The Tragic Murder of Avis Banks | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace | Forensic Files

NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Like so many of us, for the Banks family, Thanksgiving in Vicksburg,
Mississippi is all about being together. Family is very, very important to us. [gunshots]
But suddenly, their joyous holiday season is replaced with terror. She was in the safety of her own home,
and she didn't even make it through the door. Everyone started locking their doors.
It came as a shock to me to hear that we had a homicide during the holidays itself leading up to Christmas.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Police discover a heartbreaking clue. She was pregnant.
She had been shot in the stomach, told me that somebody wanted her to lose that child.
There's a lot of rage in this crime. This was some sort of crime of passion. Thanksgiving is what set this all in motion,
and six days later, she was dead. With no clear motive, everyone is a suspect. [theme music]
Hello. I'm Nancy Grace. Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season, and Americans all across our country
embrace that tradition with joyful anticipation. We drive long distances to be together
with family and friends, and there's always a lot of food, a lot of fun, family, and laughter.
Thanksgiving, 2006, it's setting up to be a memorable holiday for Debra Banks of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
She and her husband travel all the way to Houston, Texas where the entire family is gathering
for a traditional turkey dinner. [melancholy music] It was me and my husband, my daughters, Frederino, Avis,
and we went to LaTonya's house. That's my oldest daughter. [chatter] And it started off real good.
It's me again. Being with family, enjoying each other's presence, eating all day long.
All day long. It's a beautiful chaos. [laughs] And we were all together. I was very, very happy.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Debra Banks has a good reason to be happy. Her daughter, Avis, is expecting a baby in the new year,
and she's engaged to be married. She was happy that she was pregnant. She was going to have a baby, and she knew that we all
were going to love that baby. As far as Keyon, I don't even know if he was happy.
I really don't. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Avis Banks's fiance, Keyon Pittman, is with her at Thanksgiving dinner, but he seems detached
and he keeps checking his phone. The expression on Keyon's face told a different story.
[melancholy music] He's just so miserable. Or he was worried about something, you know.
[phone ringing] And that's when Mr. Keyon started to get phone calls. We didn't know what the phone calls
were until after everything that happened. [melancholy music] [suspenseful music]
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Six days after Thanksgiving, the Ridgeland, Mississippi Police Department gets a distressing call.
The female caller said that a male came to her door, frantically beating on the door, and said,
my fiancee's been shot. She's in the garage. She's bleeding. I need help right away.
Get me somebody here. So at the scene, there was a Black male there who was identified as Keyon Pittman.
He was pretty frantic. He had a lot of blood on his clothing as well. He was very, very shaken up.
When I approached the garage, I see a young Black female on her back. There's a lot of blood.
As I get closer, it appears to me that she may have been pregnant. No vital signs.
She was gone. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The victims are Keyon's fiancee, Avis Banks, and their unborn baby.
It was quite overwhelming. I'm thinking this is the most serious crime I've seen in my short career.
[suspenseful music] It came as a shock to me to hear that we had a homicide. I was informed that the fiancee had arrived home,
lit up the garage, and saw his fiancee laying on the garage floor by her car. She was actually lying on her back.
She had some papers in her hand which tell us that she had gone to the mailbox, gathered her mail, gathered her purse,
and exited her vehicle before she was ambushed. I noticed that her pants were partially pulled down.
Her shirt was pulled up. I wondered if this was a botched sexual assault that ended in a murder.
It was evident that she had been shot multiple times. She was about five months pregnant,
so hearing that she had been shot in the stomach, you know, basically told me that somebody wanted her to lose that child.
Her throat had been slashed, and there was actually a puncture wound in her neck as well.
I've never encountered a victim of a homicide who was shot and stabbed. I thought that was strange, at that point,
to shoot someone and then stab them and slash their throat. Why is that necessary?
Definitely looked like overkill. Maybe this was a very personal attack on Ms. Banks.
Avis Banks is a beloved daycare teacher. Everyone loves her, both the parents and the children alike.
So why would she be so viciously attacked? She was extremely kind, very caring. She wanted to make sure that everybody was happy.
DEBRA BANKS (VOICEOVER): Avis's hope in life was to open up a daycare. She was the first to graduate from college.
She was going for her masters, and we were so proud of her. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Avis Banks
meets Keyon Pittman at a gym two years earlier in 2004. So Avis and her sister came over
to my house to let me know that they had met this guy at the gym. His name was Keyon Pittman and that he seemed really nice.
He was flirting with Avis, so she did decide to give him her number. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Keyon Pittman teaches children as well
at a local middle school. That job convinces Avis the two have a lot in common, and she is certain he's the right guy for her.
Their relationship quickly grows. [melancholy music] And they moved into their very first home, which
was in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and then the next big news was that Keyon proposed to her.
[melancholy music] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Now Avis Banks will never have a wedding or share another Thanksgiving or Christmas
with her family again, and they will never see the baby alive. [suspenseful music]
Looking at the crime scene, well, we did see some speckling on Avis's body which means that the suspect was in close proximity to her
when they placed the gun to her head to pull the trigger. That's execution style.
[gunshots] There were no shell casings recovered, and with that information, I assumed that she
was shot with a revolver. The backdoor to the residence, it looked like it had forcibly
been kicked twice, or two distinct really clear shoe impressions is in dust on the door.
I knew that that was going to be some really good evidence for us to collect. [suspenseful music]
It just didn't look right to me. Keyon called me. He said, y'all better get over here.
Something happened to Avis. When we made it to the cul-de-sac, we couldn't go no further.
Then here he comes, Keyon. He said somebody broke in his house and killed my-- killed Avis.
He was crying. He was distraught. He was upset. You know, he appeared to be someone who'd just lost
their fiancee and unborn son. I couldn't wrap my mind around someone killing Avis.
That's just the worst because she was such a great person. To know that she could have possibly suffered, it hurts.
It was unreal. Who would want to hurt my child? Who would want to hurt Avis? Who would want to kill Avis, my baby?
And my grandbaby? [melancholy music] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Back at the scene, the Ridgeland Police,
like Avis's family, are confronted with questions. Is this a burglary, or is this just some intense plot
against Ms. Banks? I've got all of these options going through my head and don't really know at this point
which one is the right one. [siren wailing] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Police are suspicious about the way Keyon Pittman acted after he
finds his fiancee's body. Why not just call 911 right away while you're staying with the victim?
It seemed kind of odd that Mr. Pittman would need to go next door and beat on the door
and ask for help when he has a cell phone available. Making a 911 call from somebody else's phone
while you're holding a cell phone is a major red flag. [suspenseful music] Is Keyon Pittman a killer, or is there someone
else with blood on their hands? Somebody wanted to take her life and the life of her unborn son.
The ferocity of the crime really showed that somebody hated her. [suspenseful music]
["silent night" playing] Welcome back. Thanksgiving spent with family provides warm memories
that are beloved for years. For Debra Banks, Thanksgiving, 2006, that she shared with daughter Avis
must now last her a lifetime. Why? Because six days later, daughter Avis is brutally murdered in her own garage
after coming home from work. Now there's crime scene tape where Christmas lights should
be, and Ridgeland, Mississippi police have fiancee Keyon Pittman on their radar.
[melancholy music] There are many reasons to bring Mr. Pittman to the station, and it is to preserve evidence and get
a good statement from him. And we want to get it as quickly as possible so we know whether or not we're looking at Mr. Pittman
or we're looking for another suspect. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Detective Frank Dillard
leads Keyon Pittman into an interview room and looks for answers that may crack this case wide open.
He was making phone calls. He was texting, and I just thought that was really weird.
The whole time he was on the phone and talking to his mother or friends or whoever,
it's all about him. I'm thinking to myself that please sign a Miranda, the Miranda warning form, so I can ask the question
I really want to ask. But once we get to the point to where he's asked to sign that form, he becomes a different person.
And he said, these MFs think I had something to do with this. He called someone that was an attorney, friend of a friend,
and the attorney advised him not to sign a Miranda form. [suspenseful music] You know, that point, we were pretty much dead in the water,
with one exception. We in turn contacted a judge and got a standing order to obtain his clothing and perform
a gunshot residue kit on him. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Police test Keyon Pittman's clothing
and his hands for blood and for GSR, Gunshot Residue, and then he's released. The following day, detectives receive
Avis Banks's autopsy report. [melancholy music] We learned that it was a .38 caliber
pistol that the projectiles came out of. That helps us a lot because now we know we're looking for a .38.
[suspenseful music] The autopsy of Ms. Banks also revealed that she was not sexually assaulted.
We're really beginning to believe that we're dealing with someone who was laying in wait for Ms. Banks
and that they had staged the crime scene to appear that this was a burglary, and the burglar was surprised
by the homeowner coming home. The time of death would have been from 5:45 to 6 o'clock.
[suspenseful music] So we had about a 15-minute window that we were dealing with, and it appeared that she was killed immediately
after arriving home. [gunshots] [suspenseful music] I was at home, and they had sent the autopsy.
