WASHINGTON – Two women were indicted by a grand jury Thursday for the January killing of two children and attempted murder of two others in Montgomery County.
The women said it was an exorcism.
In January, Montgomery County Police charged 21-year-old Monifa Denise Sanford and 28-year-old Zakieya Latrice Avery with murder in the deaths of two of Avery’s children.
The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the children, 1-year-old Norell Harris and 2-year-old Zyana Harris, died from multiple stab wounds.
The two other siblings were seriously injured but survived.
Police were called to the home on Cherry Bend Drive, off Great Seneca Highway, around 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 18 after a neighbor reported a car, bloody inside and out, was left open in the driveway.
Police were able to enter the home with keys found in the car and found a bloody scene inside.
According to police, the women thought the children were possessed by demonic spirits.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is life in prison.
The night before the children were found, police responded to the home for reports a child was alone in a car, but the women wouldn’t let them inside.
There was no reason to believe the child was in danger and officers asked Child Protective Services to follow up the next morning. However, case workers didn’t get a chance.
Prior to the deaths, social services had no contact with the mother.
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