Woman charged with killing kids faced prior child-welfare scrutiny

A makeshift memorial grows in front of the home where Rachel Henry was arrested on suspicion of killing her three children after they were found dead inside the family home earlier in the week, shown here Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (AP) — Police say a woman charged with murder in the deaths of her three young kids in Phoenix was the subject of home visits by officers and child-welfare authorities when she previously lived in Oklahoma.

The reports released by police in Oklahoma say that a relative was given custody of Rachel Henry’s children for seven days in 2018 while authorities decided whether to take them away permanently. Henry is charged with murder in Monday’s killings of 3-year-old Zane Henry, 1-year-old Miraya Henry, and 7-month-old Catalaya Rios. Henry’s attorney didn’t return a call seeking comment.