Brazil Serial Killer: Hospital Guard 'Kills 39'

A hospital worker killed 39 people in 10 months out of "anger at everything and everyone", police in Brazil have said.

Thiago Rocha, 26, is accused of embarking on a killing spree in the central state of Goias, where he worked as a guard at a maternity and infant hospital.

Following his arrest, Chief of Police Deusny Aparecido told a news conference Rocha was a "cold person" and "killed out of anger".

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

"He felt anger at everything and everyone."

Rocha, who is said to have confessed to the murders, was detained on Tuesday and is awaiting a court hearing.

He reportedly tried to cut his wrists in his cell using a broken light bulb.

The accused lives with his mother and had been picked up by police last year for stealing motorbike licence plates at a local supermarket.

After his arrest this week he said he was feeling anguished and had committed the murders to ease his suffering.

Images recorded on a snack bar CCTV helped police identify the alleged serial killer.

It is claimed he tried to shoot a young woman outside the snack bar from his motorbike but the gun jammed.

He then kicked her in the mouth before speeding away, police said.

Police say the first victim was 14-year-old Barbara Luiza Ribeiro Costa, who was killed in January this year.

The latest victim was Ana Lidia Gomes, who was shot at a bus stop in a motorbike drive-by.

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

Among the 39 victims were homeless people and homosexuals. All those killed were young.

Rocha's lawyer, Thiago Huascar, said he would await all charges and a full briefing with his client before making any comment.