// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was Megan Huntsman's case a real killer story? It had a grave plot.
Megan Huntsman child murders were the six killings of newborn children in Utah between 1996 and 2006, committed shortly after birth by their mother Megan Huntsman (b. 1975). She also concealed the death of a seventh child who was stillborn.[1][2][3]
The serial infanticide was discovered in April 2014 when Huntsman's ex-husband Darren West began cleaning the garage of the home he once shared with her in Pleasant Grove, Utah.[4] West discovered a small white box, wrapped in plastic, which contained the small, decomposing body of a baby. Appalled by the discovery, he contacted authorities.
Megan was questioned by police after admitting to Darren how she had given birth and put the infant's stillborn body in the garage. During this interview she admitted first to killing four children, 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 who was stillborn. She had never disclosed any of the pregnancies to others or sought medical treatment during pregnancy, and Pleasant Grove police attributed the murders to her being absorbed in her drug addiction and unwilling to handle the responsibilities of additional children.[5] In the end, police discovered a total of seven infant bodies, one of which was stillborn but the others were murdered. After the full investigation it was determined all the babies were Darren West's children, but Megan Huntsman, unbeknownst to him, had murdered them minutes after they were delivered.[6][7][8] She pled guilty to six counts of murder, and was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years with maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment.
Perpetrator
[edit]Megan Huntsman | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 26, 1975 |
Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse |
Darren West (divorced) |
| Children | 10[9] |
| Conviction | Murder (6 counts) |
Criminal penalty | 15 years to life imprisonment[2] |
| Details | |
| Victims | 6 |
Span of crimes | 1996–2006 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
Date apprehended | April 2014 |
| Imprisoned at | Utah State Correctional Facility[10][11][12][13] |
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 according to an uncle had not been active in church functions by the time of her arrest. [citation needed]. Megan attended Pleasant Grove High School. At high school she met Darren West, and they married in April 1993 shortly after she turned 18.[7][14][15]
Their marriage eventually struggled with substance abuse and violence. West was convicted of methamphetamine-related charges and imprisoned between 2006 and 2014.[16][17][18][5][19]
Murders
[edit]Huntsman 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's first three children were not murdered and were alive at the time her crimes were discovered.[9]
Legal proceedings
[edit]On February 12, 2015, Huntsman pleaded guilty to six counts of 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.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Utah woman Meghan Huntsman jailed for killing babies". BBC News. April 20, 2015.
- 1 2 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. April 14, 2014.
- ↑ Carroll, Linda (April 15, 2014). "How Could She? Mother Accused in Deaths of Infants". NBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- 1 2 "Utah mom Megan Huntsman killed 6 babies because too busy doing meth, police say". July 9, 2014.
- ↑ "Megan Huntsman: Is there a documentary on Netflix about this murderous mom?". MARCA. May 3, 2022.
- 1 2 Healy, Jack; Kovaleski, Serge F. (April 27, 2014). "One Mother, 7 Dead Newborns and a Stunned Community in Utah". The New York Times.
- ↑ Michael McFall (April 13, 2014). "Police find seven dead babies in Utah County home". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- 1 2 "Report: Utah woman allegedly hid pregnancies of living kids, too". CBS News. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
- ↑ Reavy, Pat (May 29, 2015). "Woman serving 15 to life for killing 6 babies ineligible for parole until 2064". ksl.com.
- 1 2 Miller, Jessica (April 21, 2015). "Utah woman who killed six of her newborns sentenced to prison".
- ↑ Reavy, Pat (May 29, 2015). "Mother who killed 6 babies won't get chance at parole until 2064". Deseret News. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Offender Search".
- ↑ Jack Healy; Serge F. Kovaleski. "One mother, 7 dead newborns and a stunned community in Utah".
- ↑ "Huntsman and West marriage". The Pleasant Grove Review. April 7, 1993. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Town, family wonder how woman hid 7 pregnancies". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 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.
- ↑ Lindsay Whitehurst (April 21, 2015). "Utah meth addict gets life in prison for killing her newborns".
- ↑ Brady McCombs. "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.
- ↑ Bob Mims; Pamela Manson (July 9, 2014). "Police say meth use was motive for Pleasant Grove mom to kill babies".
- ↑ Brady McCombs (June 23, 2015). "Utah husband denied knowing of 7 dead babies in garage".
- ↑ "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.