Autopsy: Salem mother, 2 kids were shot; infant was asphyxiated

By KATU Staff Published: May 23, 2012 at 4:03 PM PDT
Autopsy: Salem mother, 2 kids were shot; infant was asphyxiated
Police and firefighters investigate the scene where four people were found dead at a house in Salem, Ore., on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Salem police say five people have died in what they believe was a murder-suicide. The police told the Salem Statesman Journal the bodies of a woman and three children were found in a house that burned Tuesday morning in northeast Salem. They say the woman’s husband was been found dead in a vehicle near Cottage Grove. None of the victims was immediately identified. (AP Photo/Statesman Journal, Timothy J. Gonzalez)

SALEM, Ore. – A mother and her two children who were found dead in a burning Salem home had been shot, according to a medical examiner.

Dr. Larry Lewman also said a fourth child who was just an infant was likely asphyxiated.

Police said the mother is 26-year-old Natalya Lazukin. The two children who had been shot are Angelica Lazukin, 3, and Zoe Lazukin, 1, according to Salem Police.

The infant's name is Sefi Lazukin

Lewman said they all likely were killed before the fire started.

Police suspect the four victims were killed by the father of the family. He was later found dead in a car in Cottage Grove, Ore. Lewman said he has not yet examined the father’s body to determine the exact cause of death.

Police have also not yet released the father's name.

Investigators said it was a murder/suicide and the fire was intentionally set.

Firefighters found the four victims when they responded to put out a fire at the family home on Fisher Road NE in Salem around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.