WORLD : Envy Blamed for Soviet Murders

MOSCOW — A man apparently envious of a colleague’s prosperity killed him with an iron bar, raped the man’s wife, murdered her and her children and was then caught after returning to rob their home, Tass press agency reported today.

Tass said the multiple crime occurred in the city of Volzhsky, 600 miles southeast of Moscow, when a 36-year-old worker at the local synthetic fibers plant visited a colleague at home.

“After a brief talk, he hit him over the head with an iron bar,” Tass said. “The victim’s children, a 10-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, heard the noise and rushed into the room. The visitor killed them, too, and then began to pack goods.”

Over the next two days, the man returned to the house to empty it of all the family’s possessions. According to Tass, a neighbor grew suspicious and called the police.