US & World News

WASHINGTON (CBS) ― A mother found in her home with the decomposing bodies of her four daughters was suspected by a social worker of holding one of the girls hostage as early as April, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Friday.

The bodies of the girls -- ages 5, 6, 11, and 17 -- were found Wednesday when deputy U.S. marshals served an eviction notice at the apartment in southeast Washington. Banita Jacks was charged Thursday with four counts of first-degree murder after reportedly telling investigators that the children were possessed by demons and died in their sleep.

The oldest girl, Brittany Jacks, stopped attending classes in early March. A social worker from the Booker T. Washington Public Charter School went to the home April 30 and called police after she was denied entry, Fenty said.

The social worker reported that after speaking to Jacks she appeared to have mental health issues and "that she was possibly holding Brittany hostage by refusing to allow her to attend school," Fenty said. A police officer who responded also was denied entry, but Jacks told him she was home-schooling the children. LLoyd Nolan, a public defender representing Jacks, said the defense team would have no comment on what Fenty said.

Fenty acknowledged at Friday's news conference that the city missed numerous opportunities to help Jacks and her children. He said social workers visited the home several more times, but there was no answer when they knocked at the door. He said the case was closed May 16 because social workers believed the family had moved to Charles County in Maryland after finding an address of a relative they believed she was living with.

"It's completely unclear why they made that determination," the mayor's spokeswoman, Carrie Brooks said. The city was continuing to investigate.

By mid-June, Charles County officials said were not able to locate the family and "nothing (was) done to reopen the case," D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said. A spokeswoman the D.C. Child and Family Services agency referred all calls to the mayor's office.

It wasn't until Wednesday morning, when marshals visited the home, that authorities found the girls' bodies. Jacks appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday, and told police that the deaths occurred before a utility turned off her electricity, which prosecutors said was in September 2007, according to charging documents.

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.

Jacks appeared in court in a white jump suit and sandals. She did not speak during the hearing. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Karen Howze ordered her held without bond. Her attorneys had argued that she should be released to the custody of an adult relative pending trial.

Besides Brittany, the charging documents identify the children as Tatianna Jacks, 11; N'Kiah Fogle, 6; and Aja Fogle, 5. Dozens of toys, fresh flowers and balloons lined a fence outside the home Friday. "Rest in peace" was scrawled in black magic marker on some of the balloons, and a white card read "With Deepest Sympathy." A child's hair dryer, still in its plastic wrapping, was placed nearby.

Although autopsies are incomplete, the medical examiner's office reported that 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 bodies of the three younger children on the floor of an unfurnished room, according to the charging documents. Brittany's body was on the floor of another bare room.

The three children were dressed in white T-shirts, the documents said.

Brittany's body was partially covered by a white T-shirt. An object that appeared to be a steak knife lay nearby, and there was a dried maroon liquid around the body, according to the documents.

CBS station WJZ-TV in Baltimore's Sally Thorner reports the bodies were found Wednesday morning by U.S. Marshals, who arrived at the home in southeast Washington to serve an eviction notice. They found the badly decomposing bodies on the second floor of a small, two-story brick building after a routine search.

"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," Fenty said previously when details of the incident began to emerge.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)