From 1996 to 2006, Megan Huntsman, an American woman, murdered six of her newborn children shortly after giving birth to them in Utah.[1][2][3]
The serial infanticide was discovered in April 2014 when Hunstman's ex-husband Darren West began cleaning out the garage of the Pleasant Grove house he once shared with her.[4] While moving several boxes, West discovered a small white box, wrapped in plastic, containing the small, decomposing body of a baby. Appalled by his discovery, he contacted authorities. His ex-wife Megan was brought in after admitting to him that she had given birth and put the infant's stillborn body in the garage. During this interview she admitted first to four, before finally stating she did not know how many there might be, at one point saying "eight or nine". Megan stated she had "choked" all the infants, with the exception of one stillborn. In the end police discovered six more bodies, one of which was later confirmed in an autopsy to not have been murdered but was stillborn. After the full investigation it was determined that the babies were Darren West's children, but that Megan Huntsman, unbeknownst to him, had murdered them minutes after they were delivered.[5][6][7]
Perpetrator
editMegan Huntsman | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 26, 1975 |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse |
Darren West (divorced) |
| Children | 10[12] |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | 30 years to life imprisonment[2] |
| Details | |
| Victims | 6 |
Span of crimes | 1996–2006 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Utah |
Date apprehended | April 2014 |
| Imprisoned at | Utah State Correctional Facility[8][9][10][11] |
Megan Huntsman (born February 26, 1975) grew up in Pleasant Grove as the oldest child of an industrial painter and a mother who worked at a grocery store, among other jobs. She was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but had not been active by the time of her arrest according to her uncle Larry Huntsman [citation needed]. Megan Huntsman attended Pleasant Grove High School during which she met her future husband Darren West whom she married in April 1993 shortly after turning 18.[6][13][14] Their marriage eventually decayed into substance abuse and violence and West eventually was convicted of methamphetamine-related charges and was imprisoned between 2006 and 2014.[15][16][17][18][19]
Murders
editHuntsman committed all of her murders either by strangulation or suffocation then hid the bodies in boxes in her garage.[20] Police said Huntsman had been a heavy methamphetamine user and "didn't want the babies".[21][22] She also said she committed one of the murders when her husband and her brother and sister were in the house watching television.[23] Megan Huntsman's first three children were not murdered and were alive at the time her crimes were discovered.[12]
Legal proceedings
editOn February 12, 2015, Huntsman pled guilty to six counts of first-degree felony murder.[24][25][26] On April 20, Huntsman was sentenced to six counts of 5 years-to-life in prison with three counts to be served consecutively and three counts to be served concurrently.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Utah woman Megan Huntsman jailed for killing babies". BBC News. April 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Payne, Ed (April 21, 2015). "Utah mom admits killing 6 babies after giving birth". CNN.
- ^ "Babies killed by mother after birth in Utah home, police say". ABC7 Los Angeles.
- ^ Carroll, Linda (15 April 2014). "How Could She? Mother Accused in Deaths of Infants". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ "Megan Huntsman: Is there a documentary on Netflix about this murderous mom?". MARCA. May 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Healy, Jack; Kovaleski, Serge F. (April 27, 2014). "One Mother, 7 Dead Newborns and a Stunned Community in Utah". The New York Times.
- ^ "Police find seven dead babies in Utah County home". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ "Woman serving 15 to life for killing 6 babies ineligible for parole until 2064". ksl.com. May 29, 2015.
- ^ a b "Utah woman who killed six of her newborns sentenced to prison". April 21, 2015.
- ^ Reavy, Pat (29 May 2015). "Mother who killed 6 babies won't get chance at parole until 2064". Deseret News. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Offender Search".
- ^ a b "Report: Utah woman allegedly hid pregnancies of living kids, too". www.cbsnews.com.
- ^ "One mother, 7 dead newborns and a stunned community in Utah".
- ^ "Huntsman and West marriage". The Pleasant Grove Review. April 7, 1993. p. 4.
- ^ "Town, family wonder how woman hid 7 pregnancies". April 25, 2014.
- ^ "DNA ID's father of 6 newborns allegedly killed by Utah mom". CBS News. July 9, 2014.
- ^ "Utah mother gets maximum sentence for murdering six of her babies". Los Angeles Times. April 20, 2015.
- ^ "Utah mom Megan Huntsman killed 6 babies because too busy doing meth, police say". July 9, 2014.
- ^ "Utah meth addict gets life in prison for killing her newborns".
- ^ "Utah mom admits to strangling or suffocating her 6 babies immediately after they were born, police say". The Tuscaloosa News.
- ^ "Utah woman Megan Huntsman jailed for killing babies". BBC News. April 20, 2015.
- ^ "Police say meth use was motive for Pleasant Grove mom to kill babies". July 9, 2014.
- ^ "Utah husband denied knowing of 7 dead babies in garage". June 23, 2015.
- ^ "Utah mom pleads guilty to killing 6 babies". CBS News. February 12, 2015.
- ^ "Utah woman pleads guilty to killing six of her newborns". February 12, 2015.
- ^ "Utah mother pleads guilty to murdering six of her babies". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2015.