(Photo courtesy of Phoenix Police Department)

Jaikare Rahaman, 8, Jeremiah Adams, 5, and Avery Robinson 2 months.

The 29-year-old woman suspected of killing her three children at a north Phoenix home had been on the Arizona Department of Child Safety’s radar, but the agency said it never had legal ground to take custody of the kids.

The boys — ages 8, 5 and 2 months — were found dead in a closet. The youngest had been stuffed in a suitcase.

“We are very transparent,” said Greg McKay, director of DCS. “And I say this all the time. We’ll come out and tell you when we feel we could have done differently. And we’ll come out and tell you when we feel we did not have role in preventing something like this. This particular situation is the latter.”

In 2010, DCS said it they received a report that one of the kids had an abrasion on his forehead. But investigators could not find the family.

In 2011, a report of marijuana odor coming from the family’s home prompted a DCS investigation into child neglect. DCS offered the mother services, but she refused.

This year, her newborn tested positive for marijuana. A subsequent DCS probe concluded the kids were safe. The mother was again offered services, but again refused.

Last year, Surprise police arrested a couple on suspicion of killing their daughter when she died a week shy of her fourth birthday and weighed only 15 pounds. DCS said the girl tested positive for drugs when she was born, and the agency had taken temporary custody of her. 

“People are unaware that if children test positive, born to an illegal substance, that doesn’t automatically result legally in a seizure of a child into the foster care system,” McKay said.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the girls’ parents, and their trial is scheduled for 2017.

The 29-year-old mother remains hospitalized after trying to commit suicide, Phoenix police said. But she is expected to survive.