World IN BRIEF : NEW ZEALAND : Man Charged With Killing Relatives

A 25-year-old New Zealand man faced eight charges, including the killing of an unborn child, after seven people were stabbed or bludgeoned to death Friday. All seven victims were related; five were children, three the alleged killer’s own sons. Raymond Ratima, an unemployed sheep shearer, was first charged with murdering his 14-year-old brother-in-law, Phillip Ferguson. He later was charged with murdering his sons Piripi, 6, Barney, 4, and Stacey, 2; sister-in-law Nicola Ferguson, 20; her partner, Bevan Tepu, 21, and their son Steven, 2. Nicola Ferguson was seven months’ pregnant, and Ratima was also charged with causing the death of an unborn child. Ratima was also charged with the attempted murder of his father-in-law, Phillip Ferguson Sr.