Teresa Banks

Teresa Banks is a fictional character referred to in the ABC television drama Twin Peaks (1990-1991).

She is a 17 year old drifter and cocaine addict. Her murder in Deer Meadow, Washington, precedes that of Laura Palmer and is part of the plot of the 1992 Twin Peaks prequel film, "". Pamela Gidley portrayed Banks in the film.

Banks lived at the Fat Trout trailer park for a month (where minor characters Mrs. Chalfont and her grandson also lived until they moved away following Teresa's murder). She worked the night shift as a waitress at Hap's Diner.

Her body was found, wrapped in plastic, in Wind River. She died from "repeated blows to the back of the head by a blunt obtuse-angled object," according to FBI Special Agent Sam Stanley. The murderer took her ring, which was adorned with a symbol used late in the series in conjunction with the Black Lodge. Stanley also discovered a small piece of white paper imprinted with the letter "T" beneath the nail of her left ring finger, what would become the calling card of the serial killer who later murdered Laura Palmer and attacked Ronnette Pulaski. Stanley and Special Agent Chester Desmond investigated her murder on the orders of FBI Chief Gordon Cole. No one claimed her body after her murder, and she had no known next of kin.

Like Laura and Ronnette, Teresa placed personal ads in "Fleshworld", a fictional swingers magazine known to be read and utilized by Twin Peaks drug dealer Jacques Renault, who also ran a sort of low-key prostitution ring on the side. It was through such an advertisement that she became acquainted with Laura's father, Leland Palmer, who muses "you look just like my Laura" (a later murder, Laura's cousin Madeline Ferguson, is also said to have been chosen because she resembled Laura).

One day, Palmer arrives at a motel room having pre-arranged a rendezvous with Banks and "some of [her] girlfriends" and, to his surprise, discovers one of these to be his daughter. Palmer ducks out before Laura sees him, but Banks becomes suspicious of his sudden change of heart. Eventually, she discovers Leland's identity and attempts to blackmail him but is subsequently murdered before she can collect.

There are many unanswered questions about the Banks murder, as left open-ended by the film and series, such as:
* What is Banks's association (if any) with the supernatural elements of the storyline? The existence (and then disappearance) of her ring suggests some connection, but this is never made clear.
* To what extent is the Banks murder committed by "Bob" and to what extent by "Leland"? It is clear that both are involved (the letter "T", the blackmail, etc.), but the levels of involvement are unclear given the assertion made in the series that Leland is unable to remember events that occur when Bob takes control of him (an assertion that the film arguably serves to disprove).
* What is the extent of the relationship between Banks and Jacques Renault (and, subsequently, the authorities in Deer Meadow)?