A couple being sought for the murder of a young football star in a brutal drive by shooting have been found horrifically tortured and shot to death in a gangland-style double execution.

The pair, named only as Marcilene and Nerisson, were being hunted by police for the fatal shooting of 19-year-old rising footballer Ezequias Junior Vieira dos Santos.

But just hours after police released CCTV footage of his killing, the couple's gruesomely disfigured corpses were found in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on 22nd May.

Horrific local media images show they had both been agonisingly tortured before they were shot in the head, street execution-style.

Marceline's breasts had been cut apart and her fingernails were torn out before she was killed.

Her hog-tied partner Nerisson's finger was cut off and taken away as a grim souvenir and he was then shot repeatedly all over his body before he was finished off.

A prosecutors' report by the city's Legal Medical Institute said the couple had suffered "extreme cruelty" associated with the city's worst criminal gangs.

Some local media reports their young daughter was found abandoned miles away from the execution site, an unused building lot.

It is uncertain if she witnessed any of the torture.

The double killing followed the shooting of footballer Ezequias the day before after the teen player defended his wife from a sexual assault by Nerisson.

Security camera CCTV purportedly shows Marceline and Nerisson following the player's car and firing a handgun repeatedly through the window.

The clip went viral on social media and the couple were identified within hours.

One member of the city's feared Red Command crime gang later surfaced on social media reportedly claiming responsibility for the the killings.

He reportedly said the pair had broken one of the gangland code's rules for not "shedding innocent blood".

The city's Specialised Police Homicide and Kidnapping (DEHS) squad are investigating the executions.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)