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US mom kills 4 daughters
11/01/2008 11:29 - (SA)
Washington - A mother found in her home with the decomposing bodies of her four daughters was charged with murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep.
Banita Jacks, 33, was charged on Thursday with four counts of first-degree murder and appeared in District of Columbia Superior Court. She told police that the deaths occurred before a utility turned off her electricity, which prosecutors said was in September 2007, according to charging documents.
The bodies of the girls - ages 5 to 17 - were found on Wednesday when deputy US marshals served an eviction notice at the apartment in southeast Washington.
"I don't think anyone in the city can remember a case involving this many young people who have died in such a tragic way," Mayor Adrian M Fenty said.
Jacks told investigators that the children were possessed by demons and began dying in their sleep, one by one, within a seven-day period, documents say. She also said she had not fed her children for a substantial time before their deaths.
Medical examiner Dr. Marie-Lydie Pierre-Louis said the bodies were in the apartment more than 15 days, "based on the insects that were found there".
Jacks could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
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