Footage shows suspected serial killer fleeing disguised as a woman before confessing to 80 murders

Police in Brazil have arrested a man who has allegedly confessed to 80 murders after they caught him wearing a wig and dress in an attempt to disguise himself as a woman.

33-year-old Jorlan Lopes da Silva was arrested on Sunday (13 September) in a joint operation between the Civil Police of Paraíba and the region's military police.

The successful capture of da Silva follows a previously unsuccessful attempt to bring him in 20 days previously, Correio Braziliense reports, and when they found him he was dressed as a woman and carrying a toddler who was not hurt and was not his.

It's reported that he was caught wearing a wig, dress, sandals, sunglasses and had his nails painted in an effort to throw off police efforts to arrest him.

Police suspect da Silva of being a serial killer with at least 16 victims in the span of three months, and after his arrest he allegedly told police he's killed as many as 80 people across a 20-year period.

It would mean he killed his first victim at the age of 13, and he alleged that the first person he killed was his father.

"During his interrogation, with great composure, Jorlan confessed to several homicide crimes, even revealing that he committed his first crime when he was 13 years old," the police said in a statement.

Police have found at least one body based on information da Silva has provided them and investigators are following a slew of other leads in an effort to verify what has been claimed to them.

da Silva's arrest follows two other suspects being apprehended and a revolver being recovered by officers, though Civil Police did not provide details on what crimes the other suspects have been arrested for or if there is a connection between them and da Silva.

Nonetheless, they are hoping that several investigations will now speed up as a result of the arrests made.

They said in a statement: "With the arrest of the suspects, the Civil Police hope to expedite the progress of the police investigations, gathering evidence to hold those involved accountable for the crimes attributed to them."

The suspected serial killer's attempts to evade police capture by appearing to dress as a woman failed following a 30-hour police operation to establish a perimeter and use it to catch him.

Officers said that da Silva had been difficult to find because he was living in the woods, but was caught when his dress shifted and it revealed a distinctive tattoo on his body.

If police can prove what he's been accused of then crimes against fashion will be the least of his worries.