A 28-year-old Brazilian man has confessed to stabbing a university student 28 times because he wanted her cellphone.

Michael da Silva, 28, ambushed and killed Mayara Roquetto, 23, on Sunday.

Michael da Silva

Mayara Roquetto

Footage of the arrest recorded by the police shows da Silva telling the arresting officers that he had killed Roquetto ‘near the rock’ where he had hid the murder weapons.

Authorities found Roquetto’s cellphone hidden in his underwear.

Da Silva, according to Brazilian media reports, suffered from schizophrenia.

He was taken into custody Wednesday morning after leading the police on a chase through a wooded area in city of São João da Boa Vista.

Police chief Fabiano Antunes said da Silva was also wanted for the attempted murder of his neighbor on Saturday. He reportedly lured the woman to his home and asked her to help him move a closet.

‘He hit this girl in the head with the butt (of the gun) and fired two shots …,’ Antunes said, as quoted by Brazilian news outlet G1. ‘They got into a fistfight, she asked for help and he ran away.’

Da Silva also had an arrest warrant in connection to the attempted murder of his stepfather.

Police said Roquetto, who had dreams of becoming a teacher, had gone out for a walk along a road near her family’s condominium on Sunday. At one point the biology student stopped and sat down for break.

Da Silva who was hiding in the woods spotted Roquetto and walked up to her and ordered her to hand over the cellphone.

Antunes said Roquetto ‘would have fled or reacted’ before da Silva stabbed her in the arm, hand, chest and head.

Roquetto’s body was discovered Sunday evening by her childhood friend Beatriz Galdino, according to G1.

‘I want justice … She was a bright girl, she didn’t deserve that,’ she told the outlet. ‘She fought a lot, she was a warrior until the end.’

Friends said Roquetto lived in the São Paulo town of Campinas but made the 1 hour hour, 45 minute trip to São João da Boa Vista to spend the weekends with her family.

‘If he is sick, (he has to stay) arrested and don’t make society laugh because the people are not only angry but also very afraid,’ Roquetto’s friend, Marta Beane, said.

Da Silva was charged with robbery followed by death and could serve 20 to 30 years in prison if he is convicted.