SEVEN NEWBORNS - at birth (1996-2006)/ Charged: Mother; Megan Huntsman - St. Lake City UT

Woman arrested after 7 dead babies found in home

Updated: 04/13/2014 7:29 pm CDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Police accused a Utah woman of killing seven babies she gave birth to over 10 years after they found the tiny bodies stuffed in cardboard boxes in the garage of her former home.

Megan Huntsman lived in the Pleasant Grove home until three years ago and was arrested Sunday. Police say the 39-year-old birthed the infants from 1996 to 2006.

Police Capt. Michael Roberts says officers responded to a call Saturday from Huntsman's estranged husband about a dead infant at the home about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. Officers then discovered the six other bodies.

Roberts says the man had lived with Huntsman but isn't a person of interest.

Huntsman was booked into jail on six counts of murder. Roberts says it wasn't clear if she has an attorney.

http://m.wistv.com/#!/newsDetail/25236233

Utah woman arrested after 7 dead babies found inside home
Published April 14, 2014 ·FoxNews.com

This photo provided by the Utah County jail shows Megan Huntsman, who was booked into the Utah County jail on suspicion of killing six of her newborn children over the past decade. Seven dead babies were found in a garage at a Pleasant Grove home where Huntsman lived up until 2011.AP/Utah County Jail

Police arrested a Utah woman Sunday after discovering seven dead babies in her former home.

Investigators believe that Meagan Huntsman, 39, who lived in the Pleasant Grove home until 2011, gave birth to the babies before killing them at various times between 1996 and 2006.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that police were called to the house Saturday by Huntsman's ex-husband, who had discovered the body of a newborn infant who appeared to be at full term. Police obtained a search warrant for the house and discovered the bodies of six more babies packed in boxes in the garage.

Police Capt. Michael Roberts told the paper that investigators are still working on DNA tests, but Huntsman's ex-husband, identified by family and neighbors as Darren West, is believed to be the father of all seven children. The Associated Press reported that West discovered the bodies while cleaning out the garage after recently getting out of prison. Authorities do not believe West was aware of the killings and is not a person of interest at this time.

Roberts said police believe West and Huntsman were together when the babies were born.

"We don't believe he had any knowledge of the situation," Roberts told The Associated Press

Asked how the man could not have known about the situation, Roberts replied, "That's the million-dollar question. Amazing."

Roberts declined to comment on a motive and what Huntsman said during an interview with investigators. He said it wasn't clear if she has an attorney. Huntsman was booked Sunday into the Utah County Jail on six counts of murder. It was not immediately clear why she was charged with six counts of murder and not seven.

The gruesome case has raised a series of questions about how the killings occurred despite Huntsman carrying out what neighbors seemed like a normal existence. Police declined to comment on a motive and what Huntsman said during an interview with investigators.

Huntsman also has three daughters -- one teenager and two young adults -- who lived at the house.

Neighbors in the middle-class neighborhood of mostly older homes 35 miles south of Salt Lake City say they were shocked by the accusations and perplexed that the woman's older children still living in the home didn't know their mother was pregnant or notice anything suspicious.

Several police cars blocked the entrance to the house Sunday evening as officers milled about with the belongings from the garage strewn across the front lawn.

Late Sunday, West's family issued a statement saying they were in a "state of shock and confusion."

"We are mourning this tragic loss of life and we are trying to stay strong and help each other through this awful event," the statement said before asking for privacy.

West pleaded guilty in federal court in 2005 to two counts of possessing chemicals intended to be used in manufacturing methamphetamine, court records show. In August 2006, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, but appealed the term three times. He maintained his innocence and said he never had any intention to manufacture meth. It's unclear when he was released.

West's sister Sarah Wright wrote to federal district court in 2006, saying West is a good father to his three daughters. She said he worked at an excavation company for 11 years and is an avid outdoorsman who likes to fish and camp.

"Darren is such an awesome dad," she wrote.

Neighbors told the AP they were shocked and horrified by the accusations of what went on inside the home. None of them even knew Huntsman was pregnant in recent years.

The family members seemed like nice people and good neighbors, said Aaron and Kathie Hawker, who live next door.

Huntsman moved out several years ago, leaving her three daughters to live alone, the Hawkers said. They weren't sure where Huntsman has since been living.

Years ago, Huntsman baby-sat the Hawker grandchildren and they were friendly with each other.

"It makes us so sad, we want to cry," Kathie Hawker said. "We enjoyed having them as a neighbor. This has just blown us away."

