WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2008

D.C. Woman: "Demons" Possessed Slain Girls

Mother Says Children Died In Their Sleep; Girls May Have Been Starved, Stabbed, Strangled

    • This artist's courtroom sketch shows Banita Jacks during her appearance at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. Jacks, found in her home with the decomposing bodies of four girls was charged Thursday with murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep. Photo

      This artist's courtroom sketch shows Banita Jacks during her appearance at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. Jacks, found in her home with the decomposing bodies of four girls was charged Thursday with murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep.  (AP Photo/Dana Verkouteren)

    • District of Columbia medical examiner's office personnel remove the first body from a house where the bodies of four dead youths, estimated to be between 5 and 18 years of age, were found in varying states of decomposition in southeast Washington, Wednesday Jan. 9, 2008. A woman found in her home with the bodies of four girls believed to be her children has been charged with murder, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. Photo

      District of Columbia medical examiner's office personnel remove the first body from a house where the bodies of four dead youths, estimated to be between 5 and 18 years of age, were found in varying states of decomposition in southeast Washington, Wednesday Jan. 9, 2008. A woman found in her home with the bodies of four girls believed to be her children has been charged with murder, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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City officials were scrambling to understand how four children could have been dead for at least two weeks without anyone knowing.

Mayor Adrian Fenty said Thursday that officials were working to determine what other contacts city agencies had with the family.

"We are going to investigate every single contact that this family has had with the government, with people who are paid to look out for the welfare of children, and we will come back with a full report," Fenty said.

Several relatives stopped by the house to visit or to deliver child support checks, but Jacks didn't answer the door. Jacks sometimes telephoned after the visits and reported that everything was under control, they said, according to the Washington Post.
"Sometimes she wouldn't answer the door," recalled Tywana Richardson, godmother to the two youngest girls, who said she tried to stay in touch with the family after Fogle's death. "No one would answer the door. That happened a lot. . . . When I kept going and she wasn't there, I figured she had upped and moved."

Nona Richardson, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Public Charter School Board, said Jacks' three younger daughters attended the Meridian Public Charter School in Washington consistently until March 2007.

When they stopped showing up, Richardson said the school immediately tried to contact the mother by mail and telephone. Officials finally went to the woman's home and the woman told a school official that she wanted to withdraw the children and home-school them. They were officially withdrawn in mid-March 2007.

A child at Jacks' Washington address also had attended Stuart-Hobson Elementary School but withdrew in 2006 as a fifth-grader, public school officials said.

The D.C. Child and Family Services agency tried last year to investigate a complaint about the family. But investigators could not make face-to-face contact with family members and believed they had moved to Maryland, agency spokeswoman Mindy Good said.

Norris West, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, said D.C. officials in June asked social services officials in Charles County, Md., to open a case for the family. However, county officials were not able to locate the family, and it is unclear whether they had actually moved to Charles County, West said.

Outside the courthouse, a woman who said she spent the day with Jacks in a cellblock area, told reporters Jacks admitted to killing her children.

"She kept talking about her kids had demons in them," said Tamara Crump, who was locked up on a drug charge but let go after authorities declined to prosecute her. She said Jacks "smelled like death," an odor so strong that Crump and other prisoners asked for masks, according to the Washington Post.

"The woman is crazy," Crump said.

Fenty said Thursday that besides at least one contact with child welfare officials, the family had at least one brush with D.C. police.

According to court records, Jacks was charged in January 2007 with driving an unregistered vehicle. In February, she paid a $175 fine and the case was dismissed.

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Add a Comment See all 136 Comments
by rushman71 January 11, 2008 9:20 AM PST
This is very sad that a mental lady like this could do something so profound. I feel sad for the four girls. Even though the oldest daughter was seventeen, her fear overcame any chance of a way out of this. All of the girls were as prisoners within their own cell block(home). My condolences go out to the family and relatives.
Reply to this comment
by iceman_1960 January 11, 2008 9:30 AM PST
"D.C. Woman: "Demons" Possessed Slain Girls"

An ugly New Testament superstition.
Reply to this comment
by jennmarie620 January 11, 2008 10:11 AM PST
... from the sounds of it, this woman has become the victim of a mental illness. I am not saying that excuses her for killing her children - but I would venture to say that if she is found mentally ill, it would at least explain how a woman described as a "good mother" could kill her children. She should be placed in a mental institution and treated for the rest of her life there.

