More Disturbing Testimony in Jacks' Trial

Banita Jacks saw some familiar faces among the witnesses in court on Tuesday.

One was her daughter's best friend. Another witness was the police officer who came to her door. Also on the stand were two medical examiners who testified about gruesome autopsy photos.

Through it all, Banita Jacks showed no reaction. The first witness of the day, Shaunetta Ragland, says she and the oldest daughter, Brittany Jacks, were so close they considered themselves sisters. She says she heard Banita Jacks repeatedly call her oldest daughter demeaning names.

Ragland said Brittany ran away and lived with her family for several months. Ragland testified that Banita tried to isolate Brittany from the other children.

"The kids would try to talk to Brittany, run to her and give her a hug, but their mother called them back," she said.

Ragland testified that in April 2007, about eight months before the girls' bodies were found, Brittany's cell phone was disconnected.

Officer Isaac Scott says he never even saw Brittany when he visited the house in late April 2007. He was there to check on the welfare of the children after getting a complaint that the kids were not in school.

Isaac says Jacks refused to let him into the house. He tried to refer her to Child and Family Services. He says Jacks told him that she "didn't need any help" from the city.

Two doctors who did the autopsies on the youngest girls, N'kiah and Aja, also testified. One said N'kiah was in an "...advanced state of decomposition with quite a lot of mummification." Despite that, both doctors testified that they found marks on the girls' necks that were "consistent with ligature" -- as if someone had tried to strangle them.

In addition, a doctor testified that the youngest daughter, Aja, had a bruise on her scalp that was "consistent with blunt impact injury". The cause of death is listed as "undetermined," and the manner of death is homicide.

The bottom line is they aren't sure exactly how the girls died, but they say there's enough evidence to conclude that somebody else played a roll in it.

Jacks told detectives that the girls died in their sleep and that her daughters were all possessed by demons.