Zakieya Latrice Avery and Monifa Denise Sanford denied bond

By Kevin Lewis - Wjla.com

January 21, 2014

(WJLA) - Silence blanketed a Montgomery County District courtroom Tuesday as prosecutors vividly described an attempted exorcism that left two toddlers dead and their two older siblings critically injured.

The children's mother, Zakieya Avery, 28, and Avery's close friend Monifa Sanford, 21, are facing two counts of first degree murder, and two counts of first degree attempted murder.

Around 9:30 a.m. Friday, police arrived at the horrifyingly bizarre and heartbreaking crime scene in the 19000 block of Cherry Bend Drive in Germantown. Inside the modest two-story townhome, officers located the lifeless bodies of one-year-old Norell Harris and his two-year-old sister Zyana Harris. Both were lying in their mother's bed. Five-year-old Taniya Harris was barely clinging to life in an adjacent bedroom, curled in the fetal position with multiple stab wounds.

"As police entered the house, Zakieya Avery was coming down the stairs with her oldest son [Martello Harris, eight] when Avery fled out the back door," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said while addressing the court.

Members of ExouSia Ministries, a small Christian congregation which worships at a Germantown elementary school, Avery and Sanford told investigators they'd recently created a side-car clan they called the Demon Assassins. The four-member group maintained a rank and order, with Avery positioned as "commander" and Sanford, "sergeant."

According to comments made in court, Avery and Sanford had scheduled an in-home exorcism Thursday evening for a group member named Troy. Only problem, Troy never arrived for his appointment. Then around 5 a.m. Friday, both women reportedly became convinced a demonic spirit had invaded the soul's of all four children, turning their young eyes dark black.

"It began with an attempt to break the neck of the youngest child, it proceeded into strangulation and ultimately graduated into stabbing," McCarthy said.

Despite deeply penetrating stab wounds, three of the four children weren't covered in blood when officers arrived, but instead wrapped in wet blankets.

"The women, after the attack, showered together to wash the blood off themselves, cleaned-up the crime scene and then prepared the children to see God," McCarthy added. "It was to be an everlasting life in heaven."

In court, the prosecution disclosed Avery's record of involuntary commitments for psychiatric delusions, and Sanford's history of suicide attempts. Consequently, Judge Gary Everngam ordered jailers will transfer both women to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum security psychiatric facility located in Jessup. There the church friends turned accused criminals will undergo extensive mental health testing to see if either is equipped to stand trial.

"We believe that she knew she did something wrong. However, neither woman appears outwardly remorseful for what they did," Montgomery County Police Department Capt. Marcus Jones remarked.

Capt. Jones, who spent hours combing through the unparalleled crime scene, says despite Hollywood's portrayal of exorcisms and witchcraft, Avery's townhome was remarkably normal.

"There were no candles, documents, or literature, nothing indicating a ritual had been held," Capt. Jones added.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Avery had enlisted district public defender Brian Shefferman, while Sanford's family had hired private defense attorneys Edward Leyden and Dana Jones-Oliver.

"She's always been known as a very nurturing, affectionate caregiver, so this is shocking," Jones-Oliver remarked. "It shocks the conscious of not only people watching television or reading the newspaper, but also her [Sanford's] family as well."

Police say Sanford, who was enrolled at Montgomery College, met Avery about eight months ago. Despite the brutal nature of their alleged crimes, both women spoke quietly and maintained meek outer appearances during their bond hearings Tuesday. The close friends will remain behind bars without bond, pending their psychiatric evaluations.

Martello Harris, 8, and Taniya Harris, 5, continue to recover from their critical stab wounds. Martello, police say, could be released from an area hospital later this week.

"It's just an unbelievable story that I hope I never have to witness again in my career, or anybody else for that matter," Capt. Jones concluded.

911 tapes show how close neighbor came to saving toddlers 'murdered by mother in exorcism' when he called to report child left in car for 45 minutes

• Norell Harris, 1, and his sister Zyana, 2, found dead on Friday morning

• Police received a call from a concerned neighbour at 10.15pm, Thursday

• They reported a child having been left inside a car for 45 minutes

• Another neighbour called on Friday morning after seeing a bloody knife

• Mother, Zakieya Avery, 28, faces two counts of first-degree murder

• She is also charged with the attempted murder of her two older children

• Second woman, Monifa Sanford, 21, also charged with the murders

• Police say they they came upon a 'very bloody scene' involving six people

By Helen Pow and Daniel Miller - DailyMail.co.uk

January 21, 2014

A worried neighbour of two toddlers, allegedly murdered by their mother in an exorcism ritual, called police the night before they were killed to report a child had been left in a car for 45 minutes.

One-year-old Norell Harris and his two-year-old sister, Zyana, were found dead in their beds at their home in Germantown, Maryland on Friday morning.

Their mother, Zakieya Avery, 28 and another woman Monifa Sanford, 21, who had been staying with the family, have been charged with their murder and the attempted murder of their older brother and sister.

Yesterday Montgomery County police released recordings of two 911 calls made by concerned neighbours, one on Thursday night and the second on Friday morning.

