A thug who stabbed his wife and baby daughter to death and then killed his mother-in-law with a hammer has been found hanged in his prison cell.

Evil Gustavo Antonio Siqueira da Silva was jailed on remand after confessing to the triple murder in the municipality of Caconde in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on 12th February.

Civil Police said Da Silva, 21, was found with a sheet tied around his neck in his prison cell in the municipality of Serra Azul, Sao Paulo State, two days later (14th February).

He was alone in the cell and police suspect he took his own life.

Before his death, Da Silva told police he had taken drugs and then started arguing with his 23-year-old wife, Marina Cristiane de Lima.

During the fight, he stabbed Marina and their 23-month-old daughter, Giullia Emanuelly Lima da Silva, who was in her arms.

Then, he said, he went out to take more drugs before going back home to wait for his mother-in-law.

When care worker Isabel Cristina Moreira, 53, got back home from her night shift, he repeatedly smashed her head with a hammer.

Da Silva then reportedly tried to take his own life but ended up changing his mind and called police to confess to the crime.

When he was arrested, he was found with an iron bar and shards of glass.