A mother who had confessed to killing her two daughters amid a bitter custody dispute took her own life in jail, officials said.
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry said that Retta Cruse, 38, died “from an apparent act of self-harm by hanging” on Feb. 21.
Cruse was unresponsive when staff found her in her cell at Perryville Prison. Life-saving measures were conducted until paramedics arrived and pronounced her dead on the scene.
The woman had been incarcerated at the facility since she was sentenced in 2022 for the murders of her two daughters, Aleyah, 9, and Royal, 4.
Cruse admitted to killing the girls by giving them prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications on Sept. 8, 2021. She was found barricaded in a bedroom with self-inflicted wounds.
The mother also revealed that she committed the crime after losing her custody battle over Aleyah.
