Wandas Family Childcare

A MOTHER AND HER TWO LITTLE GIRLS TAKEN IN THE CRUELEST WAY POSSIBLE

THE MURDER OF AMARAH “JERICA” BANKS, ZANIYA IVERY, AND CAMARIA BANKS
Milwaukee, Wisconsin — February 2020

Just days before their murders, Amarah “Jerica” Banks stood at a cemetery saying goodbye to her baby boy.

On February 7, 2020, the 26-year-old mother attended the funeral of her 21-month-old son, Arzel Jr. Family members gathered around her as she tried to navigate a grief no parent should ever have to endure. Beside her were her daughters, 5-year-old Zaniya R. Ivery and 4-year-old Camaria Banks.

They had already suffered one unimaginable loss.

No one knew another tragedy was waiting just hours away.

After the funeral, Amarah returned home with her little girls. What should have been a night spent mourning together instead became the beginning of a nightmare.

According to investigators, neighbors heard a violent disturbance during the early morning hours of February 8. Witnesses later reported hearing Amarah scream, "No, no, please don't kill me," as 25-year-old Arzel Ivery, the father of Zaniya and Arzel Jr., allegedly dragged her back into the apartment.

The time was approximately 1:51 a.m.

Terrified by what they heard, neighbors called 911.

Officers arrived around 2:00 a.m. and searched the area but were unable to locate the source of the disturbance. With no complainant found, they left the scene.

After that, everything went quiet.

The silence that followed would haunt a family already drowning in grief.

The next day came and went with no sign of Amarah or her daughters. Family members grew increasingly concerned as calls went unanswered and no one could reach them.

On February 9, loved ones reported all three missing.

Days passed with no answers.

Then, one week later, the truth emerged.

On February 15, 2020, the Memphis Police Department received a call from Arzel Ivery's father. His son had arrived at his home alone.

What he allegedly told his father would send shockwaves through two states.

According to authorities, he confessed that he had killed Amarah and the girls.

He was taken into custody and ultimately led investigators back to Milwaukee.

There, inside a garage near an apartment building in the 4700 block of West Burleigh Street, officers made a devastating discovery.

The bodies of Amarah, Zaniya, and Camaria were found hidden inside.

Authorities reported that the bodies had been burned and left to decompose.

A mother.

A 5-year-old little girl.

A 4-year-old little girl.

All gone.

By the time they were found, it had been eight days since neighbors heard Amarah screaming for her life.

Only nine days had passed since the funeral for her baby boy.

An entire family had been shattered in less than two weeks.

The loss left loved ones struggling to comprehend how so much heartbreak could strike one family in such a short period of time.

In 2021, Arzel Ivery pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to life in prison.

But no sentence can restore what was taken.

A young mother who should have been raising her children.

Two little girls who should have had their entire lives ahead of them.

A family that buried a baby boy, only to be forced days later to bury a mother and her daughters as well.

Their names deserve to be remembered.

Amarah “Jerica” Banks.

Zaniya Ivery.

Camaria Banks.

Their lives mattered.

Their story matters.

And they will never be forgotten.












© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished

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HE TOLD HER MOTHER HE’D BE RIGHT BACK. SHE NEVER SAW HER DAUGHTER AGAIN.

THE MURDER OF VERNITA WHEAT
Kenosha, Wisconsin — May 29, 1984

It started with trust.

In the spring of 1984, a man calling himself "Robert Knight" began visiting the home of Juanita Wheat in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He presented himself as a friendly neighbor, someone familiar, someone safe. Over time, he gained the confidence of a mother who had no reason to believe she was letting danger through her front door.

But "Robert Knight" was not who he claimed to be.

He was Alton Coleman.

On May 29, 1984, Coleman told Juanita he was taking her 9-year-old daughter, Vernita Wheat, to pick up a gift and a stereo system from his apartment. He promised they would be right back.

Juanita watched her little girl leave with him.

She never saw her alive again.

When hours passed and neither Coleman nor Vernita returned, Juanita immediately knew something was wrong. She reported her daughter missing that same night and began what would become a desperate search for answers.

For the next 21 days, she lived every parent's nightmare.

She waited for a phone call.

She hoped someone had seen her daughter.

She prayed that Vernita would be found alive.

Instead, on June 19, 1984, the search came to a heartbreaking end.

Vernita's body was discovered inside an abandoned apartment building in Waukegan, Illinois, more than 20 miles from where she had been taken. Investigators believe she was transported across state lines shortly after her abduction and murdered not long after arriving there.

An autopsy determined that the little girl died from ligature strangulation.

She was only 9 years old.

A child who trusted an adult.

A daughter who believed she was going to get a gift.

A little girl whose mother was left waiting for three agonizing weeks before learning the truth.

As investigators worked the case, they uncovered something even more horrifying.

Vernita was not the only victim.

Her murder marked the beginning of a violent multi-state crime spree carried out by Alton Coleman and his girlfriend, Debra Brown. The pair would travel across six states, leaving a trail of victims behind them and becoming responsible for one of the most notorious killing sprees of the 1980s.

But before the headlines, before the manhunt, and before the nation learned their names, there was Vernita Wheat.

A little girl whose life was stolen before she ever had the chance to grow up.

Coleman was eventually convicted of Vernita's murder and sentenced to death. In 2002, he was executed for his crimes. Debra Brown was also convicted and remains in prison serving life sentences for her role in the murders.

Yet no sentence could undo the devastation left behind.

No conviction could give Juanita Wheat another hug from her daughter.

No ex*****on could restore the childhood that Vernita never got to live.

A mother trusted the wrong person.

A little girl left home expecting to come right back.

And a family was left carrying a loss that has lasted for decades.

Vernita Wheat deserved to grow up.

She deserved birthdays, milestones, and a future.

Instead, her name became the first in a series of tragedies that shocked the nation.













© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished

Photos of killers in comments

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