Cops have arrested a young mum and her girlfriend for torturing and beating the former’s three-year-old daughter to death.

Cops arrested the girl’s mother, 23-year-old Alexsandra Ribeiro da Silva, and her girlfriend, 22-year-old Gabriela Ramos da Silva, in the Brazilian municipality of Sume on Monday, 6th September.

They are suspected of killing Alexsandra’s three-year-old daughter, Ayla Lorena Ribeiro da Silva, in the city of Caruaru on the previous day.

Ayla’s dead body was discovered when Gabriela sent a message to Alexsandra’s mother telling her that the youngster had choked to death at home.

Relatives went to their residence, where on the bedroom floor they found Ayla’s corpse, which was covered in injuries and showed signs of her having been beaten in the head.

The suspects had fled by that time and they were eventually apprehended in the neighbouring state roughly two hours and 15 minutes away from the crime scene by car.

The two lived together and had met while serving time for other crimes at a women’s prison in the municipality of Buique, roughly two and a half hours by car from both Caruaru and Sume.

Alexsandra’s mother said her daughter had said she would either give her Ayla for her to raise or hand her over to the Child Services, suggesting she killed the girl because she did not want her.

Relatives are said to be shocked by the crime, for which the two suspects will be charged with homicide.

They have been taken back to the same prison in Buique, where they will remain in preventive custody as the investigation continues.