The Megan Huntsman Case: Seven Babies Hidden in a Utah Garage

A decade of concealed births, six murder convictions, and the discovery that exposed everything.

Investigators uncovered the remains of seven newborn infants hidden inside boxes in the garage of this Pleasant Grove, Utah home in 2014.

The Discovery in the Megan Huntsman Case

In April 2014, the Megan Huntsman case shocked investigators in Pleasant Grove, Utah when Darren West was cleaning out the garage of a home and opened a box containing the remains of an infant.He called police. As investigators searched the garage, they found more boxes. By the end of the search, authorities had recovered the remains of seven newborn infants.

What first appeared to be a single horrifying discovery quickly became something much larger. The infants had been hidden in the garage for years.

Darren West, Megan Huntsman’s estranged husband and the father of the seven infants, who discovered the first box while cleaning out the garage.

What Investigators Said Happened

According to police and court records, Megan Huntsman gave birth at home to the babies between 1996 and 2006 without medical assistance. Investigators said she later admitted that six of the newborns were killed shortly after birth and that one infant was stillborn. That is why the case involved seven babies found, but six murder charges and six murder convictions.

Police said Huntsman told them she either strangled or suffocated the babies and then wrapped and boxed the remains before storing them in the garage.

The Family Behind the Case

What made the case even more unsettling was that this was not someone living completely cut off from family life. Huntsman had three living daughters by the time the case came to light. Reporting on the case said the first two were born before the killings began, and a third child was not harmed because that pregnancy was known to others. Prosecutors said the later pregnancies were concealed.

That meant these deaths were not discovered in the moment. They remained hidden alongside an outwardly ordinary family life.

Megan Huntsman appears in court after investigators discovered the remains of seven infants hidden inside boxes in a Pleasant Grove, Utah garage.

Darren West, Her Husband and the Father of the Babies

Darren West was Megan Huntsman’s husband, later estranged husband, and the man who discovered the first infant in the garage in 2014. DNA testing later confirmed that he was the biological father of all seven infants.

His role became a major question in the case. He had lived in the home during much of the period when the births and deaths occurred, and many people wondered how he could have known nothing. West said Huntsman had told him some pregnancies ended in miscarriages, and his attorney said he had no involvement in the deaths. Investigators were skeptical at first, but authorities ultimately said they did not have evidence to charge him, and the case proceeded against Huntsman alone.

That does not remove him from the story. He was the father of the babies, part of the household during those years, and the person whose discovery finally brought the hidden deaths to light. But legally, he was not charged.

Megan Huntsman is escorted into court by law enforcement officers during hearings related to the deaths of six newborn babies between 1996 and 2006.

Addiction and the Explanation Given to Police

Investigators later said Huntsman told them she had been using methamphetamine and alcohol during that period and did not want the responsibility of more children. Police said she described choosing drugs over caring for the babies.

In court, her defense pointed to depression, addiction, secrecy, and a deeply troubled life. Prosecutors argued the killings were deliberate and repeated over many years.

The Guilty Plea and Sentence

Huntsman was charged with six counts of murder after investigators concluded one of the seven infants had been stillborn. In February 2015, she pleaded guilty to all six counts.

In April 2015, she was sentenced to six terms of five years to life. Judge Darold McDade ordered three terms to run consecutively and three concurrently. Her first parole hearing was later set for April 2064.

Booking photo of Megan Huntsman following the investigation into the deaths of six newborn infants found stored in a garage.

Case Facts

Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah

Years involved: 1996 to 2006

Bodies discovered: April 2014

Infants found: 7

Murder convictions: 6

One infant ruled: Stillborn

Husband / father of the children: Darren West, confirmed by DNA as the father of all seven infants

Outcome: Megan Huntsman pleaded guilty to six counts of murder and was sentenced in 2015 to six terms of five years to life, with her first parole hearing set for 2064

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