Banks received a sentence of 93 months for the voluntary manslaughter and 13 months for each of the aggravated batteries. Banks pled to this homicide in November.

In the early hours of June 12, 2021, officers from the Leavenworth Police Department responded to 2508 Fourth Ave., in Leavenworth, after the defendant called 911 and asked for assistance because her fiancé had been stabbed, the release said. Officers found the defendant along with her fiancé, Jerrold Jermaine Rhodes, in the master bathroom. They observed that Rhodes had a wound on his abdomen and the defendant was holding a towel against the wound. Fire department and EMS personnel arrived on scene to aid Rhodes. They took immediate life saving measures but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Banks reported that Rhodes was her fiancé and that they both lived at the residence where the incident took place. Initially, Banks told officers that her and Rhodes had an argument at a convenience store where they left separately. After returning home, she found him stabbed in their master bedroom.

Detectives from the Leavenworth Police Department investigated the incident and determined Banks’ story was not accurate. Detectives observed that Banks had no marks regarding a struggle. Banks said they had struggled on the bed, but the bed was neatly made, showing no signs of a struggle. With this information, the detectives re-interviewed Banks, who later admitted to stabbing Rhodes in the bathroom because she was tired of getting beaten by him. Banks identified a paring knife as the one she used to stab Rhodes, and the knife she identified was determined to be consistent with the injuries that Rhodes sustained before his death. The autopsy revealed Rhodes sustained two stab wounds, one in the abdomen and the another in his thigh. Banks reported there was a history of domestic violence between the two of them.

“There was no evidence in this case that Eva Banks was facing any threat of imminent threat. He was in the bathroom and she had to come in to stab him,” Thompson said. “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, Thompson noted in the release.

“This case is a perfect example of why domestic violence should NOT be viewed by our community 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. Without early intervention, the domestic violence cycle continues to escalate in severity, and too often results in severe harm or death.”