Man Jailed For Butchering Five Family Members

A Chinese immigrant who butchered five relatives with a meat cleaver in a fit of jealousy has been sentenced to at least 125 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder.

Mingdong Chen admitted to killing 37-year-old Qiao Zhen Li and her children Linda, nine; Amy, seven; Kevin, five; and 18-month-old William Zhou in October 2013.

The 27-year-old gave no visible reaction after he was sentenced on Wednesday.

Under a plea deal, he must serve at least 125 years before he would be eligible for parole.

Prosecutors said Ms Li, Chen's cousin's wife, called her mother-in-law in China on 27 October 2013 to say he was in the house with a knife and was threatening the family.

The mother-in-law called relatives in New York, who found the five family members were dead and discovered Chen dripping in blood at the home in Brooklyn's Sunset Park.

Police said the family had been slaughtered.

Each of them had been repeatedly stabbed and slashed in the throat and neck and their bodies were found strewn around the house.

Chen had been staying in their home for a week before the killings, authorities said.

When he was questioned, he said he was jealous of the success of his fellow Chinese immigrants.

Relatives said he had been fired from several restaurant jobs.

Supreme Court Judge Vincent Del Giudice said: "The question is why he'd do these things. It really doesn't much matter."

Assistant District Attorney Mark Hale said prosecutors offered Chen the deal because it would spare Ms Li's family having "to relive the worst day of their lives".