District bureaucrats in six different agencies knew for two years that Banita Jacks, now accused of murdering her four young daughters, was in serious trouble. Yet with absolutely no evidence that the family had moved elsewhere, the city’s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) closed Jacks’ case file last May, officially ending any hope of rescue for Brittany, 17, Tatianna, 11, N’Kiah, 6, and Aja, 5.

The four sisters spent their last days on Earth with a madwoman who later admitted to starving them, all the while telling relatives and city employees everything was okay. Incredibly, with what they already knew about Jacks, they believed her.