Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Mom on Meth Smothered 3 Young Kids: Police

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

Rachel Henry was charged with murdering her three young children in January 2020. When Phoenix Police arrived at the home where Henry was living with Zane, Mireya and Cataleya and their father, one family member was screaming. The video shows Henry talking about wanting a better life as her children lay dead inside the home. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy breaks down the video in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/crimefix to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. They just put up a bird app and they said that they were sleeping. Body camera video shows a mother in the hours before police say she admitted to the chilling murders of her three young children. I go through the horrific footage from that night. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. There are some things that are just absolutely unimaginable,

especially when it comes to children. Rachel Henry is accused of doing the unthinkable. She's accused of murdering her three young children, little Zane, Maria and Catalina. These were young children, three, one, and seven months old. They were just babies. They were defenseless. And what I'm going to tell you later is so heartbreaking, so just a warning there. But I have to begin with the body-worn camera footage from that night in January of 2020. Phoenix police officers arrived at the home, and some of the video is redacted,

but the emotional screams captured suggest just how graphic the crime scene was. Oh, my God. They're going to stay for a while. They're going to be dead for a while. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Please. Okay.

Make sure traffic knows where they're at. Oh, my God. I can't. Oh, my God Please! Okay. Make sure traffic fire knows where they're at. Oh my god! I can't do this! Oh my god! Get her. Get her and get her out. Move out of the way. Here, I'll get this one. Where were they? Where were they? They were taking a nap right there!

I can't sleep! I can't sleep! I can't sleep! Woodchuck I didn't check on him! What do you mean? Woodchuck, get her out! Yeah, let's go! Hey, out! Oh my god! Yeah, there's a copter here! No, no, no, no!

No, no, no, no! No! I know, I know, it's okay. I know, I know, it's okay. No, no, no, no! It's okay, it's okay. It's okay. No! It's okay, it's okay. It's okay, you're okay. No! Come here, come here, come here. We're gonna talk out here. Hey, are there any pain medications in the house?

Any pills? Just the medicine that she has. All the medicine she has to take, I guess. Right here in the drawer. Right here in the drawer. Okay, hey, I know, I know, let's go outside. I don't know why they keep on coming back inside. Yeah. Okay. Hey, I know, I know. Let's go outside. I don't know. Keep on coming back inside.

Yeah. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Come on. Outside, outside, outside. Mike, control those two. Those officers saw those three young children laying on a couch in the house. Now officers remove the mother and the family relatives from the living room so they can investigate. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Is there a chair or something she can sit in? Maybe that one? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Thank you. I appreciate that. No! Did you want to sit down? Oh my God. Can I get your name, ma'am? Rachel Henry. Rachel Henry?

Okay. My baby. I want to tell you about Upside. It's a free app that gets you cash back on things like gas, groceries, and restaurants. This is real cash back. It's money that appears in your Upside app that you can transfer straight into your bank account. I used Upside when I went to Dunkin' Donuts for a cup of tea. I claimed an offer for Dunkin' on the app, paid as usual using a card, and followed the steps, and I got cash back. It's

really easy. You can also use Upside at places like Shell, Exxon, 7-Eleven, Taco Bell, Chipotle, and that's just to name a few. To find out how much you could earn, click the link in the description to download Upside or scan the QR code on your screen and use our promo code CRIMEFIX to get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's promo code crime fix for extra cash back. Now you see in that video that Rachel Henry is telling police that her children were sick. Then Rachel Henry starts to shift the blame and tells another story. She kept telling me to clean the house. I did the laundry and I was cleaning it. I thought they were sleeping. they fell asleep watching a movie.

And my dad came home and he was laying on the couch and I told him to watch him. High five. Oh, sorry. I told him to watch him, he was laying on the couch. This is, um, mom, Rachel, Henry. He's been laying on the couch since he got home. And then we went to go get a pizza. That's what I thought.

And then I went to check on him and he was not there at all. Mom. No, I need you to stay right here with me. I told him to check on them. I told him to check on them. Oh, please. They're my babies. They're my babies.

I need you to stay out here with me. I know you want to go in there, ma'am, but I can't let you back in there. Okay? I just need you to sit out here with me. Okay. I was going to take them to work today because it's a holiday. We didn't know it was a holiday. I was going to get my driver's license.

I was going to's a holiday. We didn't know it was a holiday. I was gonna get my driver's license. I was gonna get a job. And I can get my own place and everything. And my babies will be fine. He wanted to go take the babies to daycare. And I don't understand why he can never handle the babies. But, I mean, nobody would. I mean, I just thought they were sleeping. I just thought they were sleeping.

I just thought they were sleeping. Yeah, I know. I already know. Why? Why? Why me? Why me? Why me? Yes, right. Oh, my baby. She can't tell me. Put him to sleep. Put him to sleep, put him to sleep, put him to sleep, what the fuck? I didn't want to put him in a plane, I was going to take him out in a plane.

