The victims of the unsolved triple homicide in Banning in September were strangled to death, a family member said Tuesday night outside a Banning city council meeting.

She and other relatives of the victims came to ask the city council to post a monetary reward for information leading to whoever is responsible for the brutal killings.

The cause of death in the murders was listed on death certificates, the aunt of one of the victims told Banning-Beaumont Patch.

Whoever killed Natasha Biggers, 33, Demetrius Hunt, 42, and Cynthia Smith, 57, and left a toddler bound and gagged in the same home on Phillips Avenue has evaded law enforcement.

No arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly identified.

The three adults were found deceased just after 12:20 pm. Sept. 6, 2011, at a residence in the 100 block of Phillips Avenue, police said. The little boy was found bound and gagged in a converted bathroom about three hours after the victims' bodies were discovered.

"We need help, and by posting a reward that will help," Marva Biggers, aunt of Natasha, said in an interview outside council chambers in Banning.

"We're keeping her boy elsewhere," she said. "The 2-year-old was there, and they did not intend for him to make it. And he saw his mom take her last breath. He demonstrated to us, too many times. Yes, he saw it.

"He gets therapy once a week, and his older brother does too."

Police detectives have worked closely with the Biggers family, but information about the cause of deaths came from the coroner, Marva Biggers said.

"What I know now is public record, because we received the death certificate about a month ago, all three individuals were strangled," she said.

"Why I mention about the strangulation, is because a death certificate is public knowledge," she said. "Just strangled. That was one of the biggest rumors that hit the street the same day, is that they were shot. It was not true, not true. They were all strangled."

Whoever took part in the killings knew the victims, and vice-versa, Marva Biggers said.

"It was obvious, one of the detectives explained, those persons responsible were known by the individuals, in particular, Mr. Hunt," she said. "The persons who did this know all the particulars. Certain things, the police are not going to divulge to me, even though I am a family member."

The killer or killers may live in Banning, they may be known in the neighborhood, and they may have been talking, Marva Biggers said.

Asked whether the motive in the killings could be drug-related, as at least one other victim's relative has publicly stated, Marva Biggers spoke up for Natasha.

"My niece did not take drugs," she said. "I know the police know, the community knows, Mr. Hunt did some shady business. But Miss Biggers did not take drugs."

Detectives on the case said they received a lot of information over several weeks after the killings, Marva Biggers said.

"When they got a lot of calls, a lot of tips, and people were doing a lot of talking, there at the first, in the first six weeks, it's whittled down a little bit now," she said. "They're going back over everything, and they're reviewing all the information.

"What the detective said to me was, 'If you can just keep the people talking.'

"So I told him I was coming to the city council meeting to ask that the Banning city council post a reward so that money's there, and it'll make people start talking, because somebody will tell something on someone. There's no doubt."

She mentioned the July 2010 killing of 17-year-old Norma Lopez in Moreno Valley.

"It was a reward that started people to talking," Marva Biggers said. "The different agencies got together and posted a reward. It took a year before they made an arrest. But they made an arrest."

Natasha's mother, Deborah Biggers, was also at the council meeting. She read from the back of a police detective's business card when she came outside to be interviewed.

"Their mission statement is 'The Banning Police Department is committed to serve with honor and protect all citizens of our culturally diverse community through a partnership focused on public trust and providing a safe environment for all.'

"I couldn't help but look back at that, as to why I came back to Banning after being raised here," Deborah Biggers said. "Simply because it was safe.

"And then 33 years later I lost my child and I just want justice to be served," she said. "I'm a home owner here, my father was a business owner, and Banning is our home."

Banning police Chief Leonard Purvis said Tuesday night he could not disclose how the victims died, but he was pleased to see the Biggers family come before the city council.

A monetary reward could provide incentive for someone to come forward with key facts, Purvis said.

"We're still looking for people who can provide details, provide eyewitness testimony as to what they might have seen or heard," Purvis said.

Asked whether the police department could publicly disclose any details of the deaths, Purvis said, "We have not in the past, and we're not prepared right now to put out actual cause of death for the three victims."

Progress on the case has been difficult to measure. Detectives have been working hard on it, Purvis said.

"We've talked to witnesses, we've talked to others who have information, and we're continually following up on leads," Purvis said. "That's pretty much what we've been doing from the date of the homicides to now.

"We're constantly working on the case, trying to find evidence, trying to find witnesses, those who heard or saw anything. We're continuing our investigation."

A pdf copy of the initial press release about the killings is attached to this report.

The Banning police Detective Bureau can be reached at (951) 849-1196.

Banning is in the San Gorgonio Pass in Riverside County, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles.