Who was George Banks: The man behind 1982 Wilkes-Barre massacre that killed 13, dies at 83

George Banks, once among the most notorious mass murderers in US history, died Sunday (November 2) at age 83 while serving a life sentence at Phoenix State Prison in Pennsylvania. He succumbed to complications from kidney cancer, according to state prison officials.

1982 Wilkes-Barre massacre

Banks’ name became synonymous with one of America’s deadliest family massacres after he killed 13 people — including five of his own children — during a rampage in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 1982. Using an AR-15 rifle, Banks went on a shooting spree that claimed the lives of his children, their mothers, and several bystanders. Only one teenager survived.

The victims

Among the dead were Banks’ five children, aged between 1 and 6, and four women who were the mothers of his children. Other victims included two young children — an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old — and a teenager who recognized Banks as he fled his home. He later killed more victims at a nearby trailer park before surrendering after a four-hour standoff.

The motive

Defense lawyers argued that Banks was insane during the killings. After his arrest, the biracial former prison guard claimed he murdered his children to “save them from growing up in a racist society.” In court, he behaved erratically — at times insisting there was a conspiracy against him involving prosecutors, the judge, and the mayor of Wilkes-Barre.

Aftermath and sentence

Banks was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder. Although he was initially sentenced to death, state courts later ruled him mentally incompetent for execution, converting his sentence to life imprisonment.

A legacy of horror

The Wilkes-Barre massacre shocked the nation in 1982 and was considered one of the worst family killings in US history. Decades later, survivors and community members continued to express frustration that Banks was never executed, while others cited his deteriorating mental state as justification for the court’s ruling.

Banks spent more than four decades behind bars before his death, closing a grim chapter in Pennsylvania’s criminal history.