Man Stabbed Mom; Thought She Was Going to Rape Him

Please note: I proudly support marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes and often advocate for its legalization. This is HIS story. Do you think marijuana alone caused this incident or do you suspect the weed was laced with another drug or did Banks simply “lose it?”

In Racine, Wisconsin, a man stabbed his mother, then told police he experienced pot-induced paranoia that led him to believe his mother planned to rape him.

Banks Charged After Attacking Mother

In February 2018, police charged then 23-year-old Terrell Banks with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and one count of mayhem, or the intent to disfigure or disable another person by mutilation.

Police responded to a call from a Racine Dollar Tree reporting a woman ran into the store after she had been stabbed by her son inside their nearby home. The woman bled profusely inside the store.

Paramedics arrived and rushed her to the hospital. She had been stabbed multiple times. The most shocking part of the story? She told hospital staff and police that her son, Terrell, was her attacker.

At the hospital, medical staff determined the woman had been stabbed nine times. Six wounds to her head and eyes and three wounds to her right arm and side.

Police found Terrell partially nude walking down a nearby roadway a short time later. They immediately took him into custody.

Victim Speaks to Investigators

Once stabilized, the victim told investigators that when she came home from running errands with her mother, her son was sitting in his bedroom. She called his name. Without making a sound, Terrell grabbed an object she believed at the time to be his cellphone and ran toward her. She stated that Terrell did not say a word as he ran toward her.

He began striking her in the head and arm with an object she initially believed to be his fists. She soon realized that her own son was not striking her with his fists but that he was stabbing her and attempted to fight him off of her.

The victim eventually overpowered Terrell and took the knife from his hands. She said he seemed to “pass out” at that point and she fled the home with the knife. She ran to a neighbor’s house and pounded on the door. The neighbor did not answer. The victim then ran to the Dollar Tree where employees assisted her with getting police and paramedics.

She survived the incident.

Terrell Banks Speaks to Investigators

Banks told investigators that he had smoked a marijuana blunt 45-minutes before stabbing his mother. He said the high was beyond his level of comfort and he became paranoid. Investigators said Banks appeared visibly upset. He said he did not suspect that any drugs were mixed into the marijuana before he smoked the blunt.

He stated that he regularly smoked marijuana and this had never happened to him before. He became so paranoid he grabbed a steak knife out of the kitchen because his mind told him that someone was there to rape him.

He did not initially know who he stabbed or the number of times he stabbed the person. He said he then started walking down the road without looking back because he felt that someone would rape him if he stopped. He told police he began taking off his clothes as he walked because he thought he “could fly.”

Aftermath

Though I cannot find information regarding the outcome of the case, the Terrell Banks mentioned in this story does not appear in a Wisconsin Department of Corrections prison inmate search. Another Terrell Banks, born in 1980, is currently listed as an inmate in the WDOC.

Resources & More Information:

https://www.fox6now.com/news/prosecutors-man-stabs-mother-after-smoking-pot-believing-someone-was-going-to-rape-him