PLEASANT GROVE, UT, April 14, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) — A mother of three teenage and adult children has been charged after police found seven dead babies in the family’s garage. Police estimate the babies were born between 1996 and 2006.
Last week, the estranged husband of Megan Huntsman, who recently left prison after serving time for drug-related charges, found one dead infant in a box in the garage. He called police, who found six other babies that had been killed. Huntsman was immediately booked on charges related to six of the babies. USA TODAY reports “it wasn't immediately clear” why six charges of murder were brought against her, not seven.
Police say the three living children and Huntsman's husband, Darren West, are not considered suspects in the alleged murders, though neighbors have expressed shock and confusion as to how the children could have not known Huntsman was pregnant. One neighbor pointed to how the daughters would sometimes park vehicles in the garage where the bodies were found.
Police believe Huntsman and West were in a relationship when the children were born, but are conducting a DNA test to determine his paternity.
In 2005, West pled guilty to possession of chemicals for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2006, but claimed he had no intention of manufacturing methamphetamine. It’s unclear when he was released from prison.
Huntsman moved out of the house the babies were found in several years ago, leaving the couple's three daughters to live on their own.
While reported killings and attempted killings of newborns by mothers show the occurrences are rare, in 2013 a number of cases made national and international news. Pro-life leaders have argued that the growing trend is connected to the dehumanizing of nascent human life in a culture that accepts abortion-on-demand.