July 29th, 2009–A judge found Banita Jacks guilty Wednesday of felony murder in the deaths of her four children, a case that shocked the region after it was discovered Jacks had lived with the girls’ decomposing bodies for months.
Jacks was also found guilty of first-degree murder of her three youngest daughters — Tatianna Jacks, 11, N’Kiah Fogle, 6, and Aja Fogle, 5 — but not guilty of the first-degree murder of the eldest, Brittany, 16. She was also convicted of felony cruelty to children, the predicate charge for felony murder.
Jacks showed no emotion as the verdict was read, reported ABC 7′s Jennifer Donelan.
“What happened to those children was torture and maltreatment,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jackson, the lead prosecutor, in a news conference. “There were atrocities inflicted upon four children, her own children.”
“I feel bad for Ms. Jacks,” said Jacks’ attorney, Peter Krauthamer, who pledged to appeal the verdict. “She’s looking at life in jail.”
Judge Frederick Weisberg’s verdict came after a two-week bench trial. He told the court that his decision was a challenging one. He noted that medical examiners were unable to conclusively determine the causes of death in all four cases because the bodies were so badly decomposed. He also noted, however, that the findings from medical examiners definitely pointed toward homicide.
Judge Weisberg said he found Jacks not guilty of first-degree murder in Brittany’s death because prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jacks had stabbed her 16-year-old daughter. Weisberg speculated that because Brittany had been imprisoned in a room, cut-off from the outside world, the wounds could have been self-inflicted.
He also discussed the issue of consciousness of guilt, noting that on the day in January when officials went to Banita Jacks’ home, she tried to prevent them from finding the four bodies. He also noted that Jacks refused to answer some questions from police when they interviewed her after finding the bodies, asking instead to speak to a lawyer because, she told detectives, she didn’t want to get in trouble.
Judge Weisberg also noted the evidence showed Jacks failed to get any of the girls medical attention, that she didn’t seek help from anyone and that she had access to money and still didn’t feed her children.
“This is very sad,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Sines. “No one is walking out of this courthouse happy we can’t bring these kids back.”
