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PROVO — Megan Huntsman, the Pleasant Grove woman accused of killing her six babies and hiding their bodies in her garage, is considering a plea deal with prosecutors after waiving her right to a preliminary hearing last month.
Huntsman, 39, was in court Monday for an arraignment, but it was postponed until Feb. 9 to give her and her attorneys time to consider an offer they discussed with prosecutors on Friday.
Specifics of the deal were not mentioned in court Monday, but prosecutors have been open to plea negotiations with Huntsman because she was cooperative during the investigation, according to deputy Utah County attorney Jared Perkins.
"We are closer now than we were maybe a month ago," Perkins said. "We have ironed out more concretely what the deal would be, and now they are considering whether they want to take that."
Perkins said the case has been difficult to investigate due to the length of time that has passed since the infants were killed.
There are a lot of limitations on what science can tell us about the infants' remains. It's not as difficult a case because she has confessed to everything. We have a lot of good evidence coming directly from her (Huntsman), and that balances out some of the scientific limitations when it comes to the evidence.
–Deputy Utah County attorney Jared Perkins
"There are a lot of limitations on what science can tell us about the infants' remains," he said. "It's not as difficult a case because she has confessed to everything. We have a lot of good evidence coming directly from her (Huntsman), and that balances out some of the scientific limitations when it comes to the evidence."
Huntsman is charged with six counts of murder, a first-degree felony, for allegedly choking or smothering the six newborns between 1996 to 2006. A seventh baby found in the garage was determined to be stillborn.
The bodies were discovered in April when Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, was going through boxes in the garage of the home the couple shared in Pleasant Grove, 536 E. 200 North.
West was later determined to be the father of all seven children, though he said he never knew Huntsman was pregnant. She later told police she was addicted to drugs and couldn't afford to keep the children.
Huntsman faces a potential sentence of five years to life in prison for each charge.
Contributing: Sam Penrod
Video Contributor: Sam Penrod
