A missing Milwaukee woman and her two daughters were found dead Sunday, the victims of an apparent homicide, authorities said.
Amarah J. Banks, 26, Zaniya R. Ivery, 5, and Camaria Banks, 4, were found in a Milwaukee garage Sunday afternoon, Milwaukee police Chief Alfonso Morales said at a news conference. Banks and her daughters were reported missing by her family on Feb. 9. An Amber Alert was issued Saturday for the two children and their mother. The police chief said the criteria to issue an alert had not been met prior to Saturday.
"You have to also understand that foul play was not an initial piece of this investigation, it was a missing investigation that escalated," Morales said.
They were discovered after the arrest of Banks' boyfriend, Arzel J. Ivery, 25, in Memphis, Tennessee, on a fugitive from justice warrant, Morales said. Ivery is the father of one of the children. He is being held in Memphis, according to Shelby County Jail records.
One count of felony aggravated battery was filed against Ivery on Saturday in Milwaukee County, according to online court records. He has not been charged in the homicides.
It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Autopsies are scheduled for Monday, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said.
