Mother Charged With Murdering 2 of Her Children in Germantown Home

A 28-year-old Germantown woman is facing murder and attempted murder charges after police found two of her children dead and two of her children severely injured in their home on Cherry Bend Drive Friday, according a release issued by Montgomery County Police. 

The mother has been identified as Zakieya Latrice Avery, of the 19000 block of Cherry Bend Drive, which is where police and prosecutors discovered a scene that they described in a press conference Friday as "horrifying." 

Avery was taken into custody at the home Friday, captured by police as she tried to flee out the back door of her home on the 1900 block of Cherry Bend Drive. Inside the home, police found two children—identified as 1-year-old Norrell Harris and 2-year-old Zayna Harris—dead in an upstairs bedroom.

Two other children—identified as 5-year-old Taniya Harris and 8-year-old Martello Harris—were found seriously and critically injured at the scene. They remain in the hospital being treated for injuries, police said.

The police arrived at the scene after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor at around 9:30 a.m. Friday The neighbor saw a vehicle with its door open and a knife laying outside of the vehicle.

“Cases like this are heartbreaking” said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims along with the 911 operators, police officers, evidence technicians, and fire and EMS personnel that responded.”