'Hired killers gunned down 4 children after being paid Ksh14,000 to assassinate their parents'

The alleged murders have reignited the death penalty deabte in Colombia, where it is claimed assassins were hired to slay the youngsters' parents over a land row

The horrific killing of four children allegedly blasted to death by hitmen in Colombia for just £136 has reignited the debate on the death penalty.

The brutal assassination - which happened after an alleged argument over land - has shocked the country with many calling for those responsible to be put to death.

Only one of Jairo Vanegas Grimaldo's five children survived the attack.

Deiner Alfredo, nine, Laura Ximena, seven and Juliana, three, and Samuel, 17, were all killed. But Pablo, 12, managed to escape through a window.

He told police: "They told us to lie down and my brothers ran and climbed into their beds, thinking it was a game.

"Then the men told them not to lie on their beds, but lie down on the floor.

"I was scared by that point, and I tried to hide under my bed but they shot me twice. They then chased after my brothers and I managed to climb out of the window because they thought I was already dead."

He later helped police arrest two men on suspicion of the killings.

Cristopher Chavez Cuellar, 42, and Edison Vega Garcia, 25, were allegedly hired to kill the parents after they refused to sell their land to a local woman.

Their alleged hirer Luzmila Artunduaga, 35, had wanted to build a bar and a car park on the property owned by Jairo Vanegas Grimaldo, 39, and his family and had argued with them for years to gain permission.

A year ago, she is accused of hiring thugs to burn down the family's home on the outskirts of the city of Florencia, in southern Colombia.

They rebuilt the home but the threats continued and culminated in the horror attack.

Police said that the two suspects had planned to shoot the parents but because they were not home decided to kill the children instead.

After they were arrested, Edison Vega 'the Midget' Garcia admitted he was at the farm, but denied having any weapon.

Police also arrested another man - 47-year-old Enderson Carrillo Ordonez - on suspicion of helping the two hitmen plan the murder and a second - 26-year-old Jose Garcia Ramirez - was then seized after allegedly providing the contact between the woman who wanted to hire killers and the assassins themselves.

According to investigators, the alleged killers were offered £271, (1 million Colombian Pesos) of which they received half because they had not killed the main targets.

If found guilty, the suspected killers face between 30 and 50 years in prison.

Following the arrests, the director of the national police of Colombia, Gen Rodolfo Palomino, called for a public debate on the death penalty for particularly horrific offences and especially when there were crimes against children and adolescents.