Phoenix police say a homicide investigation is underway after three young boys were found dead Thursday morning at home near Greenway Road and Interstate 17.
The children were identified by police as Jaikare Rahaman, 8, Jeremiah Adams, 5, and Avery Robinson, 2 months.
They suspect their 29-year-old mother killed them and then tried to commit suicide, said Phoenix Police Sgt. Trent Crump. The woman is hospitalized in critical condition.
When the woman’s brother got home from work, Crump said she had a long conversation with him in the garage about God and having found the answer to life before. She then locked him out of the house.
The brother forced his way inside and found the woman had stabbed herself in the neck and abdomen before trying to drown herself, Crump said.
When police arrived, the woman told them her kids were staying with a family member, Crump said. Officers checked the home and found the bodies of Jaikare Rahaman and Jeremiah Adams in a closet. Police found 2-month-old Avery Robinson inside a suitcase.
“Trying to figure out exactly what happened in a couple hour time frame last night, it’s going to take us some time if we ever get the answers to it,” Crump said. “But obviously a very gruesome scene this morning for the officers, for the firefighters, for the family that was here.”
Investigators were serving a search warrant at the home Thursday morning.
Crump said the woman’s family is cooperating with police.
