Mother accused of killing six babies goes to court

Megan Huntsman appears in court in Provo, Utah. File picture: Rick Bowmer

Megan Huntsman appears in court in Provo, Utah. File picture: Rick Bowmer

Published Jul 22, 2014

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Provo, Utah -

A woman accused of killing six of her newborns and packing their bodies away in her garage over a decade appeared in court on Monday before a judge pushed back a planned hearing.

Attorneys for 39-year-old Megan Huntsman said in a Utah court that they needed more time before deciding whether they wanted to request a review of evidence in the case.

Defence attorney Anthony Howell said Huntsman's legal team is bringing on a medical expert to help review evidence but that expert would not be available until August.

Huntsman, who kept her head down during the hearing, is due back in court on October 20.

Huntsman is in jail on $6 million bail, charged with six counts of first-degree murder. She has not yet entered a plea.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman said Monday that prosecutors have not had any discussions about a possible plea deal.

Earlier this month, police for the first time revealed a suspected motive when they said Huntsman had a meth addiction when she strangled or suffocated the infants from 1996 to 2006.

Pleasant Grove Police Captain Mike Roberts said Huntsman did not want to care for them.

Her attorney, Howell, has declined to comment on the allegations.

Authorities think a seventh baby found in her garage was stillborn.

Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, discovered the infants' bodies on April 12 while cleaning out the home they had shared.

West lived with Huntsman during the 10-year-period the children were killed. He went to prison in 2006 and is not considered a suspect in the deaths.

Investigators have said they don't know how he could not have known about the seven pregnancies or deaths but they don't plan to question him further.

DNA results have revealed that all seven babies were full term and West was the biological father of the infants. - Sapa-AP

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