, 18th March at a cemetery in Formosa.

The suspect has been named as Vinicius Barbosa Silva, 25, and he went to Lalhia’s home and jumped over the wall unannounced.

The pair argued and Barbosa Silva allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend, with the young woman managing to lock herself inside a bathroom before sending her mother’s pleas for help over WhatsApp.

The young woman’s mother, who has not been named but who lives nearby, went to her daughter’s home to rescue her but she was also attacked by the suspect, sustaining unspecified injuries.

Lalhia left the bathroom after hearing her mother being attacked but she was attacked again and fatally stabbed to death.

Barbosa Silva then fled the scene.

The mother is now reportedly in hospital in a serious condition.

The suspect has since been taken into custody and is reportedly currently in prison receiving psychological counselling.

Judge Christiana Aparecida Nasser Saad, from the Formosa Criminal Court, reportedly received the case last week after the police completed their investigation.

Public Prosecutor Danilo de Souza Resende has requested that Barbosa Silva be convicted of femicide.

He faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of murder (30 years) and attempted murder (20 years).