KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Leavenworth, Kansas, woman was convicted on Tuesday in the fatal stabbing of her fiancé in June 2021.
Eva Olisha Banks, 41, was convicted of one count voluntary manslaughter, for knowingly killing Jerrold Jermaine Rhodes based on an "unreasonable but honest" belief that deadly force was justified to use in defense, and two counts of aggravated battery.
Early in the morning on June 12, 2021, the Leavenworth Police Department responded to a residence at 2509 4th Ave. after Banks reported that Rhodes had been stabbed.
Police say they located Rhodes with a wound in his abdomen and Banks pressing a towel against a wound, while in the master bathroom of the home.
Emergency crews attempted life-saving measures on Rhodes, but he died due to injury.
An autopsy showed Rhodes had two stab wounds, the wound in his abdomen and another in his thigh.
Banks told police that she and Rhodes had an argument at a convenience store and left separately, according to a release from the Leavenworth County Attorney. She said that when she returned home, she found Rhodes in the master bedroom with a stab wound.
Leavenworth police detectives investigated the case, and found the initial story from Banks was inaccurate. Banks later admitted to detectives that she stabbed Rhodes and claims that she was tired of physical abuse, the release says.
“Kansas does not accept battered woman's syndrome as a standalone defense to homicide, but it could be considered in the event the defendant was faced with a deadly threat or imminent danger that was contemporaneous with the killing," Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said in a written statement. "There was no evidence in this case that Eva Banks was facing an imminent threat at the time of the stabbing, but evidence of this history can be considered by our office in either charging or in resolving a case ahead of trial."
A paring knife identified by Banks was consistent with Rhodes' injuries.
Banks faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is set to take place on Dec. 14, 2022.
Thompson describes this case as "a perfect example" of why domestic violence should not be viewed as a "private family matter."
"It is a social, economic and public health concern and reporting incidences of domestic violence is critical to our community's safety," Thompson said. "Without early intervention, the domestic violence cycle continues to escalate in severity, and too often results in severe harm or death.”
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