A woman has died after being stabbed 20 times by her husband’s ex-boyfriend.

The victim has been named as Alessandra Rodrigues Leite, 35, and she was stabbed to death in the Campos Eliseos neighbourhood in the city of Itanhaem, in the coastal area of Baixada Santista, in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, on Wednesday, 22nd March.

The police were called to the scene and found Alessandra’s lifeless body covered in blood and a bed sheet.

The suspect has been named as Eguinaldo Carlito Carlos, 45, but he was nowhere to be seen when the police arrived.

The authorities tracked him down a short while later.

Carlito Carlos reportedly told the police that he had acted in self-defence after Alessandra attacked him during an argument about her current partner, his former boyfriend, who has not been named.

He was taken to hospital with a broken finger and other injuries including bruises to his body and face.

Local media reported that last year, Carlito Carlos broke both of Alessandra’s arms during a fight, also believed to have been about his former boyfriend.

The knife had not been located by the authorities at the time of writing.

The police investigation into the killing, which is being treated as a homicide, is ongoing.

It was unclear at the time of writing if the suspect had been formally charged.