As for the children being dead since before September - SOMEONE, or many someones, should feel absolutely ashamed of themselves that no one made more of an effort to find the children. Problems were occuring for a year, and no one reached out to this woman to get her the help she needed and to make sure those children were protected and kept safe.
Reply to this comment
by susieq_13 January 11, 2008 10:12 AM PST
I think that mother is a demon for doing what she did to her girls. I hope she has to spend the rest of her life in prison thinking about what she did. Too bad she won''t starve to death herself though.
Reply to this comment
by antoniof123 January 11, 2008 10:23 AM PST
This is the fault of the nut case religions out there. Mercy killing, demon possessed, and the rest of the nut jobs.

They say the love of money is the root of all evil. Look at religion they love money and they are the demons. Enough of them already I am sick of their lies and their hate.

I think it is about time we remove them for the equation.
Reply to this comment
by darkie21 January 11, 2008 10:26 AM PST
Crump was right
Reply to this comment
by ladyephesus1 January 11, 2008 10:40 AM PST
... from the sounds of it, this woman has become the victim of a mental illness. I am not saying that excuses her for killing her children - but I would venture to say that if she is found mentally ill, it would at least explain how a woman described as a "good mother" could kill her children. She should be placed in a mental institution and treated for the rest of her life there.

As for the children being dead since before September - SOMEONE, or many someones, should feel absolutely ashamed of themselves that no one made more of an effort to find the children. Problems were occuring for a year, and no one reached out to this woman to get her the help she needed and to make sure those children were protected and kept safe.
Posted by jennmarie620 at 10:11 AM : Jan 11, 2008
************************************

I agree Jennmarie. She is definitely mentally ill and having your utilities turned off when things are not going right is a sure way to lose it!!
This is a very sad situation here. This woman had people coming to her home and nobody tried to at least see if the children were visibly okay??
How about the fathers? Havent heard from their own children in months and no phone calls and these people are surprised??

Lord help us.

I feel the manager should have entered her apartment with a police officer much sooner than this.
No contact by phone then he should have found a reason to get in there especially if there are children living there. Geezz
Reply to this comment
by bookwerm314 January 11, 2008 10:40 AM PST
Considering that the USA has one of the worst medical systems in the world, and the Mental Health area is the bottom of that barrel, it is highly likely this woman was insane, was left to her own devices, and they children dead because of that.
So all you nutty right wing ninnies who have cut all the mental health care dollars, these deaths are likely on your heads.
Reply to this comment
by rainyday9 January 11, 2008 10:40 AM PST
How incredibly sad - she loses a home, electricity shut off - sounds like trying to survive and looking for an answer to her financial problems, led her to become a religious nut. Why are we as a nation, not dedicated to making sure Americans have heat, running water, electricity, and a home? Old folks are freezing in their homes after the utility shuts off the heat - we have no insurance - I hope the presidential candidates see these stories - and, this is just another strike against the "home-schooling" craze. We have public schools. Too many religious freaks and anti-social hermits, are determining that they will HOME SCHOOL their kids - in a public school, these children would have been looked for after a few days of unexcused (or excused) absence -

enough - I could go on and on...
Reply to this comment
by berniepeders January 11, 2008 10:59 AM PST
It used to be (pre-1960s)that people like this WERE locked up in mental institutions where they were watched and taken care of. Then someone decided that it wasn''t constitutional to keep them locked up because they hadn''t broken any laws, so they let them all out. NOW look where we''re at. Nut cases running around all over the country, how many murders/serial killings.
Reply to this comment
by berniepeders January 11, 2008 11:04 AM PST
Why are we as a nation, not dedicated to making sure Americans have heat, running water, electricity, and a home? Posted by Rainyday9 at 10:40 AM : Jan 11, 2008

