Shock in Utah

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Shasta

On his shell he holds the earth.
There is much EVIL in this world, regardless of who did it, if you see or know of something like that going on and ALLOW it, you're just as GUILTY as they are! All that is required for EVIL to prevail is for GOOD men to do NOTHING!
Simmer down. Doing nothing and finding out the facts in a just investigation before condemning someone are two incredibly different things.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Simmer down. Doing nothing and finding out the facts in a just investigation before condemning someone are two incredibly different things.
I think KINGSMAN129 just likes to use a lot of capitals Shasta :grinning: He used to type in all caps as it was easier but then ceased when told it was like shouting (no offense there :wink:)

Yeah - it will be interesting to see how this story plays out as time goes on...
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators are reconstructing a mysterious decade from Megan Huntsman's life as they try to figure out how she concealed seven pregnancies before allegedly strangling or suffocating her newborns.
Utah investigators are examining DNA from the babies to determine who the parents are, studying the bones to find out how long ago the babies died and interrogating family members and talking to neighbors in pursuit of clues about how she did it.
Huntsman, 39, acknowledged to police that she killed the babies, put them in plastic bags and then packed them inside boxes in the garage of her home south of Salt Lake City over a decade from 1996 to 2006.
Investigators are trying to determine why she did it and who else, if anybody, knew about it or was involved. During the timeline she's given, she lived in the house with her now estranged husband and their three daughters.
Huntsman, who was arrested Sunday on six counts of murder, was ordered held on $6 million bail — $1 million for each baby. She is due in court Monday for an arraignment.
_h0_w305_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg
AP: Rick Bowmer
Pleasant Grove Police investigate the scene where seven infant bodies were discovered and packaged in separate containers at a home in Pleasant Grove, Utah on April 13, 2014.
Investigators are done with initial interviews of family, friends and neighbors and are digging into evidence, Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Mike Roberts said. They haven't ruled doing more interviews or making more arrests.
"It is a slow, meticulous process," Roberts said.
Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, made the discovery Saturday with fellow family members while cleaning out the garage of the house, which is owned by his parents. Police said they are trying to determine his knowledge or involvement.
Many of the answers hinge on what the Utah state medical examiner finds out in its examinations of the seven tiny bodies, which were found in various stages of decomposition in boxes that were on shelves and cabinets in the garage.
Greg Hess, Pima County chief medical examiner in southern Arizona, said forensic anthropologists should eventually be able to determine the sex of the babies based on the DNA results. They should also be able to determine if babies were full term by examining the bones.
But they probably won't be able to figure out if they babies were born alive unless one measures significantly bigger than a typical newborn or there are obvious signs of trauma that caused the death, Hess said. His office handles hundreds of bodies a year found in varying degrees of decomposition in the harsh Arizona desert.
The inability to scientifically determine if the babies were born alive could be key later if defense attorneys argue that the babies were stillborn. Huntsman told police that only one of the seven was stillborn, charging documents show.
Determining exactly how long ago the babies died will be challenging, Hess said. Unlike what is sometimes portrayed in movies and TV shows like CSI, forensic anthropologists cannot pinpoint the date and time precisely. Sometimes, the estimated time of death can span a 10- to 15-year window, Hess said.
"The older the remains, the larger the window is," Hess said. "The more recent the remains, the tighter you can make the window."
The question of whether Huntsman was using drugs during the pregnancies remains unanswered. Roberts declined to discuss what investigators have found out in this regard.
Her husband, West, spent more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing chemicals intended to be used in manufacturing methamphetamine. West was released from a federal prison in California in January and transferred to a halfway house in Salt Lake City.
It will likely be very difficult for the medical examiner to shed any light on whether the babies had something wrong with them, Hess said, unless there is was an odd skeletal abnormality. Studies to assess conditions such as Down syndrome are done on live tissue, he said.
Neighbors have described Huntsman as a nice, quiet woman who was trusted to take care of children and generally seen as a good person.
Police have been talking with many of them in search of clues. Next-door neighbor SanDee Wall said police asked her about whether Huntsman looked pregnant, if she was seen with other men and about a small trailer in the backyard. Wall told them she noticed weight fluctuations over the years, but didn't notice any men coming and going or anything odd happening in the trailer.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators are reconstructing a mysterious decade from Megan Huntsman's life as they try to figure out how she concealed seven pregnancies before allegedly strangling or suffocating her newborns.
Utah investigators are examining DNA from the babies to determine who the parents are, studying the bones to find out how long ago the babies died and interrogating family members and talking to neighbors in pursuit of clues about how she did it.
Huntsman, 39, acknowledged to police that she killed the babies, put them in plastic bags and then packed them inside boxes in the garage of her home south of Salt Lake City over a decade from 1996 to 2006.
Investigators are trying to determine why she did it and who else, if anybody, knew about it or was involved. During the timeline she's given, she lived in the house with her now estranged husband and their three daughters.
Huntsman, who was arrested Sunday on six counts of murder, was ordered held on $6 million bail — $1 million for each baby. She is due in court Monday for an arraignment.
_h0_w305_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg
AP: Rick Bowmer
Pleasant Grove Police investigate the scene where seven infant bodies were discovered and packaged in separate containers at a home in Pleasant Grove, Utah on April 13, 2014.
Investigators are done with initial interviews of family, friends and neighbors and are digging into evidence, Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Mike Roberts said. They haven't ruled doing more interviews or making more arrests.
"It is a slow, meticulous process," Roberts said.
Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, made the discovery Saturday with fellow family members while cleaning out the garage of the house, which is owned by his parents. Police said they are trying to determine his knowledge or involvement.
Many of the answers hinge on what the Utah state medical examiner finds out in its examinations of the seven tiny bodies, which were found in various stages of decomposition in boxes that were on shelves and cabinets in the garage.
Greg Hess, Pima County chief medical examiner in southern Arizona, said forensic anthropologists should eventually be able to determine the sex of the babies based on the DNA results. They should also be able to determine if babies were full term by examining the bones.
But they probably won't be able to figure out if they babies were born alive unless one measures significantly bigger than a typical newborn or there are obvious signs of trauma that caused the death, Hess said. His office handles hundreds of bodies a year found in varying degrees of decomposition in the harsh Arizona desert.
The inability to scientifically determine if the babies were born alive could be key later if defense attorneys argue that the babies were stillborn. Huntsman told police that only one of the seven was stillborn, charging documents show.
Determining exactly how long ago the babies died will be challenging, Hess said. Unlike what is sometimes portrayed in movies and TV shows like CSI, forensic anthropologists cannot pinpoint the date and time precisely. Sometimes, the estimated time of death can span a 10- to 15-year window, Hess said.
"The older the remains, the larger the window is," Hess said. "The more recent the remains, the tighter you can make the window."
The question of whether Huntsman was using drugs during the pregnancies remains unanswered. Roberts declined to discuss what investigators have found out in this regard.
Her husband, West, spent more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing chemicals intended to be used in manufacturing methamphetamine. West was released from a federal prison in California in January and transferred to a halfway house in Salt Lake City.
It will likely be very difficult for the medical examiner to shed any light on whether the babies had something wrong with them, Hess said, unless there is was an odd skeletal abnormality. Studies to assess conditions such as Down syndrome are done on live tissue, he said.
Neighbors have described Huntsman as a nice, quiet woman who was trusted to take care of children and generally seen as a good person.
Police have been talking with many of them in search of clues. Next-door neighbor SanDee Wall said police asked her about whether Huntsman looked pregnant, if she was seen with other men and about a small trailer in the backyard. Wall told them she noticed weight fluctuations over the years, but didn't notice any men coming and going or anything odd happening in the trailer.

