PHOENIX – The mother of three children found dead Monday night in a Phoenix home admitted killing them and has been arrested, Phoenix police officials said.
Police identified the mother as Rachel Henry.
Henry, 22, was arrested Monday night after the children, all under the age of 4, were found dead, according to Phoenix police.
A police spokeswoman said she was booked on three counts of first-degree murder.
Henry admitted to killing her 3-year-old son and two daughters, who were 2 years old and 7 months old, Phoenix police tweeted Tuesday morning.
Television footage showed two officers escorting Henry into a Phoenix jail on Tuesday afternoon, wearing a white gown with her hands cuffed behind her.
Police were interviewing the children’s 30-year-old father and a 49-year-old relative who lives in the home, authorities said.
Officials said Henry recently moved to Arizona from Oklahoma.
The initial call to police on Monday night was reported as a drowning of three individuals at the home. But the details later changed. Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade later confirmed there were three children who had died, but did not provide a cause of death.
Officers who responded to the home had attempted to revive the children, who were found unresponsive. There were no obvious signs of trauma to the children, police said.
The parents reported the children had been sick earlier in the night, according to police.
In a brief initial court appearance Tuesday night, Henry didn’t have an attorney present as a judge read her charges of three counts of first-degree murder.
She was ordered held on a secured bond of $3 million. Her next scheduled court appearance is Jan. 31.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety told The Republic it has never had contact with Henry, meaning there has never been a child-abuse allegation against her in Arizona.
Contributing: Chris Roth of The Republic, The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona mother arrested, admits killing her 3 children, police say
