A Milwaukee mother who went missing with her two daughters earlier this month were found dead in a garage last Sunday, authorities revealed.
Amarah “Jerica” Banks,26, and her daughters Zaniya Ivery, 4, and Camaria Banks, 5, were reported missing by their family.
The last time the three were seen was on February 8, a day after Amarah’s one-year-old son Arzel Ivery Jr. who died of asthma complications was buried.
Police issued an amber alert for Banks and her children on February 15. It stated they were, “missing under suspicious circumstances” and they were believed to be last escorted by Arzel Ivery, Banks’ 25-year-old boyfriend.
Ivery was apprehended in Memphis, Tennessee after a family member heard him going on about an incident in Milwaukee.
He was then questioned by investigators from Milwaukee. Their questioning led Ivery to reveal the whereabouts of Banks and her daughters. His lead panned out and they were found in her garage dead.
Currently, Ivery is in the custody of Tennessee law enforcement authorities on a charge of fugitive from justice without warrant. For now, no concrete connection has been established between him and the deaths and he is yet to be charged.
However, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales stated that the incident was a case of domestic violence.
On February 15, Ivery was issued with a felony charge of aggravated battery. The charges could be upgraded depending on the results of the autopsy which is yet to be received from the coroner’s office.
According to the Medical Examiner, the autopsies have been scheduled for Monday.
Bank’s family is devastated by the incident and noticed something was wrong when she had not reached out to them after Arzel’s funeral.
Her mother, Valeria Banks told WITI,”she’s just the kind of person that’s very consistent,” Spinner-Banks said. “For her not to get in contact with us, and not to let us know that something is wrong.”
Her aunt, Shilloh Loper also told Fox 6 Now how terribly Bank’s death had affected her.
“You have to be a heartless monster to do something like this to someone. I don’t know what to even say, but I know I’ll never get over this. Not ever in my life will I get over this. I will never get over someone doing this to my niece.”
