Mother arrested for child’s death

By Cameron Macdonald

Authorities recently arrested a 41-year-old woman who allegedly murdered her adopted, 3-year-old daughter when they were living in Elk Grove last year.

Suspect Sabrina Alberta Banks was arrested at her home in Visalia on Aug. 5, Elk Grove police spokesperson Christopher Trim said. Visalia police took her into custody and she was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Aug. 8.

“The death wasn’t an accident and the motive is unknown at this time,” Trim said.

Banks first dialed 911 about her daughter, Lavender being unresponsive on May 2, 2008. Elk Grove police and paramedics came to the scene on the 9900 block of Sorrentino Drive in the East Franklin area. They could not save her life in time.

Sacramento County coroners determined that Lavender died from asphyxia and several blunt force injuries, said Ed Smith, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.

Trim reported that Elk Grove police detectives investigated the death and later concluded that Banks killed her daughter. A warrant was then issued for the suspect’s arrest.

Banks is charged with committing murder, assault resulting in the death of a child under 8 years of age and endangering a child’s life.

There were previously no reported homicides in Elk Grove last year - the Banks case is now its lone incident.

Banks’ next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11 at the Sacramento Superior Court, according to jail records.