A dad conned neighbours into let him bury his cat in their garden – but in reality he buried his own baby daughter, police say.

The one-year-old is believed to have drowned in her bath at home.

People living in the home were stunned when the baby’s corpse was uncovered by authorities.

The homeowners, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had buried their own pets in the garden so were happy to help out an acquaintance who worked on the property for the landlord.

Local news station KOAT reports the landscaper’s plea to bury his dead cat in the garden was not so outrageous

Thurman Dunn, who lives in the home where the body was found, told the station how they knew the man.

Mr Dunn said: “He pulled the weeds, mows the yard, he takes care of the bushes of everything and lately he’s been acting a little strange. We noticed that before Christmas holiday.”

But they had no idea of the horror ahead.

Mr Dunn said he and most of his roommates went on vacation at the end of December.

It was while they were away that their landscaper, David Zuber, called them for the favour.

"It was a cat that had died, one of his cats, and he needed to bury it," said Mr. Dunn.

He said it wasn’t a strange favour for Zuber to ask because they use their backyard as a pet cemetery.

"Basically, this is where we have buried all of our dogs that have passed away," said Dunn, pointing to a corner of the garden.

But when they got back at the beginning of January, Dunn says they got a knock on their door.

"Homeland security, investigation teams, dig sites, everybody’s here," said Dunn.

Albuquerque police told the channel that Zuber and his girlfriend, Monique Romero, were arrested last week and charged with child abuse resulting in death after the body of their daughter, Anastazia Romero.

That followed the discovery of her body buried in Dunn’s family backyard."It was buried in the backyard underneath the remains of a dead dog.

The body was inside two layers of a white plastic trash bag inside of a black duffel bag," said Dunn.

Fighting back tears, he said: “It’s truly devastating, to be honest with you. Every time I see this, I wonder why.”

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