And I didn't know what had happened to my baby, I didn't. And I seen all them X's and this and that, how many times she
shot, cut her throat, cut her up her stomach, you don't butcher a hog like that.
Crazy. Crazy. It's crazy. There's a lot of rage in this crime. This was a very violent act.
It was obvious that this was some sort of crime of passion. [suspensful music] It's an uphill battle for Mr. Pittman at this point
because we're looking very hard at Mr. Pittman as our suspect. He fit all the boxes of someone
that could have done this and just walked away from it. I went to a restaurant where Keyon worked part-time.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Keyon Pittman moonlights as a bartender when he's not teaching.
I spoke with several of Keyon's colleagues and they told me that he had several different girls that
would come into that restaurant and he would buy drinks for them, but he had one that hung around a lot.
So now I need to go to his main job and find out exactly what they know. He's a school teacher at a Jackson public school.
I went there and spoke with the principal. He basically told me that Keyon have a really high reputation
for being a womanizer. [suspenseful music] Detectives learned about a woman in Keyon's life
who works at the same school. This other woman was also a teacher. [suspenseful music]
FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): Keyon and another teacher were basically having a relationship.
They were passing love letters back and forth. [suspenseful music] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): According
to the medical examiner, Avis Banks died between 5:45 and 6:00 PM. Her fiancee, Keyon, has an alibi, but is it airtight?
FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): He told me that he was at basketball practice from about 5:30 to 7:30.
I did speak with the head basketball coach about Keyon and where he was at the time, and was he actually at the gym.
And he did have an alibi. He was indeed at basketball practice from 5:30 to about 7:30.
I feel like we just hit a brick wall. Our true and only suspect, the one that initially checked all the boxes,
has just been given an alibi. [gunshots] [siren wailing] [melancholy music] Welcome back.
Ridgeland, Mississippi, 2006, a week after Thanksgiving, mom Debra Banks is devastated when her daughter Avis
is found brutally murdered. Instead of a wonderful and joyous Christmas when they would
all be together again, the Banks family is forced to say a horrible and gut-wrenching goodbye.
[melancholy music] Avis's funeral was really emotional. It was hard for everyone.
No person should have gone through what Avis went through. Because we rally around each other as a family,
I think it helped in a lot of ways. We kind of leaned on each other to get through that day.
I don't know if I would have made it without my family. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Fiancee Keyon
Pittman shows up at the church. Avis Banks's family now know about his other relationships,
and of course, they give him a cool reception. DEBRA BANKS (VOICEOVER): When I found out that he was cheating
on Avis, I was shocked. And she didn't know. She didn't know. [suspenseful music]
SHANNON ROYAL (VOICEOVER): Keyon tried to attend the funeral. He did go in and sit in the front.
He waited till everybody got in there, and he went to view the body. And he up there moaning and groaning,
and my daughter LaTonya, she started screaming and hollering, what are you doing up there?
And she just went crazy. SHANNON ROYAL (VOICEOVER): He was escorted out, and we did go on with the funeral.
[melancholy music] You can't cheat on Avis and then say that you love Avis. So I saw him as the enemy at that point,
and I didn't think he deserved to say goodbye to her. When Avis was laid to rest, really,
really sad because I can say now she's gone but never forgotten. [melancholy music]
LACY BATES (VOICEOVER): The pressure was on for the detectives because of the depravity of the crime.
It was all hands on deck. There was a murderer on the loose. Keyon may have wanted Avis dead so that he could be a free man,
but he had an alibi. BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): He has a good alibi, and he's not present at the time of death.
So where do we go from here? We have to figure out who's responsible for this crime.
Is it someone that knows Mr. Pittman? Is it someone that knows Ms. Banks? It's back to the drawing board for Detective Frank Dillard.
He begins to take a closer look at the other women in fiancee Keyon Pittman's life.
[suspenseful music] I went to Keyon's school. I spoke to the principal, and he gave me a name.
The name that the principal gave me that Keyon was apparently having an affair with was Carla Hughes.
[suspenseful music] Carla was the language arts teacher at Chastain Middle School, while Keyon was the math teacher.
Carla was a go-getter. She had a great job. She had her master's degree. She was pursuing her PhD.
She was a cheerleading coach. Carla won several different pageants. She was a beauty queen.
She rode horses. You know, anything she wanted to do, she could do. As luck would have it, when I'm talking to the principal,
Carla Hughes, coming to the school. She sobbed. She's crying. I kind of stand back, and the principal said, that's Hughes.
