Mother and four children killed with meat cleaver in New York

A New York woman and her four young children were hacked to death with a meat cleaver in their Brooklyn home at the weekend and the father's cousin will be charged with their murders on Sunday, the New York Police Department said.

Responding to an emergency call on Saturday night, police found the two boys, two girls and their mother with multiple wounds at their home in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.


The 25-year-old cousin of the children's father was at the home and was taken into custody. Police said they would charge him with the murders on Sunday, but declined to release his identity until then.

Three of the children were found dead at the scene. The woman and one of the children were later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The victims were identified as William Zhuo, 1, Kevin Zhuo, 5, Amy Zhuo, 7, Linda Zhuo, 9, and Qiao Zhen Li, 37.

Li's husband returned home after the police arrived and is not suspected of any involvement in the killings, police said.

Police declined to discuss a possible motive for the killings.