Police: Utah woman who allegedly killed 6 newborns was meth addict

PROVO, Utah, July 9 (UPI) -- A Utah woman charged with killing six newborn babies and concealing their bodies chose her methamphetamine addiction over her children, police said.

Megan Huntsman, 39, felt unable to care for her children, Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Michael Roberts said Tuesday. He said she was also worried about the cost of the drug.

"She had to make a decision between the drugs and the babies," Roberts said.

Huntsman was arrested in April after her estranged husband, Darren Walker, found one of the bodies when he came to their home to pick up some of his belongings after being released from prison. Police found seven dead infants, but Huntsman told investigators one was stillborn.

She is being held in lieu of $6 million bail.

Roberts said that DNA testing has confirmed Walker, who served a sentence for drug crimes, was the father of the seven children. The babies were born between 1996 and 2006.

Huntsman, charged with six counts of murder, faces anywhere from five years to life on each if she is convicted.