An Egyptian criminal court has sentenced to death a man for killing his wife and three children in their home in the Nile Delta’s Kafr El-Sheikh city.

The court has referred the verdict to the country’s grand mufti for his opinion on whether the death sentence is in line with Islamic law. The mufti’s opinion is not legally binding.

The 42-year-old defendant told the judges during a court hearing that he committed the crime, which took place on New Year’s Eve, for "personal reasons." 

The three children were 8, 6 and 4 years old.