A Phoenix mother who admitted to killing her three children in 2020 changed her plea to guilty on Thursday, according to Maricopa County court records.
Rachel Henry, 27, pleaded guilty during a status conference to three counts of first-degree murder, one for each of her children whom she smothered to death.
On January 20, 2020, police arrested Henry after killing her children, all under the age of 4, at their family home in south Phoenix. She was charged with murder by a grand jury that same year, according to the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office.
Rachel Henry
In February 2020, Henry originally pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Court records show she confessed to smothering Zane Ezri Henry, Mireya Henry and Catalaya Kyeana Rios to death, singing songs to them as they died and then placing their bodies in the living room as if they were sleeping.
Henry’s change to a guilty plea meant she would no longer face the death penalty for Arizona.
Phoenix police declined to comment on Henry’s plea change.
The Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Henry was next scheduled to appear in court for another status conference on January 29, 2025. Her sentencing was scheduled to begin on February 14, 2025, and she was being held without bond.
The Republic’s Bree Burkitt contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rachel Henry pleads guilty to murdering her three children in 2020
