Family dead from apparent murder-suicide is laid to rest
SALEM, Ore. - A young family that lost their lives in a tragedy that has rocked the Russian community in Salem was laid to rest this week.
The bodies of 26-year-old Natalya Lazukin, infant Sefi Lazukin, 1-year-old Zoe Lazukin and 3-year-old Angelica Lazukin were discovered in a burning home on Tuesday, May 22. The family's father, 27-year-old Nikolai Lazukin, was found dead in a car about 80 miles away.
Investigators believe what happened was a murder-suicide - that Nikolai Lazukin killed his family and then later himself.
An autopsy found that the mother and her two older children had been shot and the infant had likely been asphyxiated. The medical examiner determined that the father died of a gunshot to the head, consistent with a self-inflicted wound.
Those who knew the Lazukin family were completely shocked by what happened. Friends and family told KATU many times that there was not the slightest indication of impending trouble.
"They were all wonderful," Irina Thompson, a relative of Nikolai Lazukin by marriage, said last week. "Nick was so good with the kids. I can't understand why this would happen, but sometimes people change."
On YouTube - Family Shares Memorial Slideshow