Let''s see...take money from people who work for a living and save what they can, and give it to people who don''t feel like working, or for some reason can''t work. So everyone has the same standard of living...
rob from the rich, give to the poor. Where have I heard this before? Communism? Socialism? Somebody help me here...
Reply to this comment
by abigail4476 January 11, 2008 11:04 AM PST
"...and, this is just another strike against the "home-schooling" craze. We have public schools. Too many religious freaks and anti-social hermits, are determining that they will HOME SCHOOL their kids - in a public school, these children would have been looked for after a few days of unexcused (or excused) absence -"

Um. Wow. There are almost no words for the stupidity in your post. An EVIL person does an EVIL deed, but its not her fault? I''m sure those girls would beg to differ, if they had had a chance. People have been poor for centuries, and they didn''t kill their children over it. There are people in other countries who would call our poorest people WEALTHY by comparison. There is NO excuse or reason for what this woman did, except that maybe she is mentally ill.

The government doesn''t cause mental illness, and neither does homeschooling. If these children had been going to public school, the crime simply would have been NOTICED sooner; that doesn''t mean it would have been prevented.

This woman makes me want to throw up. I have zero sympathy for mothers who behave like animals. Actually, most animal mothers behave better.

Please explain to me how being COLD can lead you to murder your own children!
Reply to this comment
by berniepeders January 11, 2008 11:13 AM PST
michaelt302:

Excellent points.
Reply to this comment
by re_evolve January 11, 2008 11:16 AM PST
Religion is a form of mental illness
Reply to this comment
by random_radar January 11, 2008 11:21 AM PST
People pick out any aspect of this woman''s background to attack what they personally hate--religion, home school, fathers, blacks, and so on. Just because one person has an affiliation with a group does not make that group bad.

And then there are people who seize upon any tragedy to justify increasing the Police State. The government is not the solution to our problems. The government is not going to prevent disasters or tragedies, and it does a lousy job of solving our problems.

If you are better off being taken care of by the government, you must be a pretty sorry excuse for a human being. Real people can take care of themselves and solve their own problems.

Now that the facts are coming out, we find that Banita Jacks did have family and friends trying to help her. She went to great lengths to avoid help. That is unfortunate, but I don''t think it justifies instituting totalitarian controls over all our lives. Bad things will happen, and we should be free to do our best to solve our problems.
Reply to this comment
by bigmojobone January 11, 2008 11:25 AM PST
michaelt302 & berniepeders & abigail4476 thank you for your posts. I concur with all of you.
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 11:34 AM PST
A perfect storm of dysfuntion, all too common today.
Mental illness. Too much religion, not enough education, dead beat dads.
Really bad choices.
Tragedy.
Reply to this comment
by faerie2 January 11, 2008 11:34 AM PST
rob from the rich, give to the poor. Where have I heard this before? Communism? Socialism? Somebody help me here...

Posted by berniepeders at 11:04 AM : Jan 11, 2008

Robin Hood?
Reply to this comment
by faerie2 January 11, 2008 11:36 AM PST
It seems to me it''s probably just another dead-beat mom. They have kids to get money from the fathers, then when they no longer get that money they take it out on the kids. Maybe this woman isn''t crazy, maybe she''s crafty. Decided it was easier to kill the kids, play crazy and live a life being taken care of instead of having to take care of her kids.
Reply to this comment
by cs4466 January 11, 2008 11:40 AM PST
They be demons massah! Demons! Praise the lord! (rolls eyes)
Reply to this comment
by Krazcarl January 11, 2008 11:41 AM PST
Why do folks say she was a good mother her children are DEAD by her own hand a crack addict to be sure no one else is that stupid should be hung at the town sguare....
Reply to this comment
by deemsnyd January 11, 2008 11:47 AM PST
This is not religion''s fault, this is not Christian''s fault, this is not Bush''s fault, this is the criminal''s fault. Even if she''s found "insane", sometimes we embroil ourselves in such destructive behavior for so long even being insane is our fault. Wake up! It''s her fault, no one else''s
Reply to this comment
by Krazcarl January 11, 2008 11:47 AM PST
I get so tired of THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT...grew up in fanatic religien devil don''t make you do jack you do it cause theres something in it for you and place the blame on deamons never seen god never seen a deamon just folks trying to justify thier stupidity on something they heard in church.
Reply to this comment
by deemsnyd January 11, 2008 11:49 AM PST
Posted by jmcgilvray at 11:37 AM : Jan 11, 2008,