And I said, well, why are you crying? And she said, I'm crying for Keyon. That kind of took me aback because I'm thinking,
why are you crying for him? He's OK. It's the kid and the mom that are dead. So that kind of made me look at her in a different light.
So I invited her back to the regional police department for an interview just to hear her side
of the story of anything. It may be something. It may be nothing. [suspenseful music]
She showed up like she said she would. So at this point, we were just talking, and I'm gathering information.
I asked her about having a relationship or possible relationship with Keyon. But she eventually told me, yes, she had kissed Keyon,
or they had kissed each other. But she said it really didn't mean anything. They were more friends.
I dig deeper into it and then she eventually told me they had slept together. Detective Dillard asked Carla Hughes if she saw Keyon Pittman
on the day of the murders. I'm thinking, OK, you got a real good bond with this guy
if he can drop groceries at your house and store them until he gets home. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): After the interview,
Frank Dillard now starts to dig deeper into Carla Hughes's background. [suspenseful music]
Carla had an unplanned pregnancy and was getting married, and her fiancee left her at the altar
the day before the wedding. For whatever reason, the guy just didn't go through with it.
[suspenseful music] Carla probably resents Avis because Avis was on a path to getting married.
She was pregnant. She got a house. She got a decent job. She's living her dream.
[suspenseful music] The cell phone records tell detectives why Keyon Pittman did not call 911 first when
he found Avis Banks's body. He was on the phone with somebody else. FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): We learned
that Keyon was on a cell phone with a lady and that lady being Carla Hughes. [suspenseful music]
Welcome back. 2006, Christmas just two weeks away, shopping in full swing in Ridgeland, Mississippi,
but for police in Ridgeland, there's also a murder investigation in full swing. They want to know who savagely murdered
a beautiful young mom-to-be, Avis Banks. Prime suspect, fiancee Keyon Pittman, but he's got an ironclad alibi for his whereabouts.
He also has a nasty secret, a lover, Carla Hughes. [suspenseful music] What was so important that he was talking to her about
that he could not break that call and just make a simple 911 call? And that's big-time suspicious.
That would definitely raise suspicion that, one, Ms. Hughes is involved in this, and two, Mr. Pittman
may be involved as well. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Police searched Keyon Pittman's phone logs, and they discovered
something very strange. When Pittman says he discovers Avis Banks's body, he calls lover Carla Hughes before he calls 911.
Why? Keyon eventually came in for a second interview, and he did admit to having an affair with Carla.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Are Keyon Pittman and Carla Hughes coconspirators in murder?
He said that he did go over to Carla's house after he got off basketball practice,
and he left Carla's house and went home. And that's where he found Avis laying on the garage floor.
[suspenseful music] Keyon never admitted that Carla knew anything about the murder.
I mean, the only thing he told us about her was that Carla was being used for sex and that he really
didn't care a lot about her. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Keyon Pittman tells police his lover, Carla Hughes, is obsessed with him.
Is this a real-life case of fatal attraction? Carla really, really wanted him. She had his picture by her bedside,
and she had even introduced him to her family as her boyfriend. Keyon told detectives that Carla had been putting pressure
on him to leave Avis for her. [suspenseful music] On Thanksgiving Day and we was all eating dinner,
and Keyon's phone just constantly was ringing. I say, what's going on? The phone did ring, ring, ring.
Who could be calling you that like that? What do they want? Can't they wait till you get back home?
It began to worry Avis because she even asked, you down here for the holiday, why you on the phone?
Why do you keep getting on the phone? NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Remember all those calls
Keyon Pittman keeps making at Thanksgiving dinner right there at the table with his fiancee's family?
He tells fiancee Avis Banks they're from his mother, that his mother wants him to come see her in Mississippi.
Oh, that's a good story, but it is not his mother constantly calling him. It's his lover Carla Hughes.
Pittman and Avis Banks head north to his mother's home. [suspenseful music] Carla actually followed Keyon and Avis
and rented a hotel room. And she calls Keyon to come over to see her, which he does,
and they have sex. And then she wants him to stay the night, but Keyon refuses. And that angers Carla.
She wanted him to be with her. It angered Carla that he was spending time with Avis and her family and not her on Thanksgiving.
She tells Keyon that things are going to change. [suspenseful music] Thanksgiving is what set this all in motion,
and six days later, Avis is dead. [suspenseful music] And we did learn that Ms. Hughes's cell phone was actually
hitting on a tower and if she was in the area in the vicinity of the subdivision
where this murder was committed. It showed that she was within a 2-mile radius of Avis's and Keyon's home at the time of the murder.
