Mexican father kills partner on Christmas, then kids, self

MEXICO CITY – Prosecutors in Mexico City say investigators have found the body of a man who killed his female companion on Christmas day, then later fled with the couple’s three children and killed them as well.

The city’s prosecutor’s office said the man fled from the capital to the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where he shot to death the couple’s two girls and a boy, aged 6, 4 and 2. The man then apparently killed himself with a pistol shot to the head.

The office said Wednesday that Veracruz investigators found the bodies in a hotel, along with an audio recording.

The man reportedly acknowledges in the recording that he killed his companion, citing personal reasons. The woman was beaten to death.