A 20-year-old man beheaded his wife, a 16-year-old minor, and his stepdaughter, a three-year-old baby, in the Ancuabe district of Cabo Delgado province.

The accused's attitude was due to the desire for separation expressed by his wife, according to the spokesperson for the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) in Cabo Delgado, Mário Adolfo.

The young man committed the crime using a blunt weapon during the early morning hours when both victims were asleep.

"In the early hours of the 23rd to the 24th the individual committed the crime of aggravated murder by taking the life of his and his stepdaughter with the use of a machete," he revealed.

According to the officer, in the last few days the 16-year-old girl, the wife of the defendant, repeatedly requested the termination of the marital relationship.

"According to statements gathered from the [perpetrator], he eventually considered himself aggrieved and made the decision to take both of their lives," he explained.

The indictee claimed to the police that he had spent a lot of financial resources to raise the three-year-old once he started caring for the child before he was one year old, the spokesman said.

The PRM further said that after committing the murder the indictee attempted suicide by resorting to rat-killing poison. Afterwards, he voluntarily went to the police authorities in the hope that the poison would take effect in the necessary time.

The indictee is on the books with the local PRM.