crime tape
Authorities found four malnourished children on a Texas property, including two who were locked in a kennel. This is a representational image showing a crime scene tape in Schertz, Texas, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Flores

A couple was arrested last week on suspicion of murdering dozens of women and chopping up their bodies to feed pets. The man and women, identified only as Juan Carlos N and Patricia N, allegedly lured victims to their home in Mexico City.

The couple was taken into custody after detectives placed them under surveillance after linking them to the disappearance of three women. One of these women went missing along with her two-month-old girl. Police arrived at their house and caught the couple as they were pushing a "baby buggy" that was found to contain body parts.

The couple later admitted they had sold the baby for £600 ($784). The girl was later tracked down by police and returned to her grandmother, the Independent reported.

Mexico state attorney general Alejandro Gomez said the couple had planned to dispose of the body parts in nearby land that was not used by many and was in poor condition. After arresting the couple, police recovered more human remains from the scene. Some body parts were also found in two other addresses in Ecatepec, one of the poorest suburbs of Mexico City.

The couple had stored some body parts in refrigerators and others were found in plastic buckets covered in cement, the Independent reported.

On Sunday, Juan Carlos N told a court he had killed 20 women and used their bones to make fertiliser and their flesh as pet food, Mexican newspaper El Universal reported.

According to reports, some of the victims were sexually assaulted before they were killed.

Juan Carlos N's partner Patricia allegedly helped lure women in the pretence of selling clothes. She also helped dispose of their bodies.

In recent years, there have been several incidents leading up to the disappearance and murder of thousands of women in Mexico. According to government statistics, there were at least 2,585 suspected murders of women last year, up from 1,755 in 2015.