Children categories
LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press
BRADY McCOMBS, Associated Press
PROVO, Utah (AP) —
A Utah mother pleaded guilty Thursday to killing six of her newborns and storing their bodies in the garage, bringing a case prosecutors called uniquely heinous closer to resolution.
Megan Huntsman, 39, faces up to life in prison when she's sentenced April 20. Her voice broke as she said "guilty" six times to answer for each count.
The guilty pleas are the result of a deal that could reduce her minimum sentence to five years, but "we'll be shocked if she ever gets out," Utah County attorney Jeff Buhman said.
The infants' remains were discovered by Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, in April 2014 as he gathered belongings from the home they had shared in Pleasant Grove, a city of about 35,000. He called police after finding the first tiny body in a cardboard box. Authorities found the rest, seven in all, one of which they said was stillborn.
Huntsman told police she immediately strangled or suffocated the newborns, wrapped them in cloth, put them in plastic bags, then packed them in boxes over a 10-year period from 1996 to 2006.
She told investigators she was addicted to methamphetamine at the time and didn't want to care for the babies.
West made the discovery shortly after he was released from federal prison where he was sent eight years ago after pleading guilty to meth charges. He was the father of each child and lived with Huntsman during the decade when they were killed, but police have said they aren't investigating him in connection with the deaths.
West and Huntsman have three other children, who are with other family members. He was not in court and has not spoken publicly about the case.
Defense attorney Anthony Howell declined to comment, as did family members who attended the court hearing about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Huntsman has said little in her brief court appearances, but Buhman said she has expressed remorse and may speak at her sentencing. He said the plea gives Huntsman fewer options for appeal than a trial would have, which "hopefully will mean this case is essentially done after the sentencing."
The day the bodies were found, Huntsman told police there were eight or nine dead babies in her home. But police later concluded that Huntsman was confused and guessing.
Pleasant Grove police detective Dan Beckstrom said she told police why she stored the bodies, but he declined to share her answer. "It truly," he said, "is unexplainable."
SETH ROBBINS, Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO (AP) —
Thousands of immigrants seeking legalization through the U.S. court system have had their hearings canceled and are being told by the government that it may be 2019 or later before their futures are resolved.
Some immigration lawyers fear the delay will leave their clients at risk of deportation as evidence becomes dated, witnesses disappear, sponsoring relatives die and dependent children become adults.
The increase in cancellations began late last summer after the Justice Department prioritized the tens of thousands of Central American migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, most of them mothers with children and unaccompanied minors.
Immigration lawyers in cities that absorbed a large share of those cases, including New York, San Antonio, Los Angeles and Denver, say they've had hearings canceled with little notice and received no new court dates. Work permits, green cards, asylum claims, and family reunifications hang in the balance.
Denver immigration lawyer David Simmons said he's never seen such a standstill in nearly 30 years of practice. "There is no maneuverability," he said. "It's as if we have no court at all."
JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press
JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press
VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) —
An SUV was in the danger zone inside railroad crossing gates for about half a minute before a suburban commuter train crashed into it, killing the driver and five train passengers, investigators' preliminary findings indicate.
Data recorders also show the Metro-North Railroad train's engineer hit the emergency brakes and sounded the horn as the train bore down on the Valhalla crossing, traveling 58 mph in a 60 mph zone, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Thursday.
While investigators have yet to answer many questions about Tuesday's fiery crash, their early findings shed some light on the timeline.
"What we have here is: We have a mosaic," Sumwalt said. "We're going to take different pieces of information, pull it all together and then paint a picture of what's happened."
The SUV driver got ahead of the crossing gate in inching traffic, then got out of her car to examine it after the gate came down and hit the back of it, a witness has said. But then she got back in, seeming unhurried, and advanced onto the track, the witness told news outlets and investigators.
The train's engineer also told investigators that he saw the car moving onto the tracks.