Banning Triple-Slaying Victims Identified, 2-Year-Old With Guardian

The victims of an apparent triple homicide in Banning were identified by the coroner Wednesday, and a 2-year-old boy who was found bound and gagged in the home with the bodies was released to the custody of a guardian.

Demetrius Hunt, 42, Natasha Biggers, 33, and Cynthia Smith, 57, were found deceased just after 12:20 pm. Tuesday at a residence in the 100 block of Phillips Avenue in Banning, according to the Riverside County coroner.

The boy, who was found in a converted bathroom about three hours after the victims were discovered, was initially hospitalized for observation Tuesday afternoon, Banning police Chief Leonard Purvis said.

"He was released to Child Protective Services, who in turn released the boy to a guardian," Purvis said Wednesday afternoon.

Although a relative of one of the victims has said he believed the motive in the killings was drug-related, Purvis said detectives have yet to establish exactly what happened and who the victims were in contact with Tuesday before they were killed.

"We don't know for sure why this happened," Purvis said. "We are looking at all the evidence and talking to witnesses. We can't release anything about the cause of the deaths or possible motives."

No suspects had been publicly identified as of Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone with further information about the killings was urged to contact the Banning police Detective Bureau at (951) 849-1196. 

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