COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Steve Groene, the father of Shasta Groene, who survived a series of gruesome crimes in the Coeur d'Alene area back 2005, has died.
According to post from Shasta on her Facebook page, her father died after a long battle with lung cancer.
In 2005, convicted serial killer Joseph Duncan killed Shasta's mother Brenda Groene, her older brother Slade Groene, and her mother's boyfriend Mark Mckenzie.
After the killings, Duncan took Shasta and her younger brother, Dylan, into a forest where he raped and tortured the siblings for weeks and then eventually murdered Dylan.
Shasta was eight years old at the time and the only victim to walk away alive.
Duncan is currently in federal prison after being sentenced to death.
A family representative said Steve and Shasta were able to spend time together in October 2018, when Shasta got married in North Idaho.
Steve Groene had also battled throat cancer for years, and talked with a robotic device since having surgery.
A family spokesperson said Steve often talked about seeing his sons Dylan and Slade in heaven one day.
