The dismembered body of a 20-year-old English girl was found in Brazil after her boyfriend killed her and filmed the entire incident with his cell phone. Britain was shocked to learn of the brutal killing of Cara Marie Burke (17), by her own boyfriend Mohammed Santos (20).

Having met Mohammed in London, Cara followed him to Brazil after his visa expired and he was forced to leave the UK. The 20-year-old man reportedly killed the girl in his apartment. On his mobile phone, investigators discovered footage of Mohammed stabbing Cara and then decapitating her.

A policeman told Brazilian television: "The telephone was full of photos and videos. He grinned as he chopped off her limbs. The photos also include ones like those of the Taliban, in which the decapitated head is replaced atop the body."

Police discovered Cara's remains in a bloody suitcase on the edge of a beach. Her torso was found in a river 60 kilometres away. A London friend of the girl's recognised the tattoos on a Brazilian television program that aired in England.

Santos was arrested in a hiding place near his apartment. He at first admitted to killing Cara, although he later retracted his confession. "I did not kill her. When I was arrested, I lied," Santos told British newspaper 'The Sun' via telephone.

The police are certain Santos committed and planned the murder, however. "Shortly before the murder, he turned the music up so that neighbours would not hear Cara's screams," said one agent. "He confessed the crime and seemed proud of the photos and videos. It's shocking. He did not show any remorse."

A motive for the crime remains unclear. Investigators believe that Santos wanted to marry the girl in order to obtain a British passport, but that she refused. Another theory is that Cara may have threatened to turn her boyfriend in for drug dealing. Drugs were found in the apartment.

Cara's mother flew to Brazil to bring her daughter's remains home to Britain.