A man has been arrested for raping and killing his two-year-old stepdaughter while her mother was at work.

Little Laurinha lived with her mother Keise, her stepfather Rafael, and her two sisters in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

Keise worked nights at a hospital and while she was at work, Rafael would take care of the kids.

According to the TV news show Cidade Alerta, neighbours heard the sound of a crying child coming from the family’s house on the night of the crime. However, they did not suspect it was anything serious at the time.

However, the following morning, Rafael asked the neighbours for help, telling them Laurinha had fallen out of bed and had been knocked unconscious.

Rafael and the neighbours took the youngster to a health facility, but medical staff were only able to pronounce her dead on arrival.

It was only when a doctor did an examination of the deceased girl’s body that he realised she had been the victim of sexual abuse. The police were then called to the scene and arrested the stepfather.

Local media reported that Laurinha’s mother will be questioned by the police over allegations her partner had assaulted the youngster, who would have turned three years old this month, on previous occasions.

Local media did not report the date on which the alleged crime took place or the age or surname of the suspect. The alleged method of killing was similarly unreported.

The Civil Police (Brazil’s investigative police force) is investigating the case.