Phoenix Police: Mother arrested after admitting to killing 3 children at home

PHOENIX - Police say a woman has been arrested after she admitted to killing her three children at a South Phoenix home Monday night.

According to Sgt. Mercedes Fortune, crews were called out at around 7:30 p.m. to an area near 24th Street and Southern Avenue.

Authorities say a relative at the home called 911, and when officers entered, a three-year-old boy, a two-year-old girl, and a seven-month-old girl were found unconscious.

Police say 22-year-old Rachel Henry admitted to killing the children. She has been booked into jail and police say she recently moved to Arizona from Oklahoma.

“We are comfortable in saying now that the mother is responsible for the death of the children,” Sgt. Fortune said.

Rachel Henry

Police were still interviewing the 30-year-old father and a 49-year-old relative who lives in the home, according to authorities. There was no obvious trauma to the children, and relatives indicated illness may have been a factor, police said.

It's too early to determine how the children died, police said.

Meanwhile, neighbors are speaking out.

"I would see her very nervous but because I didn’t know who the mom was or who the dad was. We didn’t know. I only saw the girl. She would stare at us like very very nervously. She would cry," said Miriam Soto. "Right now we’re trying to process the news. We're concerned. We don’t know for sure what happened. It’s very sad that all this happened next to my house."

Initial reports from Phoenix Fire officials describe the incident as a drowning, but fire officials later retracted that statement.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report