A Chinese-American man, Mingdong Chen, received a sentence of 125 years to life in prison on Tuesday following his conviction of murdering a mother and her four children in Brooklyn, New York. According to a report from Yahoo News, Chen used a meat cleaver to carry out the heinous act.

Chen, 27, was the mother’s husband’s cousin, and was staying with the family in their apartment in Brooklyn for the three weeks leading up to the attack in October, 2013.

Qiao Zhen Li, 37, was discovered dead with her daughters, aged nine and seven, and her sons, aged five and one, in their home on the 27^th of October, 2013 with multiple stab wounds to the neck and head. The mother of four had called her mother-in-law in China concerned about Chen, saying he had threatened her family with a knife.

The mother-in-law notified family in Brooklyn of the situation, and they rushed to the apartment. Unfortunately, they were too late. They discovered Chen coated in blood and forcibly restrained him until authorities arrived on the scene.

Chen pleaded guilty this month to three counts of 2^nd degree murder and two counts of 1^st degree manslaughter. He received his sentence from a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge on Tuesday.