They kept wanting me to put him to sleep and they were sick and I never gave them any medicine or anything and I just thought they were sleeping. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh. Time to dip him down for a nap. It's 5.30. What time is it now? It's about 8 o'clock.

They're up all night most of the time. You don't get them to go to sleep till like three. While investigators contain Rachel Henry on the porch, one officer speaks to the children's great aunt, Pearl Rebadea Velasco. When we got back, Pedro said, come here. He was hysterical. He said, I checked on the kids, why they were still asleep. Why were they still sleeping at this time? I was gonna wake them up because they'll be up all night. He said's in his 30s and that's all and everything just i don't know anything after that i just i started freaking out i was like what what i grabbed the baby and then it went and i grabbed and then i saw the other kids too it's all three of them it's my mom like how am i gonna tell her

just have her call call you back mama she'll never call you back mama or you'll call you back. Mama. Just have her call you back. Mama. Or you'll call her back. I have to talk to you about it, Mama. Mama, the babies are dead. No, no, no, no. Don't say that. You don't know that. Do not say that. Okay?

Don't say that. You don't know that. We don't know that. All right? Mama. Mama. I got to get off the phone, okay? I will call you in a little while.

Mama, all three of them. I will call you in a little while. Mama, all three of them. I will call you in a little while. Don't say that. Don't say that. Mama, they might be okay. They're dead, Dad. We don't know. We don't know.

Mama. Mama, no. Just don't think that right now. Great Aunt Pearl is obviously in shock as red and blue lights flash. She's trying to come to terms with the horror of what has happened. Please tell me you guys know. You know what? They're dead.

I don't know anything. They would have taken them to the hospital by now. All I did was go inside and I tried to get you. They were stiff. They've been dead for a while. All three of them. What the hell did she have given them? They already took them out?

No, they went out. When I was, I picked, I went to grab them. They tried to get them to the yard. The boy and he was just stiff there. He'd been there for a minute. Been there for a minute. Oh my God. So.

I just don't know what to do. So when was the last time you were there? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. The boy, and he was just sitting there. He'd been there for a minute. Been there for a minute. Oh, my God. I just told him to. So when was the last time you actually checked on him? I was in my room. I haven't checked on him because they were right there in the living room.

They're right there in the living room on the couch. That's where they sleep. That's where the kids sleep in the living room. It's a small trailer. I sleep over in my room. The kids are in the living room, the kitchen, sleep over heaven in my room the kids are in the living room the kitchen and over there in that front in that front bedroom that's their area okay you know they don't go they have the bathroom over here they do take a bath in my bathroom but

that's that's it because there's no tub and it's a shower over there but anyway oh my god they haven't taken them out yet yeah they have a i when i pick when i oh my god when i pulled on them they were stiff the only one they were stiff they had been there for a while she didn't they were sleeping they didn't they were i you know what i mean and i told her you know what rachel why why i said the kids have been taking a day that's too long of a nap they're gonna be up all night you're not gonna be able to no sleep i i'm dead i mean i know that age they still sleep a lot, you know, like 16, 18 hours, you know, and all that. But yeah, you got to wake them up. Yeah, exactly.

So they're not up all night sleeping a lot. Exactly. And that's what the dad was doing. That's what the dad, when he checked on him, he was going to wake him up. Pearl then talked about the reaction of Pedro, the father of the children. What is Pedro's last name? Rios. Rios? Rios.

Like R-I-O-S? R-I-O-S. Do you know his birthday? Is he here? I don't know. That's what I was going to say. He was freaking out. Whenever he came home, he was here.

He was here. He's the one who said, Tia, come in here. So he should be here somewhere. He went in the room. He went into the room. He was freaking out. We started giving him. You know what? I really can't tell you all i know is that as soon as you guys came

back that's when yeah he was like yeah come here come here because the babies were they were he goes i went i went to wake him up i checked on him i went to wake him up the baby was no no, no, no, no. What did she? You know what? The girl is weird. Who? Rachel? Now, not long into this conversation, Pearl makes a shocking statement. And I just told Pedro, I said, Pedro, the girl is weird. I'm gonna break up with her. I'm afraid we're gonna come home one day and find her drowning the kids in the tubbers. Whoa. Unbelievable. Pearl said she told Pedro that she had a feeling that Rachel might hurt the children. And there's a very good reason why Pearl probably thought Rachel was weird. And you're going to hear it straight from her in just a few moments.

An officer then took Rachel Henry to a pickup truck. You can sit if you'd like. Do you have family back in Oklahoma? Not at all. Pardon? I don't have any family. You have no family? My mom just passed away last year.

