A man is suspected of killing his girlfriend, chopping up her body and dumping her body parts in a waste container before taking his own life.

Emma Pezemo, aged 31 and originally from Cameroon, had failed to return to her home in the northern Italian city of Bologna after going out with her boyfriend on 1st May.

Her worried housemates called her boyfriend, Jacques Honore Ngouenet, aged 43 and also originally from Cameroon, who pretended to not know of her whereabouts.

The women then contacted the police, who went to Ngouenet’s house and found him hanged inside along with a suicide note.

Emma’s butchered body was later found in a nearby waste container after a passerby raised the alarm upon finding a large blood stain close by.

The body parts have been taken for autopsy to determine the cause of death. The police initially suspect Ngouenet killed Emma and then chopped up her body with a cleaver, machete or electric saw.

They believe he then cleaned his car, in which he would have transported Emma’s body.

Emma had been studying in Bologna to become a social care worker. According to Cameroonian news site ‘Camerounweb’, Ngouenet was a former soldier in Cameroon and lived on odd jobs at the time.

According to various media including Italian news site ‘Fanpage’, Ngouenet was being treated for an unspecified psychiatric disorder.

The suicide note he left was rambling and contained the line “Don’t worry about Emma’s body” as well as referencing “the money spent on her”.

According to Italian news site ‘Il Resto del Carlino’, Ngouenet had once previously tried to commit suicide by drinking antifreeze coolant.

The same source reveals that the couple had been in a turbulent relationship for three years and that it was largely kept secret from Emma’s family due to Ngouenet’s aggressive demeanour.

The motive for the crime is currently unknown, but the police suspect Ngouenet’s psychiatric problems may have played a part. The investigation is ongoing.