Jan 14, 2008 2:11 pm US/Pacific
Girls' Deaths Spark D.C. Agency Firings
WASHINGTON (CBS News) ―
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Banita Jacks is accused of killing her four daughters on the grounds that they were possessed by demons.
CBS
At least six city employees will be
terminated for improperly handling concerns about a woman's care for
her four daughters, who were later found dead in their home, Mayor
Adrian M. Fenty said Monday.
The decomposing bodies of the girls - ages 5 to 17 - were found
Wednesday when deputy U.S. marshals served an eviction notice at the
apartment.
Kathy Lopes, a social worker at the school where the oldest girl
was a student, tried twice in April to raise the alarm about the
family. At a news conference Monday, Fenty played tapes of two calls
she made after Brittany Jacks stopped coming to school to try to get
city agencies to investigate.
Lopes describes visiting the house, but not being let in by the
mother, Banita Jacks. She said Jacks told her she did not want Brittany
going to school because she was afraid she would run away. She reported
seeing two or three younger children, who also were not in school.
In a follow-up call, Lopes expresses frustration at being transferred among several departments.
"It appears the mother is suffering from some mental illness and is holding all the children hostage," she says on the tape.
A Child and Family Services social worker made at least two
subsequent visits to Jacks's rowhouse, but no one answered the door either time.
Less than three weeks later, Child and Family Services staffers
closed the case, after receiving an unconfirmed report that the Jacks
family might have moved to Maryland to live with relatives, reports the
Washington Post.
The six employees who are being terminated work for the District of
Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency. More workers could lose
their jobs as an investigation continues, Fenty said.
Fenty praised Lopes, who works at the Booker T. Washington Public Charter School.
"Unfortunately, she stands out really because so many other people
didn't do their job in the way they're supposed to," Fenty said. "The
sense of urgency that she showed should be shown in every case and
every call that comes through our hot line."
The social worker's call was not the first time someone had tried to alert city officials about the family's situation.
In July 2006, a nurse who had been treating the father of Jacks'
youngest two daughters at George Washington Hospital contacted the
Child and Family Services hotline to say the family was living in a van
and that both parents were struggling with substance abuse. The nurse
couldn't provide an address for the family so social workers did not
follow up.
Jacks has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. She
told investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died
in their sleep.
Authorities have not yet determined when the girls died, but say it
was at least 15 days before they were found. Jacks' statement to police
indicated they had been dead for months.
The medical examiner's office has said there is evidence that
Brittany Jacks, 17, had been stabbed and that Tatianna Jacks, 11;
N'Kiah Fogle, 6; and Aja Fogle, 5, had markings on their necks and
other signs of trauma.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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