Thanks for this Scott! There is one inconsistency however - at the beginning of the article she apparently said she killed the babies but later in the article it says "But they probably won't be able to figure out if the babies were born alive"

So if they do not expect mental illness to be involved (as per skimom's post) then this woman just takes a REALLY bad mug shot (cuz she looks pretty weird to me!)
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
...she has admitted the killings, but as usual in bizarre cases like this, much investigation remains to be conducted....I for one, struggle with the concept of those close to her or around her, not recognizing her pregnancies, and the method of "disposal" suggests pre-meditation and consistent pattern...
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
...she has admitted the killings, but as usual in bizarre cases like this, much investigation remains to be conducted....I for one, struggle with the concept of those close to her or around her, not recognizing her pregnancies, and the method of "disposal" suggests pre-meditation and consistent pattern...
There was a lady here who didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labor....didn't miss one monthly cycle or anything.....since she wasn't aware, her husband and family didn't know either. Her back started hurting one night, and she went to the ER.....turned out she was in labor.
Not the same thing, I know.....but it can happen
 

Mr Nobody

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2008
3,306
9,050
Walsall, England
Though her expression in the mug-shot could be an act, it's equally possible that her confusion and shock are genuine.
Equally, I don't see how either she or her ex could be unaware of what had been going on (she could have been giving birth with the babies just 'disappearing'...but even if she didn't do the deed, it wouldn't take Einstein to figure things out).
If she did do it, then perhaps it occurred in 'break' episodes, meaning she has no recollection. The problem there is, you'd surely remember either being pregnant or giving birth - unless the hormone shift repeatedly did some very weird things to her brain chemistry before they went back to 'normal' some time after the births (which, afaik, would make it a unique case).
At this point, though, I'm thinking that the expression is more a case of genuine shock, because she knows they were both culpable and is struggling to accept that he hung her out to dry.
Either way, the truth will out, and let's hope the penalty is fitting.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
i refuse to comment because my language will be moderated, all i say is she is a psycho jesus christ
Yes - she must have some major mental health issues. I wanted to believe she was innocent at first and somehow was being made to take the blame (and there is still no court case) but it is looking like she is the killer after all.
 

VultureLvr45

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2012
2,650
13,707
Maryland
A couple thoughts...

A. Methamphetamines make people do f.....d up things.

B. Perhaps she thought the babies would be better off dead than living in a home where drugs are being manufactured, or ...

D..n, SEVEN babies. Yet with the presence of mind to wrap and hide them after murder. And what about her present 3 kids...

C. How about with seven different daddies while he was in jail? SAD
 
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