Cops have arrested a dad for strangling his own daughter, aged just 5, to death with a t-shirt in ‘revenge’ for her mother breaking up with him.

Evylin Vitoria Modrok was found dead at her father’s house in the Brazilian municipality of Guaramirim, and her 39-year-old father, Ubiratan Luis Modrock, was swiftly arrested.

He and the girl’s mother, Francieli Beregula, has separated in January, and they had agreed to share custody of their daughter.

On the night before the crime, Francieli had gone to her ex’ house and seen that their daughter had a fever.

She made her daughter dinner and went back home, despite her ex’ plea that she stay the night.

She had promised to return the following day to make her daughter lunch, but unbeknownst to her, she had already seen her daughter for the last time.

She told reporters: “I managed to tell her I loved her a lot.”

The police believe Modrock killed his daughter in ‘revenge’ for her mother ending the relationship.

He was taken to hospital with knife wounds to the neck and wrist – suggesting a suicide attempt – and then transferred to prison in the city of Jaragua do Sul on a charge of homicide on Sunday 13th June.

During questioning, he told the police he strangled his daughter using a t-shirt, claiming he could not bear to see her suffer her parents’ breakup.

Francieli said: “He said he loved her so much, that he would take care of her, and he went and ended her life out of hatred, to get revenge on me.”

According to Francieli, her seven-year relationship with Modrock was marked by cheating and psychological abuse.

She also revealed that since their breakup, Modrock would “disappear” with their daughter from time to time and that he made it difficult for her to see the youngster.

She even took out a restraining order against him at one point, but she had it dropped because their daughter was with him at the time, and he would not let the babysitter act as an intermediary.

At the time of reporting, the investigation was near completion.