Brazilian serial killer suspect Thiago Henrique Gomes da Rocha, 26, 'confesses to 39 murders'

Police say security guard killed women, homeless people, and homosexuals because he 'felt anger at everything and everyone'

Thiago Henrique Gomes da Rocha is escorted by police after his arrest (AFP/Getty Images)

A security guard in Brazil has confessed to killing at least 39 people “out of anger,” police have said.

Brazilian police said Thiago Henrique Gomes da Rocha, 26, targeted women, homeless people and homosexuals in the country’s central state of Goias.

Rocha was arrested on Tuesday. In his confession of the alleged murders, he said he killed because of his feelings of “fury,” which he felt “against everything” according to police.

Rocha’s feelings of fury reportedly only abated when he killed another person.

Rocha is understood to have demanded valuables from his victims before shooting them and leaving without the items.

Speaking at a news conference, Chief of Police Deusny Aparecido said Rocha “felt anger at everything and everyone,” Sky News reported.

“He had no link to any of his victims and chose them at random. It could have been me, you or your children,” Aparecido said.

Items seized during Rocha's arrest (AFP/Getty Images)

Rocha labelled his victims by the numbers one to 39, according to a police official who had been present at the interrogations, the BBC reported. The official told a Brazilian TV channel: “We have been shocked by his coldness.”

Chief Police Detective Joao Gorski, told reporters: “I believe he is a serial killer. In the beginning, he killed at random, but by the end he had established a pattern”.

Rocha is currently awaiting a court hearing, but his lawyer claims he was coerced into confessing crimes he didn’t commit under aggressive questioning.

Police said Rocha attempted to commit suicide in his cell on Thursday with a broken lightbulb, but was stopped by a guard.

An investigator on the case, Norton Ferreira, said police had linked a found in Rocha’s home to the killing of at least six women this year, while Rocha confessed to at least 33 other murders dating back to early 2013.

Additional reporting by agencies