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A "devil worshipper" who allegedly ate his wife's brain in tacos and used her skull as an ashtray after killing her, has been arrested in Mexico.

The 32-year-old suspect, identified only as Alvaro, was seized at the couple's home in Puebla, on July 2, and is accused of murdering his wife - a mum of five - on June 29 while under the influence of a prohibited substance.

During questioning, he allegedly told officers that Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death) and the devil had ordered him to commit the crime.

Following the killing, Alvaro dubbed the "Cannibal of Puebla" allegedly dismembered victim Maria Montserrat Animas Montiel's body and placed her remains in plastic bags.

He allegedly threw some of them into a ravine behind the home and kept the rest inside the property.

According to sources close to the case, he confessed to eating part of his wife's brain in tacos and using part of her shattered skull as an ashtray.

Two days after the killing, he is believed to have called one of his stepdaughters to confess his crime.

The victim's mother, Maria Alicia Montiel Serran, told local media: "He told one of her daughters to come and collect her mum because 'I already killed her and put her in bags'."

Grieving Maria Alicia added that Alvaro chopped up the 38-year-old victim's body "with a machete, a chisel, and a hammer".

She went on: "I called him crying, asking why he did that to her if she wasn't a bad person."

According to Maria Alicia, the suspect confessed: "I killed her, I cut her into pieces, and I threw her into the ravine in bags."

She added that he claimed: "She didn't suffer."

Maria Montserrat married Alvaro less than a year ago. She had five daughters, aged from 12 to 23.

The youngest two lived with the couple and, according to their grandmother, were subjected to violence and sexual harassment from their stepfather.

Maria Alicia said: "He would spy on them while they showered, and my daughter, well, you know that out of love, she always sided with him."

The victim's family claimed Alvaro - a builder - was a drink and drug addict and was often violent towards his wife.

The family says the couple often posted about their worship of Santa Muerte on social media. The police reportedly found a black magic altar in their home.

Maria Alicia said: "Drugs, he used them, and he snorted cocaine and everything. Well, I think he had mental problems because to do something like that... He adored the one down below, well, I know because she had Santa Muerte tattooed on one of her colourful legs."

The victim's family has not yet been able to lay Maria Montserrat to rest because the police are still searching for some of her remains, which also need to be DNA-tested.

Her mother demanded: "Give her to me so that I can bury her and give her a proper send-off. That's what I want, and don't let him go free because I believe no mother would want her daughter to be sent to her in pieces. I demand justice."

The Puebla Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case.