In the first call, made on Thursday at around 10.15pm, the neighbour is heard saying: 'I have a baby in the car that's been here for 45 minutes.'

He then tells the receptionist that two women were coming after him.

He is then heard saying: 'Back up off me, ma'am. That is my business, a kid in the car for an hour that is my business.'

The caller later claims that the woman was 'talking to herself'.

Police said they did respond to that first call, but when they arrived at the address the women and the children were already inside, and they did not persue the matter.

They said they had reported the incident to Child Protective Services who were due to call round on Friday morning.

The second 911 call was received at 9.23am on Friday. A different neighbour reported hearing noises the previous night and then finding a knife with blood on it inside a parked car.

The caller says: 'In the car outside there is a knife with blood. The car has the door open, the house has windows open up there.

'I heard loud noises in the night, I just woke up. I heard, like, jumping. I didn't know, they have 4 children, so I don't know if the kids are just doing that every day.'

'So I didn't know. I just didn't think anything. I took my kids to school and I saw the knife with blood outside, I see the car with the door open, I see the windows open. I don't know if something happened there. The knife is still there.'

Tragically later that morning police discovered the two youngsters dead and their five-year-old and eight-year-old siblings suffering from stab wounds.

Their mother, Zakieya Avery, 28, faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

According to Montgomery County police captain Marcus Jones, Avery told detectives she 'thought the devil was in the kids.'

'That's sort of the thing she centered it around as to why she had to conduct an exorcism,' he said. 'She just thought that there were evil spirits within the kids.'

Avery was arrested when authorities say she tried to flee from a townhouse near the vehicle. Police found the two children dead inside the home, and their siblings and Sanford were taken to the hospital with injuries.

Police said Sanford was arrested Saturday after being released from the hospital.

The tragedy unfolded at around 9.30 a.m. Friday when police officers responded to a home in the 1900 block of Cherry Bend Drive, where they came upon a 'very bloody scene' involving six people, four of them children under the age of 10.

The two youngest children were pronounced dead at the scene.

Yesterday the children's grandmother Ida Johnson, 90, told of her shock, describing the two young victims as the 'sweetest things'.

She said: 'I will cherish those memories forever,' she told MailOnline. 'Their lives were cut short and they had no say so whatsoever. It doesn't make sense.'

Mrs Johnson said the children's father, her grandson, Martin Luther Harris Jr. has traveled to the Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. to be with his surviving son and daughter who were both listed in stable condition Sunday.

Johnson said she didn't know if Avery had a history of violence or when the woman's relationship with Harris deteriorated.

'I don't know what was going on between the family, all I know is they were sweet kids,' she said.

The great-grandmother added: 'It's heartbreaking. Something should be done about who did it. But at the same time, it's not going to bring the children back. I just hope they get (what they deserve).'

Avery's stepgrandmother, Sylvia Wade, told The Washington Post that Avery was 'humble and meek' and said she loved her children.

'I don't know what triggered it,' she said. 'She wasn't herself. When a person is not of themselves, they are not responsible for what they are doing. They are in another zone.'

The other woman charged in the killings, Monifa Denise Sanford, 21, made similar statements about evil spirits during questioning, police said. The two women had been living together at the house in recent months.

Jones said the women are believed to have met each other at a church, which he identified as Exousia Ministries in Germantown.

The pastor of that congregation, Darryl Jones, declined to discuss the case after services at an elementary school Sunday or even confirm that the women worshipped there.

'This is a tragic situation. We're keeping the family in (our) prayers and we are respecting the privacy of the family,' he said.

Both women were being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and are not expected to appear in court until Tuesday afternoon. Court records do not list lawyers for the women.

Martin Luther Harris Jr. relocated to Los Angeles after he separated from Avery.

His mother, Alonda Lord, changed her Facebook profile to a picture of the four children Saturday.

'Cases like this are heartbreaking' said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger. 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims along with the 911 operators, police officers, evidence technicians, and fire and EMS personnel that responded,' according to the station WUSA9.

According to her Facebook page, Avery lives with her family in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and works as a pharmacy technician.

Most recently, she wished happy New Year to her family on January 2. In mid-November, the 28-year-old indicated that she was in a new relationship.

Maryland police release 911 calls in exorcism deaths of two children

In one 911 call placed outside the Germantown home on Thursday night a man reported a baby found unattended in a car. Soon after the man tells the operator that two women have come out for the child and are 'attacking' him. Monifa Sanford and Zakieya Latrice Avery are charged with killing two of Avery’s children.

The Associated Press - NYDailyNews.com

Monday, January 20, 2014

GERMANTOWN, Md. — Montgomery County Police have released 911 calls related to the deaths of two children in Maryland, deaths police attributed to two women who believed they were performing an exorcism.

The release of the recordings Monday comes two days after police charged Monifa Sanford and Zakieya Latrice Avery with killing two of Avery’s children, ages 1 and 2. The women are also facing attempted-murder charges for injuring the children’s siblings, ages 5 and 8.

