Arzel Ivery Murdered His Girlfriend and Her Two Little Girls, Then Burned Their Bodies

 

Arzel Ivery Strangled His Girlfriend and Her Two Young Daughters, Then Set Their Bodies on Fire

On February 8, 2020, Arzel Ivery murdered his girlfriend, Jercia Banks, 26, and her two young daughters inside their Milwaukee, Wisconsin, apartment.

The killings followed an argument connected to the recent funeral of Ivery's 1-year-old son.

According to the criminal complaint, Ivery strangled Jercia to death.

Then he went into the girls' bedroom.

He kissed both children and told them their mother wanted them in heaven.

Then he strangled them, too.

The girls were Zaniya Ivery, 5, his biological daughter, and Camaria Banks, 4, Jercia's daughter from a previous relationship.

After murdering all three, Ivery hid their bodies in a garage near 47th and Burleigh Streets and set them on fire.

An Amber Alert was issued when the children disappeared. Ivery fled Wisconsin for Memphis, Tennessee, where he eventually confessed to killing Jercia and the girls.

He was arrested and returned to Milwaukee.

Ivery initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, but a medical evaluation did not support that defense.

In April 2021, he pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree intentional homicide.

On July 16, 2021, he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Jercia was 26. Zaniya was five. Camaria was four. He kissed those little girls, told them their mother wanted them in heaven, and then fucking killed them. There is no version of this story where those children deserved what happened next.