"Motive unclear in Utah mother’s killing of 6 babies" by Brady McCombs | Associated Press April 15, 2014
PLEASANT GROVE, Utah — Megan Huntsman, 39, told police she either strangled or suffocated six of her newborn babies immediately after they were born, authorities said.
She said she wrapped their bodies in a towel or a shirt, put them in plastic bags, and packed them inside boxes in the garage of her home south of Salt Lake City, they said.
What is not clear is why. A day after her arrest on charges of killing the six babies, investigators and her neighbors puzzled over the grisly discovery, including how she could have concealed a half-dozen pregnancies over 10 years. ‘‘How can you have a baby and not have evidence and other people know?’’ asked neighbor SanDee Wall.
Huntsman, who was arrested Sunday on six counts of murder, was ordered held on $6 million bail — $1 million for each baby. The remains of a seventh baby police found appears to have been stillborn, authorities said.
According to a probable cause statement released by police Monday, Huntsman said she gave birth to at least seven babies between 1996 and 2006 at her former home in Pleasant Grove.
All but one of them was born alive, she said.
Her estranged husband, Darren West, discovered one of the bodies Saturday morning while cleaning out the garage of the house, which is owned by his parents. He called Huntsman, who admitted to him it was her baby, according to court documents.
--more--"
Related: Utah woman killed 7 infants, police say
More insanity:
"US marshal kills defendant in court | Associated Press April 22, 2014
SALT LAKE CITY — A US marshal shot and killed a defendant on Monday in a new federal courthouse in Salt Lake City after the man rushed at a witness with a pen, authorities said.
Defendant Siale Angilau, 25, was taken to a hospital with a chest wound and died of his injuries, the FBI said. Under standard procedures, Angilau was not restrained in the courtroom, the bureau said.
Perry Caldwell, who was in the courtroom with his adult daughter, said Angilau was shot several times as he lunged toward the witness stand and tried to strike the witness. At least six shots were fired, he said.
Couldn't have hit him in the leg? Federal cops aim that bad?
The witness, who was not injured, appeared to be in his mid-20s and was testifying about gang initiation, Caldwell said. The person was not identified.
Caldwell and his daughter were in court to support his mother, Sandra Keyser, who was punched in the face during a holdup in 2002 and was scheduled to testify.
‘‘It was kind of traumatizing,’’ Sara Jacobson, Caldwell’s daughter, said of the shooting.
Angilau was one of 17 people named in a 29-count racketeering indictment filed in 2010 accusing gang members of conspiracy, assault, robbery, and weapons offenses.
Prosecutors said Angilau robbed convenience stores in Salt Lake City and assaulted clerks on five occasions from 2002 to 2007. A clerk was shot in the final robbery, according to the indictment.
Notice how the focus of the article changed from the dead victim to gangs?
--more--"
Also see: Utah defends ban on gay marriage
Some think that gang has mental illness.
Time to slide away from this post.
