Relative of family who were murdered in Spain named as chief suspect

The 19-year-old nephew is on the run in Brazil

Marcos Campos Nogueira is the chief suspect in the murder of a married couple and their two children (Guardia Civil/Twitter)

Police in Spain say the chief suspect in the dismembering of a married couple and the murder of their young sons is the father’s “psychotic” nephew.

The bodies of Marcos Campos Nogueira, his wife Janaina Santos Americo and their two children were found in plastic bags at their family home after a neighbour notified authorities of a bad smell.

An international arrest warrant is now out for Patrick Nogueira Gouveira, who has since fled back to his native Brazil.

"The deaths were quick, there were no signs of torture. They did not suffer," a source close to the investigation told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

But on Wednesday that revenge theory was ruled out, with Juan Jesus Reina of the Guardia Civil police force saying they had "a lot of reasonable evidence and clear proof" that the nephew murdered the family.

The 20-year-old was described as suffering from “psychosis” and “narcissism” by Mr Reina, according to The Local.

An image of the suspect has since been released, with the police appealing for potential witnesses.

In a statement, authorities revealed he had flown to Brazil on 19 September, just 24 hours after the corpses were discovered.

Brazilian police have since questioned the teenager, but let him go after telling Spanish agents “the evidence against him was not enough”, according to El Pais.

The motive for the alleged murders is still unclear, but he allegedly suffered from bouts of violence in the past, including the brutal assault of a teacher back in Brazil.

The bodies were discovered in Pioz, a village about 40 miles north-east of Madrid.

Six large bags had been left in the main room of the house. The father’s torso was placed in one, while his limbs were found in another.

The mother was similarly dismembered into two bags, while the children, aged four and two, were each placed in separate ones.

Police say they had been dead for about a month before they were found.