Prosecutors given another week for charges in Utah dead baby case

PROVO, Utah, April 21 (UPI) -- Investigators need more time in the case of a Utah woman who allegedly killed six babies immediately after she gave birth, prosecutors said Monday.

A judge in Provo scheduled another hearing next week for Megan Huntsman, 39. A public defender was appointed to represent her.

Huntsman was arrested after her husband told police he found the body of a newborn in their garage and investigators allegedly discovered six more. Police said she admitted giving birth to six babies she strangled or suffocated between 1996 and 2007, while a seventh is believed to have been born dead.

"There is a lot of evidence that is being gathered as we speak," County Attorney Jeff Buhman said during the hearing in Provo. "The medical examiner has completed initial autopsies, but we don’t expect the reports for awhile."

Huntsman, who is being held in lieu of $6 million bail, appeared in court in a jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles. She said very little, speaking only to tell the judge she has no money for a lawyer.

Darren Brad West, 41, Huntsman's husband, is now living in a halfway house. He allegedly told investigators he never knew she was pregnant.

Investigators are using DNA to determine if West and Huntsman are the parents of the dead newborns.

[Salt Lake Tribune]