Arizona mom admits killing three young children in Phoenix home, police say

PHOENIX — An Arizona woman admitted to killing her three children in a Phoenix home Monday night, authorities said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old woman was not identified by Phoenix police, the Arizona Republic reported. In a tweet Tuesday, police Phoenix police said the woman admitted to killing her 3-year-old son and her two daughters, ages 2 and 7 months. Police did not say how the children died, the Republic reported.

Sgt. Mercedes Fortune, of the Phoenix Police Department, said the woman will be booked on suspicion of first-degree murder, KTVK reported.

“This is one of the most difficult calls that officers and fire respond to, ones dealing with young ones who have lost their lives,” Fortune told the television station.

According to police, when officers arrived at the home they were met by the woman, the father of the children and another relative, KNXV reported. The officers found all three children unresponsive in a front living room area of the home, the television station reported.

The officers performed CPR and pronounced all three children dead at the scene, KNXV reported.

Originally, the call to police at 7:30 p.m. Monday reported the drowning of three people at the home, but the details were later changed, according to the Republic. Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade later confirmed three children died but did not provide a cause of death, the newspaper reported.

Police said the woman had recently moved to Arizona from Oklahoma.

"What we know is the mother has admitted to harming her children," Fortune told reporters Tuesday morning.