Exorcism reportedly caused the death of two children in Maryland. Police said they found the dead and injured children on Friday morning after a vehicle was reported with a door open and a knife lying outside of it. The police were called to the residence the night before after a report that a child was left unattended in a car, but the child had been taken inside by the time they arrived and no one answered the door.

According to police, two children, Norell Harris, 1, and Zyana Harris, 2, suffered multiple stab wounds at a townhouse in Germantown, Maryland. Two women have been charged in causing the deaths of two children, and injuring two other children. It is believed the two women were performing an exorcism.

In a statement, Montgomery County Police said their siblings, ages 5 and 8, were injured and hospitalized. The mother killed two of her own children while performing an exorcism.

Montgomery County police have charged two women for murder in the Friday deaths.

The mother of the children, Zakieya Latrice Avery, 28, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Avery of the 19000 block of Cherry Bend Drive in Germantown, is being held without bond. On Saturday, police said a second woman, Monifa Denise Sanford, 21, was also at the scene. Sanford is believed to have lived at the Avery residence. Sanford has been released from the hospital. She was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Sanford is also being held without bond.

The children were identified as Norell N. Harris, a 1-year-old male, and Zyana Z. Harris, a 2-year-old female.  The hospitalized children are identified as Taniya Harris, a 5-year-old female, and Martello Harris, an 8-year-old male. There has been no update on the condition of Taniya or Martello.

State's Attorney John McCarthy said "It's kind of horrifying for any father, any grandfather. These are hard cases."