A 52-year-old man was arrested for allegedly murdering his mother, wife, son, and daughter in Hanoi this week, local police reported on Saturday.

He said the motive for his crime was to free his family from extreme poverty.

Police in Hanoi said they had coordinated with units under the Ministry of Public Security and police in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to apprehend Vu Van Vuong, a resident of the capital.

Vuong confessed that he used a crab pestle to bludgeon his 19-year-old daughter, Vu Thu H., and then strangled her to death at about 10:00 am on January 15.

He later hid the body under a bed in his house. 

Later that day, he turned his attention to his 17-year-old son, Vu Thanh T., whom he killed with a hammer and also concealed the body under the bed.

On the evening of that day, Vuong murdered his wife, Do Thi T..

He hit her with a hammer and strangled her to death. Her body was added to the growing pile beneath the bed.

Finally, in the early hours of January 16, he suffocated his bedridden mother.

Following the murders, Vuong attempted suicide by consuming sleeping pills but failed.

He then fled Hanoi for Da Nang City in central Vietnam and eventually made his way to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, where he visited a pagoda to pray for the victims' souls.

At 2:00 pm on Friday, the gruesome discovery was made when a family member found Vuong's mother deceased in the living room.

She then discovered the bodies of the other family members under the bed.

Police in Hanoi launched a massive manhunt for Vuong and, with the assistance of various law enforcement agencies, apprehended him at a pagoda in Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Police officers and relevant units are further investigating the case.

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