A mother and stepfather who were arrested after a baby girl was found dead after having been repeatedly beaten and raped have been released from police custody despite being suspects.

The incident took place in the municipality of Penapolis in the south-eastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, when the one-year-old girl was admitted to the emergency ward at the local hospital on the afternoon of Monday, 14th February.

The police promptly opened an investigation after the tot, named as Mirella Fernanda, was admitted to hospital with multiple injuries all over her body.

Rigor mortis had already set in, and she had purple marks and lacerations to her anus, which doctors concluded were inflicted as a result of rape.

The doctors alerted the police after noticing the injuries and after the mother’s story did not match the evidence.

The stepfather and the mother, who have been named as Cristian Gomes da Silva and Rafaely Souza, were questioned by police and they claimed that they had put the daughter to sleep on Sunday night and only realised that she was dead when they woke up the following morning.

Police investigating the case contacted child services and were informed that there had been multiple reports filed that involved the victim.

Despite this, the two suspects were released from police custody pending the outcome of the investigation and a forensic examination of the young girl’s body.

The case has reportedly caused outrage locally, with residents taking to the streets to demand justice.

But officials say that they have to wait for the result of the report before any arrests can be made, despite the couple being the main suspects in the case.