A jilted man has been arrested for strangling his young nurse-technician ex to death with a shoelace – after which he even asked her dad if he could attend her funeral.

The suspect, whose name has not been reported, was arrested at his house on Monday, 4th October.

During questioning, he told the police he went to the housing block of his ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Leticia Stefani Inacio Raimundo, in the city of Pinhais in the southern Brazilian state of Parana.

He waited there for her to arrive home in the early hours of Saturday, 2nd October, after she had gone out with friends in the nearby city of Curitiba on Friday night.

The last time she was seen alive was when she was getting into a taxi to return home, prompting her family to file a missing persons report with the police.

Police chief Paulo Renato Caldas de Araujo said: “When the victim arrived, he approached her, he was jealous, there was an argument, he said.

“She would have slapped him and also scratched his neck, which prompted him to shove her. He says she hit her head against the wall and fell unconscious.

“He said he does not remember strangling the victim with the shoelace found by the experts at the scene, according to his version of events.”

According to Araujo, the suspect said he went after the victim after seeing photos of her “accompanied” on social media.

Residents found her dead body, which reportedly displayed signs of violence, behind the housing block’s stairwell on Sunday, 3rd October.

According to the victim’s family, Leticia and her ex had dated for four months, but their relationship ended around a fortnight prior to the crime.

The suspect, who has no prior criminal record, told the police where he allegedly dumped the victim’s handbag and mobile phone and his own T-shirt, which he reportedly said was stained with the victim’s blood.

However, no items were found during searches of the area he had described.

According to the victim’s father, the suspect, before his arrest, had sent him a message asking if he could attend the victim’s funeral – a request that was turned down.

Araujo said the victim had an active restraining order against another ex-boyfriend, who had a history of violent behaviour towards her. She had reported him to the police for violence in 2016 and 2019.

At the time of reporting, the suspect remained in custody.