February 20, 2008
Jacks Daughters Identified, Cause of Deaths Undetermined
Mayor Adrian Fenty announced this morning that Banita Jacks' four murdered daughters have been positively identified through a mix of dental records and DNA analysis. The victims can now be confirmed to be Brittany Jacks, Tatiana Jacks, N’Kiah Fogle and Aja Fogle, all sisters between the ages of 5 and 16. All four decomposed bodies were discovered Jan. 9 in their home on the 4200 block of Sixth Street SE.
In a press release earlier this afternoon, the mayor's office said that the medical examiner has ruled that the cause of all four deaths is "undetermined," though all four have officially been ruled homicides.
All toxicology reports were negative. A final ruling on the time of death can not be determined until the entomology report is finalized. The death certificates for the four girls were signed this morning and the family members were notified.It's not clear when the entomology report in question will be completed, or if nailing down the times of death could help determine exact causes.The bodies of the four girls cannot be released to the family until the public defender has had the opportunity to obtain its own expert opinion on the manner of death and identification. Mayor Fenty has committed to assist in arrangements and to help defray the cost of any funeral for the four girls using constituent services funds, but is awaiting direction from the family.
Photo of Mayor Adrian Fenty at the Jacks crime scene by the Associated Press
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i'm not one to have a strong emotional response to stories like this. i don't think it makes me evil, it's just that i didn't know the people, and i can't help thinking that if i did have strong emotional reponses to these kinds of stories, i'd be an emotional wreck in about 2 days, given how stuff like this seems to go down far too often in the world.
that being said, i have to ask this question: entomology report means an analysis of the insects on the corpses, correct? because if that is the case, that would help explain the extreme disgust i'm feeling right now, for a host of reasons...
Forensic entomology is the application of the study of insects to law. It is usually used to determine elapsed time since death in a homocide victim. Insects develop through a predictable life-cycle at a predictable rate, based primarily on temperature and species. Therefore, if the temperature, species, and stage of insect are known, an entomologist can determine how long the insects have been on the body and, therefore, the minimum time that has elapsed since death.
IMGoph: I wasn't so sure about that one either, but apparently there's such a thing as forensic entomology. Seems like it'll be used to determine the times of death, since there have been varying accounts thus far.
And we know this thanks to body farms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm
Ah, the "constituent services fund," that lovely little slush fund that DC politicos get to spend on, well, pretty much anything they damned well please.