Austrian axe man kills five family members

VIENNA (Reuters) - A Viennese man axed to death five family members, including his daughter aged 7, then turned himself in saying he had financial problems, Austrian police said on Wednesday.

The dead were his wife, daughter, parents and father-in-law.

The 39-year-old confessed to police early on Wednesday. He had borrowed money from his relatives, lost it in speculation that went wrong and said he wanted to spare them the scandal.

Officers went to his Vienna apartment and found his wife and daughter. His parents were found at Ansfelden, west of the capital, and his wife's father at nearby Linz.

"As a motive he gave massive financial difficulties," a police spokesman said.

The axe was found in the man's car.

(Reporting by Alexandra Zawadil; writing by Paul Bolding, edited by Richard Meares )