Arizona woman killed her young children because she was 'hearing voices,' police claim

A 9-year-old girl and a 7-year old boy were found dead in Tempe, Arizona, on May 15 after their mother told police that she was “hearing voices telling her to kill her children,” police say.

The children’s mother drove to the police department’s Apache substation and flagged down an officer just after 7 a.m.

She told the officer that she was “hearing voices telling her to kill her kids,” spokesman Sgt. Steven Carbajal said, according to The Arizona Republic.

Officers responded to an apartment and found the children dead with “obvious signs of physical trauma.”

The mother has been identified as Yui Inoue, 40. She was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to The Arizona Republic.

Officers responded to the same apartment earlier May 15 around 12:30 a.m. for a “domestic dispute” between a wife and husband.

No arrests were made, and the pair were separated, according to Carbajal.

Police did not identify the couple who was involved in the altercation or provide details about the dispute because they were “still looking through reports,” officials told The Arizona Republic.

Authorities said they do not believe they’ve had contact with the couple prior to the incident, and that they had recently moved into the apartment.

"Officers noted that the children were safe in their beds before they left the apartment," Carbajal said.

Carbajal said the scene was “tragic” and that the responding officers experienced emotional trauma when responding to the home.

Details about how the children died were not released, but police said "what they must have gone through prior to that or during that is something we can't even quantify," The Arizona Republic reported.

Carbajal said the children’s father was not home at the time of the incident and is not a suspect.