A mother who claimed her baby had choked to death on milk has been seized by police after medics found the tragic tot had been battered and strangled.

Mum Solange Diaz, 21, took her two-month-old daughter, Emma, to hospital on 1st April, claiming she had choked while she was bottle-feeding her.

But doctors at Hospital Hector Elias Gailhac, in the city of Las Heras, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, were immediately suspicious.

Baby Emma Pilar Peralta – declared dead on arrival – had apparently suffered a blow to her head and showed signs of strangulation.

Doctors reportedly diagnosed bruises to the baby’s eyelids and cheeks, as well as internal and external injuries to her neck, and a subdural haematoma on the right side of her skull.

The public prosecutor’s office requested an immediate post-mortem, which confirmed the injuries in the report the following morning. The parents were arrested later that day, according to local media.

Diaz and her partner, 22-year-old Leonel Peralta, were detained at their home, in the neighbourhood of El Algarrobal, and are currently being held in preventive custody.

According to local media, both suspects have different lawyers working on their defence.

Prosecutor Carlos Torres said there is no doubt that the case is infanticide. However, the most complicated matter will be determining the extent of each suspect’s involvement in the baby’s death.

The police investigation is ongoing.