COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Shasta Groene did not learn her 9-year-old brother was dead until this weekend, according to the children's father.

Officials announced yesterday that DNA analysis of remains found at a western Montana campsite had confirmed they were those of Dylan Groene. The family was informed before the news was made public.

Shasta, 8, and Dylan were taken from their home nearly two months ago after their mother, older brother and mother's boyfriend were killed. Shasta was rescued in a Coeur d'Alene restaurant early July 2.

"She asked me last week in the hospital if I knew what had happened to Dylan," Groene told The Spokesman-Review for Today's editions.

The public will be invited to a memorial service for Dylan in coming days, Steve Groene said. Hundreds of people attended an earlier memorial service for Brenda Groene, 40, and Slade Groene, 13, who were slain in the house.

James Edward Duncan III, a registered sex offender, has been charged with two counts of first- degree kidnapping in the case. He is being held without bail in the Kootenai County Jail.

Dylan and Shasta were declared missing May 16 after police found the bound and beaten bodies of their mother, their older brother and their mother's boyfriend.

After questioning Shasta, authorities said they believed Dylan was likely dead, and human remains thought to be Dylan's were found last week in Montana.

"According to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., the remains found last week in Montana have been positively identified as Dylan Groene," Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said yesterday.

Wolfinger declined to provide more details or answer questions at the brief news conference, citing the ongoing investigation and sensitivity for the Groene family.

Authorities believe Duncan also is the sole person responsible for the deaths of Brenda Kay Groene, 40; Slade Groene, 13; and Mark Edward McKenzie, 37, in the Groenes' rural Coeur d'Alene home.

Public defender Lynn Nelson filed a bail-reduction request last week. It will be heard during a July 19 hearing at which Duncan is expected to enter a plea.

Watson has said he believes the motive for the killings was to acquire the children for sex. Watson also said authorities believe the family was chosen at random but that the attack was carefully planned and executed.

Duncan was on the run from a child-molestation charge in Minnesota. Kidnapping in Idaho can carry the death penalty, but authorities have not decided whether to seek that punishment and do not have to make a formal decision until 30 days after a plea is entered. Prosecutors have said Duncan ultimately may also face federal charges.

Shasta has been released from Kootenai Medical Center to her father.