(AP) — A New York City man faces charges that he slaughtered his girlfriend and her two young children in a frenzy at their Brooklyn home.

Jermaine Ruiz was charged Saturday with three counts of murder.

The 24-year-old had been in custody since Friday.

Investigators say they believe the killings happened Wednesday night, when neighbors overheard the couple fighting.

Police say that Ruiz spent a day in the apartment with the three corpses and then phoned his father and told him what he'd done.

When officers arrived at the house, they found a bloody scene.

The women and her children were dead of stab wounds. The children were aged 2 and 5. All three had been partly wrapped in plastic bags.

Authorities have not released the victims' names.

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