Ain''t you so smart?? Makes me ashamed to be on the same board. If the rest of us possessed your intelligence, we would have no need of our worthless opinions.
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 11:49 AM PST
BEWARE OF THE "DEEPLY" RELIGIOUS! And whatever you do... DO NOT elect another religious delusional to the presidency. mcgilvray

Seconded.
One right wing nutbar per century is more than enough.


Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 11:52 AM PST
Religion is the opiate of the people.
Karl Marx
Reply to this comment
by olebd January 11, 2008 11:54 AM PST
I wish those demons they hear would tell them to kill themselves instead of somebody else!
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 11:59 AM PST
But a left wing nutbar is OK!!! I like cats.

Bush/ Cheney have trashed the USA at home and abroad.The left couldn''t possibly be any worse.

This article is about a mentally deranged murderer, remember?


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Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:11 PM PST
[there was evidence that Brittany had been stabbed, the charging documents state. There was evidence of binding on the necks of the Tatianna and N''Kiah, and evidence of blunt force injury to the head of Aja and binding on her neck, according to the documents. ]

the devil made her do it.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:16 PM PST
[We have a few shortcomings, but no country has a perfect health-care system. Don''''t believe me, go travel to Europe for a few months and try their systems out. My hunch is you just dislike your own country, and you''''re looking for yet another thing to whine about.]
[Posted by michaelt302 at 10:57 AM : Jan 11, 2008]

stating that our medical system is the best in the world is like me saying that my *** doesn''t stink as much as yours.

regardless of it''s relative attributes ... nobody wants to be around it ... and in the end it all sucks.

we have many more than a few shortcomings ... and you''ll discover that when you''re faced w/ having to deal with it.
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 12:16 PM PST
The history of religion is one of bloodshed and irrationality.
The founders had it right. Separation of church and state.
Keep your religion to yourself.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:17 PM PST
[But a left wing nutbar is OK!!!]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 11:55 AM : Jan 11, 2008]

no ... but the ratio is like 1000/1.
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 12:18 PM PST
hate drunk/sick lefty hyperbole artists,
Tinky-Winky vs. Pokemon in the Lunatic ,I like cats, try making sense....

pot calling the kettle ??
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:19 PM PST
[I am unable to understand in any-way the mind of this person.]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:06 PM : Jan 11, 2008]

looks like you suffer from this problem w/ more than jsut this woman.
Reply to this comment
by rushman71 January 11, 2008 12:20 PM PST
jmcgilvray: Tell me, does,"Love your neighbor as your brother" sound wrong, or what about,"Be good with one another." Does that sound bad to you? Jesus died for your sins. Do you have a problem with that?
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:24 PM PST
[... but the stupid hold on to their "belief-system" as a psychological security blanket. Their maturity level is flatlined at zero!]
[Posted by Spectrum108]

everyone develops a belief system as a psychological mechanism to deal w/ all the things people face every day. they provide a grounding for you ... so everything doesn''t confuse and overwhelm. it provides a filter to identify that which is safe ... and that which may not be.

some use religion for this more than others ... how else would one deal w/ the reality that we''re all just grains of insignifigant sand in the whole of the universe?
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:27 PM PST
[Then you can get back into reality and realize you do not know me and are projecting your own self loathing on others. A little counseling will do wonders for your delusions.]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:23 PM : Jan 11, 2008]

let''s see ... i don''t know you ... and i''m projecting my own self loathing on others? is that what you''re saying.