Oh, I'm sorry. Eventually, Rachel Henry, she kind of opens up to this officer telling her how she'd moved to Arizona from Oklahoma with her family. I came out here and I couldn't get a job because I lost my driver's license. And I couldn't find it at all. all i wanted to do is get a job and i kept trying and trying and trying and i mean i'm trying to get my life turn my life around get my act right and i still am and i'm definitely going to now in every possible way henry then reveals that she has a drug problem. I even ask the Lord to forgive us because, I mean, I want to forget my past and I want a better future. I want to forgive myself. I want, you know, I want to move on, move forward. I want to go back to school. And just, I can move on and start over and start fresh and free myself because I have a problem.

And this first step to recovery is a thing that I have a problem with. But what was your addiction? Uh, first it was weed, and then it was, uh, nothing that I mean. And then I stopped, and I'm not doing it anymore. Because I don't want to. I don't want to be like, I don't want to ever, ever again. Ever. And I don't know. I want to be a better person. And I want to go back to school. I want a better job. I want better opportunities in life. And I mean, I never asked for any involves that I had because I was crazy and stupid. I've told you many times, meth is bad, bad, bad stuff.

It will make people do crazy things. So Rachel Henry, her three children are in this house and they're dead. And she's talking about wanting a better job and better opportunities and wanting to go back to school. The conversation then continues. I lost their life. I hope we get that someday. then continues. Rachel stands there and this officer tries to comfort her. It doesn't mean I'm going to do everything I can in order to do their life. Rachel stands there, and this officer tries to comfort her. You're very young.

You've got a lot of time ahead of you. It's going to take you a long time to process this. Pardon? Is that okay? Probably going to need to go through some counseling. Counseling, I mean, I'm not sure if I'm going to take her to the police station for questioning. All right, Rachel. Detectives are going to go talk to you downtown instead of here because they're already down at their office. This officer is going to be your glorified taxi. That's all. You're not going to come in any trouble, okay?

That make sense? Yes. Do you want to take your water? 620. While you want to take your water? 620. All right. Do you have any questions? No. All right.

I appreciate you cooperating. Good luck. The officer then walks Rachel Henry to the cruiser to take her downtown. In the interview with police, Rachel's story changes and what she admits to is horrifying. An affidavit says Rachel admitted to smothering each child, starting with the one-year-old female. Rachel was playing with the one-year-old female and wrestling on top of her. Rachel felt the one-year-old female's breathing was obstructed, but continued to impede her breath by placing her hand over the one-year-old

female's mouth. This is a one-year-old child whose mother is supposed to do whatever she can to protect her. The affidavit says the little girl kicked, trying to stop her mom from killing her. The affidavit continues, Rachel stated the one-year-old female kicked as she did so, while the three-year-old male yelled no at her and then attempted to get her to stop. Rachel knew she had killed the one-year-old female when she stopped kicking. Rachel said the three-year-old male attempted to help the one-year-old female by punching Rachel to no avail. The affidavit describes Henry saying she was interrupted by two people returning home, so she played with Zane in a bedroom and then killed him in that bedroom. Rachel took the three-year-old male

into a back bedroom where she changed his underpants. As Rachel did so, she placed the three-year-old male on the floor of the bedroom, straddled him with one of her legs and placed her hand over his nose and mouth. Rachel described singing to the three-year-old male as he scratched her chest and pinching her while she placed her hand over his nose slash mouth. Rachel used her weight on top of the three-year-old male, straddling him to smother him until he died. The document continues. Rachel fed the seven-month-old female a bottle in her bedroom until she fell asleep. Rachel sang a song as she placed her hand over her face and impeded her breathing. Rachel sang to the seven-month-old female until she became unconscious

and died. Rachel placed all of the children in a position on the living room couch as if they were taking a nap. Rachel Henry was charged with the first-degree murder of her three children. Two nights later, the family held a vigil for three-year-old Zane, one-year-old Maria, and seven-month-old Catalina. Zane's obituary described him as an active little boy who enjoyed playing with toys, especially Spider-Man. He loved watching cartoons and his daddy and auntie, and he never turned down candy. Maria was a happy little girl who loved being held, especially by her daddy,

and she too loved watching cartoons and eating candy. Her favorite toy and character? Minnie Mouse. And Catalina was a beautiful baby girl with sparkling eyes who loved her swing. She was already understanding Spanish and English, even though she was just seven months old. According to police, there had been several domestic disputes and welfare checks that were documented in Oklahoma. The family had moved from Oklahoma to Arizona a few months prior. At one point, social workers actually removed all three children from the home because of Rachel's drug problem.

Unable to make sense of this crime, Aunt Pearl, who you heard from earlier, set up a jailhouse phone call with Rachel where she claimed she was going crazy. I didn't know what was going on. I told you I felt like I was losing my mind because I didn't understand why you guys, why everyone was acting the way they were. I didn't. I was on drugs. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Rachel Henry, and she has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case is ongoing. A trial had been scheduled for earlier this year. That trial has not yet happened. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.