A church minister and his mistress have been arrested for killing their newborn baby with a fork before dumping the body down a drain.

The incident took place in the city of Caucaia in the Brazilian state of Ceara on 6th November, and the suspects, Antonio Jose Cardoso Cunha, 36, a married church minister, and his mistress named as Jamile Rolim da Silva, 20, were detained two days later.

The eight-months-pregnant woman ingested an abortion product at home and went into labour, according to the news site G1.

The newborn, who weighed a little over 3 kilogrammes (6.6 lbs), suffered a fork blow to the neck and was then suffocated, according to reports.

The police said the suspects kept the body at home for a day before the church minister threw the corpse down an open drain in the neighbourhood of Marechal Rondon.

The body was found on 8th November and the police promptly detained the two suspects after Da Silva checked into a hospital with signs of a miscarriage.

The police said the church minister lived on the first floor of a property with his wife and had his church on the ground floor.

At the back of the property, the suspect had rooms he used to take in socially vulnerable people, including Da Silva, whom he allegedly started an affair with.

After she became pregnant, the church minister suggested that she terminate the pregnancy so that his wife would not find out about the fling, according to G1.

When news of the incident hit the street, outraged local residents reportedly ransacked the minister’s church and set fire to his vehicle.

The two suspects have been charged with murder and concealing a corpse as the investigation continues.