here was YOUR response:

"It''''s OK Bobbie boo. There''''s a lot of psycho''''s out there like you. You''''re not alone. Did you miss your meds today?? Go get your witttle pills and swallow them down with a nice glass ofmilk."

who''s the one who''s a psycho ... making determinations of who others are based on nothing?
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 12:28 PM PST
A little counseling will do wonders for your delusions.

ilike cats.......but do cats like you ??? Are you a religious nut? Is that your problem? You like attacking others.Is that what religion has taught you/
Do you even follow this discussion ???


Reply to this comment
by rushman71 January 11, 2008 12:32 PM PST
jmcgilvray: Bertrand Russell may have been smart, but he sure is stupid in common sense!!! How can you believe in opinion, but discard the facts!!!
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:32 PM PST
[Yup that''''s exactly what you did.]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:28 PM : Jan 11, 2008]

i know you are ... but what am i?

is this all you have. how about some anti-liberal rants ... or blaming something on clinton.

should i start ignoring you now?
Reply to this comment
by deemsnyd January 11, 2008 12:32 PM PST
THE "DEEPLY" RELIGIOUS, or the "Fundamentalist Fanatics" all suffer from the same religious-psychosis that makes them feel special above everyone else. And where to they get it? From the so-called normal religious people and their little churches as the breading ground for lunacy since their already howling at the moon over space-gods, devils, demons and saviors. None of which is true at all. Science and Archeology has pretty much disproved every last bit of these lies, but the stupid hold on to their "belief-system" as a psychological security blanket. Their maturity level is flatlined at zero!

Posted by Spectrum108 at 12:12 PM : Jan 11, 2008


I''m glad you have everything figured out. Now the rest of us don''t have to bother you with our worthless opinions. Way to go on the sweeping generalization there, buddy. The last time I checked, having an attutude like this about any religion or skin color had a name....Biggot, yeah, that''s it.
Reply to this comment
by rushman71 January 11, 2008 12:34 PM PST
The last time I checked, having an attutude like this about any religion or skin color had a name....Biggot, yeah, that''''s it.
Posted by deemsnyd

How true, how true. That was a good one!!!
Reply to this comment
by excoachken January 11, 2008 12:36 PM PST
Sounds like Banita is a good candidate as Huckabees vice president.
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 12:37 PM PST
know you are ... but what am i?

is this all you have. how about some anti-liberal rants ... or blaming something on clinton.

should i start ignoring you now?
Reply to this comment
by mitywhity January 11, 2008 12:38 PM PST
"...smells of death..." ???? What, don''t they de-louse and shower these people down anymore? How could anyone in a cell with her go to sleep? Creepy.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:42 PM PST
[You made the rules - I played your game]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:35 PM : Jan 11, 2008]

you''re playing your own game ... i''m just reflecting it on back to you.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 January 11, 2008 12:48 PM PST
she was described as a "GOOD" Christian woman and "GOOD" Evangelical,

Almost like the Evangelikal we have in the White House
murdering *** = conservative christians
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey January 11, 2008 12:52 PM PST
[[I am unable to understand in any-way the mind of this person.]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:06 PM : Jan 11, 2008]
[Posted by ilikecats1 at 12:43 PM : Jan 11, 2008]

you''re unable to understand becasue you''re a close minded idiot. it''s clear as day that this woman suffers from mental illness.

do you understand now ... bozo?
Reply to this comment
by yamuttya January 11, 2008 12:54 PM PST
bobnjersey

you had it right.
Just ignore her, its not worth it.
Theres none so blind as those who won''t see.
Reply to this comment
by fitedafuture January 11, 2008 1:02 PM PST
murdering *** = conservative christians

Posted by joyous88
----------
joyous88 = lying bigot

DO NOT BLAME THIS ON CHRISTIANITY..
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