A jilted man has fatally stabbed his estranged wife and their two children aged 11 and seven before taking his own life, apparently with the same murder weapon.

The incident took place in an apartment in the town of Kansk in the Russian region of Krasnoyarsk Krai, located in Siberia, last night (Sunday, 26th December).

The bodies were found inside the flat this morning, covered from head to toe in stab wounds. Neighbours knew little about the family, as the woman and children had only moved in recently.

According to the Investigative Committee of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai, the man and his wife were in the midst of a divorce, and the man, named as 38-year-old Nikolay Kuropatkin, was living alone at the time.

According to reports, it was the woman who had filed for divorce in September, shortly after which she moved into the new apartment with the children.

She has been named as nursery school teacher Svetlana Dmitrienko Kuropatkina, 35, and the couple’s son, 11, and daughter, 7, have not been named.

According to the statement, the man went on Sunday night to the flat his estranged wife was renting, and the woman’s mother, not named, found the bloodied bodies this morning and called the cops.

At the time of reporting, police officers and investigators from the Investigative Committee were working at the crime scene.

The prime suspicion is that the man murdered his family before taking his own life.

The motive for the crime is unclear. However, local media have speculated it may have been in ‘revenge’ for her filing for divorce and taking the kids with her when she moved out.

According to people who knew the man, he abused alcohol and would beat his wife and kids.

The investigation is ongoing.