Victims in fatal beating identified

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Two of the victims in a fatal beating last week have been identified.

The bodies of Lazan T. Balentine, 32, and her son Kyri were found Thursday. Another son, 4-year-old Knighten Balentine, was airlifted to a hospital in St. Louis.

The boys were not positively identified until Saturday, when their grandmother arrived from Chicago, Balentine's hometown.

Preliminary autopsy results indicated that all three had been beaten with a blunt object, probably made of wood, said Mississippi County coroner Terry A. Parker. Full autopsy results would not be available for four to five weeks, Parker said.

Parker said the family had moved to the area only recently, and apparently did not know many neighbors, which may have hindered their identification.

The boys were likely asleep when they were attacked, Parker said.

"The child that was deceased, I don't think he ever knew what was happening," he said.