This is a big piece of the puzzle, to be able to prove that her cell phone is hitting on a tower
so close to that home. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The cell phone records may very well put Carla Hughes near the crime
scene, but there's still no evidence she committed the murders. [suspenseful music]
It's frustrating for the police because at this point, they don't have a murder weapon.
Police need a break in the case. FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): And out of the blue,
we get a phone call. [suspenseful music] It's an attorney from Camden, Mississippi,
and he told me that he has a client that's related to Carla Hughes. And they want to meet with me to turn
in a gun that might have been used in the homicide of Avis Banks. The attorney is representing Patrick Nash, Carla's cousin.
BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): Patrick Nash came to the police department with his counsel
and told us that he had loaned a five-shot .38 caliber revolver to Ms. Hughes along with a hunting knife
before this murder was committed. She told Patrick that she needed the gun because she
was concerned for her safety. She said she was having some break-ins in her-- in the area where she lived.
Patrick gave a gun to Carla for protection and had five bullets in it, and when he got the gun back,
the gun was empty. He asked about the bullets and the gun, and she said she went target practicing.
And he said he felt like something's not going right here. At that point, they were thinking that the gun is linked
to the homicide of Avis Banks and that Carla Hughes used the gun. This is the smoking gun in this situation,
and ultimately, that weapon was matched to the projectiles that were taken from Ms. Banks's body.
That was a clear ballistic match. This was our murder weapon. [suspenseful music]
FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): Her cousin also gave her a knife, but he never got the knife back.
All this is pointing toward her. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Detectives now have PC, Probable Cause, and they execute a search warrant
at Carla Hughes's apartment. A positive match will mean they've got a slam-dunk case.
[melancholy music] Did not find any bloody clothes. Didn't find a knife. The first pair of shoes that I saw
were the pair of treads-safe shoes. BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): The shoes that we found in Carla Hughes's home were a perfect match
to the impressions on the door where the door was kicked at Avis Banks's home. The shoes were matched by tread pattern
and also the size of the shoe. Individual characteristics of the actual impression
were also matched. FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): Looking at the shoes, we saw a couple of specks of blood.
Now we know we got a smoking gun and a hot pair of shoes. But the blood matches, we got her.
You got the shoe treads. You got the blood on the shoes. You got the gun. It's not looking good for Carla at this point.
Everything's kind of falling into place right now. I'm more than confident that the blood on those shoes
is going to match the blood from Avis's body. [suspenseful music] All we have to do is send it to the lab
and just wait for them to tell us, hey, there was a match. So we do that. We send the shoes to the lab and got our results back.
Our results being-- [suspenseful music] --they were not a match. [gunshots] [suspenseful music]
Welcome back. Ridgeland, Mississippi Police working through the holidays to solve the murder of Avis Banks and her unborn baby,
and they are ready to wrap it up with a positive DNA match of their prime suspect.
Then they get a surprise result from the lab. The blood on shoes belonging to the prime suspect, Carla Hughes,
is not a match for the murder victim, Avis Banks. Detectives wonder, what did we miss?
[suspenseful music] FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): We contacted the lab and asked, why didn't we get a match?
I mean, what's going on? And we learned that they were informed to stay away from the blood to swab the shoes but not the actual blood, which
to me, does not make sense. So we send it to a private lab. [suspenseful music] And we got our results back, our results being,
it was a perfect match, 100%. [suspenseful music] The blood that was on the shoes is the same blood
that came from Avis's body. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Detectives arrest Carla Hughes, December 8, 2006, charged with two
counts, capital murder. The case goes to trial. FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): The trial was pretty intense.
Carla's attorney, of course, accused Keyon of everything. According to the defense, Keyon killed
Avis because he didn't want to pay child support or anything. He didn't want the unborn child.
He really didn't want marriage because he had so many other women. Also one of the big factors was that Keyon
and Carla wore the same size shoe which was a size 9. They did say that he wore those shoes
and took them from her apartment, committed the murder, took them back to and put them in her apartment,
and went back to the basketball game. And where she kept the gun, that he could have got the gun
and committed the murder, and put the gun back as well. The gun didn't have Carla Hughes's prints on it.
Well, we don't know who cleaned it. I submit to you that the womanizer cleaned it.
Carla Hughes remains unusually calm for a person on trial for murder. [melancholy music]
BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): Ms. Hughes appeared very confident in court. She was very poised.
