PROVO, Utah (Reuters) - A Utah
mother accused of killing six of her newborn infants over a decade and
stashing their bodies in a garage was charged on Monday with murder in
their deaths.
Megan
Huntsman, 39, made a brief court appearance in Provo, Utah, as the
first-degree murder charges were revealed by Utah County Attorney Jeff
Buhman.
Hunstman could face life in prison if convicted but will not be eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors said.
Police have said that Huntsman, who was arrested on April 13, has
admitted to strangling or suffocating the six babies just after their
births between 1996 and 2006 in a rare case of serial infanticide.
The infants' remains were found wrapped in old towels, shirts and
plastic bags and stuffed inside cardboard boxes in the garage of her
former home in Pleasant Grove, a suburb just north of Provo. The body
of a seventh infant was found disposed of in the same way, but
authorities have said they believe that child was stillborn.
Police have said Huntsman secretly gave birth to all seven
babies without medical assistance at the house after apparently
managing to conceal her pregnancies.Authorities have said she has explained her rationale for the killings to investigators, but they have not publicly revealed the alleged motive.
Buhman told reporters that DNA from the infants' remains was still
being analyzed to confirm their parentage, which could take weeks or
months.
Huntsman has three
surviving daughters, ages 14, 18 and 20, and they still live with other
relatives at the Pleasant Grove address. At least one of them, the
youngest, was born during the period in which the mother is suspected
of slaying the babies.
Each
count of first-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of five years
to life in prison. But Huntsman is not eligible for the death penalty
if convicted because the alleged offenses predate changes in the law
that would have made them capital crimes, said Jared Perkins, a deputy
county attorney.
Huntsman,
who remains jailed in lieu of $6 million cash-only bond, was arrested
after her estranged husband, Darren West, discovered the remains of one
of the infants while cleaning out his garage, leading police to find
the six other bodies.
The county attorney said neither West nor the three surviving sisters are considered suspects in the case.
(Reporting by Peg McEntee; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
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