The bodies of his wife and children were only found a week after their deaths in the family home in Stockmead Road, Northampton, last July.
Triple murderer Phillip Austin, 32, was given three life sentences by Northampton Crown Court on Thursday for the murder of his family last July.
Austin, a forklift truck driver, had fled the scene after the bloody murders, sparking a nationwide search.
He was found three days later sitting in a car in Cumbria, after apparently slitting his wrists.
The bodies of his wife and children were only found a week after their deaths in the family home in Stockmead Road, Northampton, last July.
The body of Claire Austin, 31, was found lying dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor by her mother and step-father.
She had been beaten, stabbed repeatedly, and strangled.
Upstairs, the grandparents found eight-year-old Keiran and Jade, seven, strangled in their beds.
The family's two pet poodles, Dandy and Sooty, were also killed.
In passing sentence, judge Mr Justice Potts said: "I cannot find the words to describe this case. It is beyond the bounds of belief."
Mrs Austin was a part-time home help employed by social services.