A 27-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her three children.

Rachel Henry pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for  suffocating the children after which she put their bodies on a couch so it would look like they were sleeping, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

On Jan. 20, 2020, Phoenix police received a call from a woman reporting the children were dead in a home near 24^th Street and Baseline Road. The call was made by their great aunt, MCAO officials stated in a release.

“Henry admitted to detectives that hours before that emergency call, she had suffocated her children one-by-one. First, Henry said she placed her hand over her 1-year-old daughter’s mouth as they were playing and held it there until she was dead. Her 3-year-old son saw what was happening and tried to stop his mother by hitting and yelling at her,” the release stated.

She then tried to grab the boy but was interrupted by the arrival of the children’s father and great aunt, authorities said.

“After some time had passed, she said she was putting the boy down for a nap. She took her son to a bedroom where she sang him a lullaby and suffocated him as the boy fought back.”

She then gave her 7-month-old daughter a bottle until she fell asleep. Henry then put her hand over the baby’s face until she stopped breathing, authorities said. Henry said that after killing each child, she placed them on a couch so it would appear they were sleeping.

“I’ve dedicated my career to protecting children, and it’s hard to comprehend how any parent could take the life of their own,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. “Thank you to the prosecution team for ensuring justice was served for these three innocent children.”

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