Police in Brazil say they have captured a man who confessed to 39 murders.
Investigator Norton Ferreira in the city of Goiania said police had linked a gun found in the home of suspect Tiago Rocha to the killings of at least six women this year.
Ferreira said that since being arrested on Tuesday, the 26-year-old has confessed to at least 33 other killings in the country's Midwest dating back to early 2013, including several other young women, homosexuals and homeless people.
Alleged serial killer Tiago Rocha is escorted by police officers following his arrest
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A police official who had been present at the interrogations told a Brazilian TV channel Rocha referred to his victims only by the numbers one to 39.
He said: "We have been shocked by his coldness."
Items seized during Rocha's arrest including a hammer, knives, handcuffs, a gun and number plates
Police say Rocha was driven by an inner "fury" and a sense of feeling "against everything", which would only subside when he committed murder.
But Rocha’s lawyer says his client was coerced into confessing crimes he did not commit.
Thiago Vidal told the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that his client confessed to crimes he didn't commit under aggressive questioning.
Rocha attempted suicide by slashing his wrists with pieces of a lamp of his cell.
