George Banks, the convicted mass murderer who terrorised Pennsylvania four decades ago in one of the state's most brutal killing sprees, has died behind bars at age 81.
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed Banks passed away on September 17th while incarcerated at State Correctional Institution – Phoenix in Montgomery County. While officials haven't disclosed the exact cause of death, they noted Banks had been under hospice care at the time.
The 1982 Night of Horror
Banks earned his place in criminal history on September 25th, 1982, when he embarked on a shooting rampage that would claim thirteen lives across Wilkes-Barre. The victims included his own children, their mothers, and several bystanders caught in the violence.
The devastating toll included:
- Five of Banks' own children
- Four of the children's mothers
- Four additional innocent victims
A Chilling Crime Scene
The massacre unfolded across multiple locations, beginning at Banks' home on Monroe Street before spreading to a nearby home on Grove Street. The randomness and brutality of the attacks left the community in shock and mourning.
Banks was apprehended following an intense eight-hour standoff with police, during which he'd barricaded himself inside his home while heavily armed.
Legal Proceedings and Incarceration
Following his capture, Banks faced justice in a trial that gripped the nation. He received twelve death sentences for his crimes, though Pennsylvania's moratorium on capital punishment meant he would spend his remaining years in prison rather than facing execution.
For decades, Banks remained in the state's maximum-security prison system, becoming one of Pennsylvania's longest-serving and most notorious inmates until his death this month.
The passing of George Banks closes a dark chapter in Pennsylvania's history, though the memory of his victims and the trauma inflicted on the Wilkes-Barre community continues to resonate four decades later.
