Four policemen in the Russian city of Ufa, Bashkortostan, have been fired for missing an opportunity to prevent last week's slaying of a young mother and her three small children, a local police spokesman said on Monday.
On June 12, a 39-year-old man killed his girlfriend and three of their children, aged two, three and four.
The man was still living with them even though, back in January, the mother of his children reported to police that he had stabbed her.
"But the person in charge did not take proper measures, did not establish the circumstances of the incident and did not bring the guilty one to justice. As a result, another, more serious crime was committed,” the spokesman said.
The couple's eldest daugher, a five-year old, was injured but survived the ordeal. The killer went into hiding but was arrested three days later.
“The head of the police department, his deputy and employees of the investigation department were fired for gross misconduct of service discipline,” the spokesman said.
