Man Who Chopped Off Stepdaughter’s Head With A Machete Jailed 54 Years

A man who decapitated his baby stepdaughter with a machete then left her body next to a motorway has been sentenced to 54 years in prison.

Diogo da Silva Leite initially denied killing Maria Clara and claimed she had been kidnapped, but confessed after CCTV footage contradicted his story.

His lawyer has said he will appeal the length of the sentence, saying: ‘The penalty is very high’.

The crime took place on October 13 last year in the city of Pindamonhangaba in the south east of Brazil.