A Utah woman accused of killing six of her newborn children and hiding the bodies in her garage pleaded guilty to murder charges during a court appearance on Thursday, Feb. 12.
Megan Huntsman, 39, of Pleasant Grove, remained reserved throughout the hearing, only answering, “yes” and “guilty.” Huntsman did not assert mental defense to the crimes but repeated the word “guilty” six times for each murder count.
“Our hope is that she will probably spend the rest of her life in prison,” said prosecuting attorney Jeff R. Buhman.
Huntsman gave birth to the six children between 1996 and 2006 and told police she had strangled or suffocated all of them. She also hid the body of her seventh child, who was stillborn. Huntsman told authorities she was addicted to methamphetamine at the time and didn’t want to care for the children.
Huntsman’s estranged husband, Darren West, found the newborns’ bodies as he cleaned out their Pleasant Grove home’s garage. DNA has shown West is the biological father of all seven children, but authorities do not consider him a suspect in the case. West found the bodies after returning from an eight-year sentence in prison for methamphetamine use.
Huntsman will reappear in court on April 20 at 1:30 p.m. for her sentencing. She is currently being held at the Utah County Jail on $6 million bail.