Police had said previously that they were called Thursday to the Germantown home where the women lived after a 911 caller reported a child unattended in a vehicle.

By the time the police arrived, the child was no longer in the car and no one answered the door at a nearby home.

Police returned Friday when a neighbor called 911 after noticing a car with the door open and a knife that appeared to have blood on it. That’s when the children were found dead inside a nearby home. Police said they suffered multiple stab wounds.

In a 911 phone call from Thursday about 10:15 p.m., a male caller reports a baby being left unattended in a blue Toyota Corolla.

While the man is talking to the operator, he reports that two women have come out for the child and are “attacking” the caller and walking after him.

He can be heard telling someone, “You need to back up off me, ma’am” and “A baby in the car for an hour is my business.” He later tells the 911 operator that one of the women is talking to herself.

In a 911 call from 9:30 a.m. Friday a female caller reports seeing a blue Toyota with a door open and a knife with blood on it.

“I heard loud noises in the night,” says the woman, a neighbor.

She adds that she heard what sounded like “jumping” and “running” but didn’t think anything of it because there were four children living in the home.

Avery, 28, told investigators that she thought an exorcism of her children was necessary to remove the presence of the devil and evil spirits, said Capt. Marcus Jones, director of the police department’s major crimes division.

Sanford, 21, made similar statements during questioning, police said.

'She thought the devil was in the kids': Mother-of-four claims evil spirits made her 'stab-to-death 1-year-old and 2-year-old in shocking exorcism that left two older children seriously injured'

• Zakieya Avery, 28, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of her 1-year-old son Norell Harris and 2-year-old daughter Zyana

• Avery's two older children, ages 5 and 8, suffered multiple stab wounds

• All children were believed to be asleep in their room when they were stabbed

• Told police 'she thought there were evil spirits within the kids'

DailyMail.co.uk

January 19, 2014

A Maryland mother-of-four told police she 'thought the devil was in the kids' after she allegedly stabbed-to-death her 1-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter and seriously injured her two older children during a disturbing exorcism.

'That's sort of the thing she centered it around as to why she had to conduct an exorcism. She just thought that there were evil spirits within the kids,' Montgomery County police captain Marcus Jones said Sunday night of Zakieya Latrice Avery, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the shocking slayings of her babies.

Officers responded to Avery's Germantown home Friday morning following a neighbor's 911 call and found little Norell Harris, and his 2-year-old sister Zyana Harris dead in a disturbing, blood-splattered crime scene.

Two other siblings, 5-year-old Taniya Harris and 8-year-old Martello Harris, were found injured with stabbing wounds. The surviving children remained in hospital Sunday and are listed in stable condition.

Avery's stepgrandmother, Sylvia Wade, told The Washington Post that Avery was 'humble and meek' and said she loved her children.

'I don't know what triggered it,' she said. 'She wasn't herself. When a person is not of themselves, they are not responsible for what they are doing. They are in another zone.'

Another woman charged in the killings, Monifa Denise Sanford, 21, made similar statements about evil spirits during questioning, police said. Sanford was arrested Saturday. The two women had been living together at the house in recent months.

Jones said the women are believed to have met each other at a church, which he identified as Exousia Ministries in Germantown.

The pastor of that congregation, Darryl Jones, declined to discuss the case after services at an elementary school Sunday or even confirm that the women worshipped there.

'This is a tragic situation. We're keeping the family in (our) prayers and we are respecting the privacy of the family,' he said.

Both women were being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and are not expected to appear in court until Tuesday afternoon. Court records do not list lawyers for the women.

The father of the children, Martin Luther Harris Jr., relocated to Los Angeles after he separated from Avery. He was returning to be with the surviving children, Jones said.

Offices were called to the Germantown home where the women lived on Friday. A neighbor called 911 after noticing a vehicle with the door open and a bloody knife laying outside of the vehicle.

Avery was arrested when authorities say she tried to flee from a townhouse near the vehicle. Police found the two children dead inside the home, and their siblings and Sanford were taken to the hospital with injuries.

Police say Sanford was arrested Saturday after being released from the hospital.

The tragedy unfolded at around 9.30 a.m. Friday when police officers responded to a home in the 1900 block of Cherry Bend Drive, where they came upon a 'very bloody scene' involving six people, four of them children under the age of 10.

One-year-old Norell and 2-year-old Zyana were pronounced dead at the scene. Their siblings were rushed to a hospital to be treated for multiple stab wounds.

NBC Washington reported that the children were found in the bedrooms and may have been stabbed in their sleep.

The two surviving victims of the attack were treated at Children's National Medical Center.

'Cases like this are heartbreaking' said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger. 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims along with the 911 operators, police officers, evidence technicians, and fire and EMS personnel that responded,' according to the station WUSA9.

According to her Facebook page, Avery lives with her family in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and works as a pharmacy technician.

Most recently, she wished happy New Year to her family on January 2. In mid-November, the 28-year-old indicated that she was in a new relationship.

Avery's four children, including the two deceased toddlers, were fathered by her ex-boyfriend Harris, 30, a Philadelphia native who currently lives in Los Angeles.