Husband's Garage Discovery Uncovers Wife's Horrific Newborn Murders
In a chilling case from Utah, a husband's routine visit to his former home led to a horrifying discovery that exposed his ex-wife's decade-long secret of murdering their newborn babies.
The Disturbing Garage Discovery
Darren West returned to his former Pleasant Grove, Utah home in April 2014 to collect belongings after his release from an eight-year prison sentence for drug offences. What he encountered in the garage defied all reasonable explanation - six cardboard boxes containing the bodies of newborn babies. Authorities later confirmed a seventh child appeared to have been stillborn.
The babies had been placed in plastic bags and stored in boxes, left behind when Megan Huntsman moved out of the property. The discovery launched one of Utah's most disturbing criminal investigations in recent memory.
A Decade of Calculated Killings
Investigators determined Huntsman had carried out what prosecutors described as "cold, calculated killings" between 1996 and 2006. The 40-year-old mother had suffocated or strangled six of her own newborns immediately after giving birth at home.
Court documents reveal Huntsman was a heavy methamphetamine user who "didn't want the babies." Prosecuting attorney Jeff R. Buhman described her as "remarkably, unbelievably, incredibly indifferent and callous" toward her crimes.
The Courtroom Confession and Sentencing
Huntsman pleaded guilty in February 2015 to six counts of murder, repeating the word "guilty" six times during her court appearance. During her trial in Provo, a judge handed down the maximum sentence - a minimum of 30 years with the possibility of life imprisonment.
Prosecutors detailed how Huntsman had given birth at home, sometimes while other people were in the property. "She made sure the bathroom, or the bedroom, was cleaned before anyone got home and the baby was wrapped up quickly and thoroughly and stored in the garage before anyone would know," Buhman explained.
The Killer's Explanation and Aftermath
Huntsman offered little explanation for her actions, telling the court: "I cannot give a reasonable answer why I was capable of such a sick and heinous crime. I held my secret for 18 years." She admitted that after escaping her meth habit, she "moved on to alcohol. Depression and alcohol took hold of me the same way drugs did."
Authorities confirmed West was the father of all seven babies - five girls and two boys - and that the couple shared three surviving children. West was not considered a suspect, though questions remained about how he could have been oblivious to multiple pregnancies and deaths over the years.
Life Behind Bars
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole set Huntsman's original parole hearing for April 2064, meaning she will be 89 years old when she gets her first opportunity to request release. Prosecuting attorney Buhman stated: "Our hope is that she will probably spend the rest of her life in prison."
Pleasant Grove Police Captain Mike Roberts summarized the tragedy: "It was completely selfish. She was high on drugs and didn't want the babies, or the responsibility. That was her priority at the time." The case remains one of Utah's most shocking examples of maternal violence against newborns.
