Medical examiners testify in case against mother of decomposed girls

(AP Photo/Charles County Sheriff's Office, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two D.C. medical examiners say they are unsure how four girls found decomposing in a row house died.

Their mother, Banita Jacks, has pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated first-degree murder in their deaths.

The medical examiners testified Tuesday at Jacks' trial that the girls' bodies were so badly decomposed, they couldn't determine what caused their deaths. But they said they remained confident that the children, ages 5 to 17, were killed.

U.S. Marshals serving an eviction in Jacks' southeast D.C. home discovered the bodies in January 2008.

The medical examiners say marks on the three youngest girls' necks suggest they were strangled. Earlier this week, another medical examiner said he was 50 percent sure the oldest child was stabbed.

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