In a terribly shocking incident from the US, a mother who lives in Arizona smothered her three young children to death while singing them lullabies as two of her relatives sat in the living room unaware of what she was doing.
Rachel Henry, 22, from Phoenix, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with three counts of murder after the bodies of her children aged three, one and seven-months respectively, were found propped up on her sofa ‘as if they were sleeping’.
What Exactly Happened
According to police, Henry admitted smothering the children starting with her one-year-old daughter by placing her hands over the girl’s mouth and nose until she stopped moving. Henry said the girl kicked while she was being smothered in front of her three-year-old brother, who screamed ‘no’ and punched her but to no avail.
Henry further told officers that she left the girl’s body at the back of the house and chased her son around until two relatives arrived at the property.
As they sat in the living room, Henry caught the boy and took him upstairs on the pretence of putting him to bed before she could smother him too. Investigators say the boy pinched and scratched her as he died, but was unable to save himself.
She then went to find the seven-month-old girl, gave her a bottle to feed on until she fell asleep, then smothered her as well.
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The mother shockingly sang lullabies to all three children while they were dying. She then placed all three bodies on the couch ‘as if they were sleeping’. Police were called to the property some time later to reports of unspecified ‘trouble’.
According to Phoenix Police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune, authorities found all three children dead in their Phoenix home on Monday evening after someone called 911 to report the matter. He quoted:
Rachel admitted to smothering each child, starting with the 1-year-old. Henry told investigators the girl kicked her as she smothered her while the toddler son yelled and punched her to try to stop her.
Just Why!
Authorities offered no possible motive for the killings, but court records cited one of the other adults in the house as having told police that Henry ‘had a methamphetamine addiction and had been acting strange the past several days’.
It was also reported earlier on Tuesday that the children had previously been removed from their family home because Henry’s alleged addiction.
Court Proceedings
The police said Henry gave a voluntary statement admitting to all the details of the killings.
She faces three counts of first-degree murder and made her first court appearance on Tuesday, but she did not have an attorney and did not enter a plea. A judge set bond at $3 million and ordered an attorney be appointed for her by the state.
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Appearing by videoconference from the jail, Henry said little except to express concern about the bond amount. She only said,
I don’t know how I’m going to be able to get any money. I don’t have a job or anything.
Watch Mother’s Initial Appearance In Front Of Judge
JUST IN: Rachel Henry, the woman who admitted to killing her 3 small children last night in Phoenix, made her initial appearance in front of a judge.
DETAILS: https://t.co/MWdjb6q2RS
ARREST PHOTOS: https://t.co/2ya62PiyuR pic.twitter.com/TV8H9Fyqzz
— azfamily 3TV CBS 5 (@azfamily) January 22, 2020
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http://voiceformenindia.com/in-the-law/child-murder-by-mother/
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