Man kills family in Russia murder-suicide, gives burial cash

MOSCOW (AFP) - A father shot dead his two small sons, his wife and her parents in a Russian village in Siberia before handing US$6,000 (S$7,421) for their burial to neighbours and then killing himself, officials said on Monday.

The man killed his sons aged four and nine, his wife, 38, and her elderly parents with a shotgun in the village of Podsinee in the Khakasia region of southern Siberia, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"Afterwards he pushed $5,000 and 40,000 rubles (S$1,560) through the fence of the neighbours' house with a note asking that they all be buried," it said. "Then he went into a room and shot himself dead," it added.

The statement gave no further details but the tabloid lifenews.ru website, known for its contacts with law-enforcement authorities, said the slaughter was the result of a family dispute.