During the trial, Carla was very stoic, unemotional. Carla appeared like she thought she had gotten away with this.
She was doodling his name. We found out that she was planning her wedding. She was writing.
They gave her a tablet and a pencil. She was planning her wedding with Keyon. Carla thought Keyon was in love with her, that they
was going to get married. They was going to have a family. I really think, in her mind, she thought
that after Avis was gone, that Keon and her were going to be together. There's nothing that anyone could
have told her that would have made her think any differently. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Carla Hughes's
confidence begins to slip when lover Keyon Pittman takes the stand. When Keyon testified and he said that their relationship was
purely sexual and that he was not in love with her, that's when you saw emotion on Carla's face.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The jury quickly reaches a verdict. JUDGE: As to count one, the verdict or the sentence
says, we, the jury, find that the defendant should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
As to count two, the sentence says, we, the jury, find the defendant should be sentenced to life imprisonment
without parole. [suspenseful music] When I heard the verdict of guilty, guilty on both,
thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. That was the greatest news ever. I feel like justice had been served
and that Avis would be able to rest in peace. BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): This was a calculated crime.
Carla had a plan. She put that plan into action, and she took two innocent lives.
And she's paying for it now. FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): I believe Carla wanted Avis's life.
LACY BATES (VOICEOVER): She wanted the husband, the baby, the house, the life. She wanted Keyon.
FRANK DILLARD (VOICEOVER): But she had to eliminate Avis in order to have that life.
She would do whatever it takes to get what she wants in a bad way, in a evil way.
SHANNON ROYAL (VOICEOVER): The most reasonable thing in her mind was to get rid of the problem, and in her mind,
the problem was Avis. LACY BATES (VOICEOVER): I think Carla seeing Keyon with Avis
on Thanksgiving, when she wanted to be with him, really set her off. [gunshots] Thanksgiving probably pushed her over the edge.
During the holidays, the families are coming together. Who does she have? The one person she really wants is with somebody else.
[melancholy music] LACY BATES (VOICEOVER): Carla wanted Avis out of the way. She wanted Keyon for all her future Thanksgivings.
BRIAN MYERS (VOICEOVER): Honestly can't imagine what it's like to lose a loved one and a grandbaby.
[melancholy music] I can't imagine what the Banks family experiences, especially
through the holidays and how close this was to Thanksgiving, and then having to experience that first Christmas
without her. [tense music] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Carla Hughes now serving life
behind bars at the Central Mississippi CI Correctional Institute for Women. Fiancee Keyon Pittman, not charged with any involvement
in Avis's murder, is determined Carla Hughes acted completely alone. [melancholy music]
DEBRA BANKS (VOICEOVER): Thanksgiving was the last time that we seen Avis alive.
Avis will always live inside of me. I think about her every day. I talk to Avis because her pictures are everywhere.
I love you, Avis. [melancholy music] Our love for Avis to be remembered for who she was,
which was this light, kind-spirited person. [melancholy music] DEBRA BANKS (VOICEOVER): Avis will not ever be forgotten.
Ever. [melancholy music] Obsession, revenge, and finally, murder. The tragic case of Avis Banks really does turn out to be
a real-life fatal attraction. I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for joining us here on "The Christmas Killings."
[theme music]

Keyon Pittman tells police he’s found his fiancée Avis Banks dead inside their garage. Detectives discover that she’s not only been shot but also stabbed multiple times. Who would carry out such a heinous crime? The answer is even more grisly.

Hosted by Nancy Grace, The Christmas Killings is a true crime docuseries that blends merry with mystery as it delves into holiday-season homicide investigations.

Brief Summary

The murder of Avis Banks reveals a deadly love triangle involving her fiancé Keyon Pittman and his lover Carla Hughes.

Key points

Thanksgiving Turns to Tragedy. The Banks family's joyous holiday is shattered by a shocking homicide.
A Heartbreaking Clue. Police discover that Avis Banks was pregnant at the time of her murder.
Keyon's Alibi. Keyon Pittman claims he was at basketball practice during the time of the murder.
The Investigation Deepens. Detectives uncover Keyon's affair with Carla Hughes, raising suspicions.
The Murder Weapon Revealed. A gun linked to Carla Hughes is identified as the murder weapon.
Trial Takes a Turn. Carla's confidence falters when Keyon testifies about their relationship.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Thanksgiving is what set this all in motion.

Nancy Grace reflects on the tragic events following Thanksgiving.

1:00WatchApr 3, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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