DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — New details from an officer's statement show that a Decatur woman's children were present the night she was shot in the head.
Amanda C. Carter was shot and killed on Nov. 28 in a home on W. Burtschi Court.
On that Tuesday, Decatur Police went to the home after a 911 call trace. The 911 call-taker said that they heard "lots of screaming" as well as a man repeatedly yelling that they needed an ambulance. The call-taker also noted that it sounded like someone said, "grab a gun."
When police arrived at the home, officers spoke with 30-year-old Decatur Quentrell D. Banks. He told officers that a child who lived at the residence cut herself on the arm. Banks said that he did not know how she cut herself but figured it was probably from an old broken window. He also told police that Amanda Carter took the child to St. Mary's Hospital.
Officers also observed 22-year-old Decatur resident Ezekiel D. Gray at the home. Gray gave a statement similar to Banks.
Police reported that Gray was "acting antsy and requesting to leave," and that he had a red blood-like substance on his shoes.
Officers entered the home after Banks said that someone was injured inside.
When they began a protective sweep, DPD found Carter in a bedroom lying face down in a pool of blood.
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The living room couch had a large, blood-like stain on the seatback. There were streaks of a blood-like substance that led from the couch to where Carter was located in the bedroom.
Officers found one cartridge casing on a walkway near the home and one live round in the bedroom where Carter was located.
Medical personnel confirmed that Carter was dead. A coroner's report released on Thursday confirmed that she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Carter's 6 and 4-year-old children were present in the home. Neither child had a cut on the arm as described by Banks. Forensic interviews were conducted and both girls said they saw "Papa" shoot Carter with a gun. "Papa" was confirmed to be Gray's nickname.
Two teens were also present in the home when the incident happened. One teen told detectives that Carter had asked Gray to hand her the gun so she could put it in her safe. The teen said that the gun went off as Gray handed it to Carter.
The other teen told detectives that they were listening to music and watched Ezekiel waving a handgun around to the music when it went off.
In an interview, Banks said that he was playing video games in the living room where everyone else was seated. Banks saw Carter's two handguns on the table in front of him and watched Gray pick one up to play with the laser sight. Banks heard the gun go off and turned around to see that Carter had been shot in the face.
During an interview, Gray said that he handed Carter one of her guns while holding onto the grip. He told detectives that Carter grabbed the front of the gun and the gun fired, hitting Carter.
Banks was arrested for concealment of a homicidal death and booked into the Macon County Jail. He was cited and granted pre-trial release.
Gray was charged with involuntary manslaughter and booked into the Macon County Jail. He will go to court in mid-December.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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