'I killed the children so that they would stay mine,' he said in court today

He crept up behind her and stabbed her in the side with his hunting knife

Belov hit her twice, became scared the authorities would take away his kids

He became angry when his wife cut son Fyodor's hair in a 'foolish' style

A Russian father has described in gruesome detail how he slaughtered his pregnant wife and six children after becoming enraged at his six year old son's 'parrot' haircut.

Oleg Belov, 51, confessed to stabbing his entire family to death in a ten minute rampage and using an axe to dismember their bodies because he believed it mean they would be 'resurrected'.

He said his wife Yulia, 32, wanted to divorce him and had cut their son Fyodor's hair in a 'foolish' style.

'She cut him like a parrot,' he said at his trial for the mass murder of his wife, mother and six children.

Oleg Belov (right), 51, confessed to killing his wife Yulia (left), 32, and his six children (pictured) in a rage after she cut his hair in a 'foolish' parrot style

Belov (right) said his wife Yulia (left) wanted to divorce him and panicked after punching her because he feared the authorities would take away his children

'I asked her: "Are you kidding or what?"

'I tried to grab the hair clipper, and a fight broke out. I hit her twice in the jaw, she ran into the hallway and started knocking on the neighbours' doors.

'She screamed. I had never heard her screaming so loud. I was very scared.

'I was scared that now they would definitely take away children. I took her hand and quietly brought home.

'Yulia told me not to touch her, she said she would call the police. I felt anger and realised that I would kill her. Or lose the children.

'I took my hunting knife and approached her from behind. I stabbed her with a knife in her right side. I killed the children so that they would stay mine.

'The Bible says that children will be resurrected. So I decided that the kids will resurrect, and we will live together again.'

The court in Nizhny Novgorod was told that Belov had been examined by psychiatrists and was 'mentally healthy'.

Belov (pictured after his arrest) was covered in cuts and bleeding after he was detained by police

Belov, who was deemed 'mentally healthy' by psychiatrists, cut up his family's bodies (pictured being taken away by police) because he thought it meant they would be resurrected

Belov (pictured) broke down in court and begged his dead wife's mother for forgiveness, saying: 'I was the happiest man on earth. So I can say that no one lost more than I did'

State prosecutors said he 'committed the murder of his wife Yulia in the presence of their children' and he sought to 'cover up the crime by killing all the children' on July 26.

He added: 'The eldest daughter Alena, seven, rushed to her mother's body. But Belov grabbed her by the hair and stabbed her at least seven times with a knife.

'Then he killed his second daughter, five-year-old Sonia, his son, three-year-old Nikifor, then two-year-old Ilya.

Then he took his one-year-old daughter Daria, put her onto a bed and stabbed her.

'After killing everyone in the room, he went to the bathroom where six-year-old Fyodor was hiding and stabbed him at least four times.'

Next he went to the village where his mother Zinaida Belova, 73, lived, telling her, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry', before stabbing her 21 times.

'I took my mother's axe and dismembered the bodies using surgical gloves,' he said in court.

He put the body parts in bags and covered the flat in foam to stop the smell spreading.

'I also bought perfumes and colognes,' Belov added.

He feared the authorities would take his children (pictured, two of his sons) away after he attacked his wife so he killed them too, saying in court: 'I killed the children so that they would stay mine'

State prosecutors said he 'committed the murder of his wife Yulia (left) in the presence of their children' (pictured, four of them) and he sought to 'cover up the crime by killing all the children'

After killing his wife Yulia (pictured) and six children, he went to the village where his mother Zinaida Belova, 73, lived, telling her, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' - before stabbing her 21 times

He was caught a week after the murders because his mother-in-law Valentina Zaitseva, 69, told police she could not contact her daughter and grandchildren.

Belov told the court: 'I want to apologise to my mother-in-law. Thank you for having raised such a good daughter. We were happy together, we gave birth to six beautiful children.

'I was the happiest man on earth. So I can say that no one lost more than I did. Nobody will understand my agony and suffering better than you.'

He told her: 'Yulia had fondest wish - that I would call you mum. Mother, forgive me, please, you are our greatest treasure, I'm sorry, I'm saying this just now. I think Julia would be happy.'

She brushed aside his appeal to her, saying: 'He is a good actor. These are crocodile tears he sheds now.

'The same was back in 2010 when he tried to kill her first time. He cried and she forgave him.'

Belov was earlier a member of the 'The Church of Seventh-Day Adventists' but was expelled because, according to senior church member Alexander Zimin, he had left his wife for another woman.

His children's grandmother Valentina Zaitseva (pictured), 69, raised the alarm to police after the children were not seen for a week

Belov (pictured) was earlier a member of the 'The Church of Seventh-Day Adventists' but was expelled because he left his wife for another woman

'I remember him well. At first, all was good, he studied the Bible, took part in the life of the church, but then he met some girlfriend in Nizhny Novgorod, went to her, lived in sin,' he said.

He was thrown out of the church because he violated the Seventh Commandment - forbidding adultery.

Valentina Zaitseva said: 'Fights often happened in the family. The father constantly beat up his wife and children. Yulia kept sending me photos of her bruises.'