Aaron Hawker said he talked with West on Saturday morning. He told Hawker he was cleaning out the mess in the garage.

"Two hours later, suddenly we had all these policemen here," Aaron Hawker said.

Fred Newman, a neighbor whose cousin is the husband's mother, said he's perplexed how the three oldest daughters living there didn't know about what police say was going on. He said the girls didn't always park their cars in the garage, but did sometimes in the cold winter months.

"What's shocking is the three older ones living there and not noticing that their mother was pregnant," Newman said.

He said he has used his snow-blower to clean off the driveway of the home and the young women would thank him.

The girls were normal youngsters, coming and going often, neighbor Vickie Nelson said.

"It's shocking and kind of morbid and strange," Nelson said as he looked across the street at the garage from her from lawn.

Roberts said the case has been "emotionally draining" and upsetting to investigators. He was at the home when the bodies were discovered.

"My personal reaction? Just shocked. Couldn't believe it. The other officers felt the same," the 19-year police veteran said.

"They got more and more shocked each box they opened," Roberts said.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/14/police-arrest-woman-after-finding-7-dead-babies-in-cardboard-boxes-in-garage/

Sad. So many little one's gone. My soul cries for the little angels. William

Public defender appointed for woman accused of killing six newborns

Posted on: 6:39 am, April 21, 2014
updated on: 09:33pm, April 21, 2014
by Nineveh Dinha

PROVO — With her hands and ankles shackled, a Utah mother accused of murdering six of her infant children appeared in a Provo courtroom Monday.

Megan Huntsman was arrested more than a week ago, but formal charges have yet to be filed. The county attorney is asking for more time to review the detailed forensic evidence in this case. It’s still unclear who fathered all the infants and whether they are boys or girls.

Huntsman made a very brief appearance in court. It only lasted five minutes.

The 39-year-old was shackled in handcuffs and leg irons as she stood in front of a judge and was told she’s eligible for a court-appointed attorney.

“As you saw in the probable cause statement, she did admit she’s done this…as far as motive we’re not prepared to talk about that yet,” said Det. Dan Beckstrom with the Pleasant Grove Police Department.

Police say the mother of three teenage daughters, confessed to suffocating six of her seven newborns over a ten year span, from 1996 to 2006. Her estranged husband Darren West, who recently came back to Utah after serving a stint in federal prison on drug charges, found the corpses on April 12.

They were packaged in cardboard boxes in the home they used to share in Pleasant Grove. Huntsman, who was arrested at her trailer in West Valley City, claims the seventh baby was stillborn.

While detectives piece together the forensic evidence from the medical examiner’s autopsies, which were finished last week, the county attorney is asking for more time.

“We don’t expect to have it all by next week but it’ll put us farther down the road…we want to be careful, make sure that anything we do file is the right charge with the right dates and we want to make sure we don’t file erroneously,” said Jeff Buhman, Utah County Attorney.

There are still so many unanswered questions, mostly because the DNA testing isn’t done yet. Prosecutors say according to Huntsman’s confession, West fathered all the babies she’s accused of killing.

“Right now the indications from Megan are there’s one father and it’s Darrin, but we don’t know for sure if that’s true and the DNA tests will help us determine that,” Buhman said.

West, the estranged husband now has a lawyer. The county attorney and detectives met with him Monday afternoon. They say he’s being cooperative and is not a suspect.

Meantime, Huntsman who is in jail on a $6 million cash-only bail is due back in court next on April 28.

http://fox13now.com/2014/04/21/formal-charges-expected-for-woman-accused-of-killing-six-newborns/

Woman accused of killing 6 newborns appears in Utah court

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
Published Monday, July 21, 2014 1:28PM EDT

PROVO, Utah -- A woman accused of killing six of her newborns and storing their bodies in her garage appeared in court Monday.

Attorneys for 39-year-old Megan Huntsman postponed until October a decision about whether to request an evidence hearing in her case.

Police in Utah say Huntsman was heavily into a meth addiction when she strangled or suffocated the infants. The killings took place from 1996 to 2006.

Police say she wasn't worried about the babies' health but simply didn't want to care for them.

Her lawyer Anthony Howell has declined to comment on the allegations.

Authorities think a seventh baby found in her garage was stillborn.

Huntsman is in jail on $6 million bail, charged with six counts of first-degree murder. She has not yet entered a plea.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/woman-accused-of-killing-6-newborns-appears-in-utah-court-1.1924043#ixzz388UeS9Ei