A woman in Utah admitted to authorities on Monday that she killed six of her newborn children and stuffed their bodies into boxes, USA TODAY reported.
Megan Huntsman, 39, faces six charges of murder. She was arraigned on Monday and is being held on $6 million bond.
On Sunday, police responded to a call about a deceased infant at her home in Pleasant Grove. When they searched the house, they discovered six dead babies packaged in cardboard boxes.
Huntsman reportedly told police she gave birth to seven children, but only one was born alive. The arrest document says she told officers "she either strangled or suffocated the babies immediately after they were born."
The arrest warrant also said officers found each dead baby wrapped in a shirt or towel, put in a plastic bag, and placed in a box.
Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, was cleaning out the house when he discovered one of the boxes. He first called his ex-wife and then notified police.
Aaron Hawker, one of Huntsman's neighbors, told the Provo Daily Herald that West had been in prison on drug charges and was preparing to move back into the home.
"Personally speaking I think Megan was scared to death to have anybody find out," Hawker told the paper. "Fear can really motivate you."
Though West had been living with Huntsman at the time of the murders, police do not believe he was aware of what was going on.
"We don't believe he had any knowledge of the situation," police spokesman Capt. Michael Roberts told The Associated Press. When asked how West didn't have a clue about what his wife was doing, Roberts responded "That's the million-dollar question. Amazing."
DNA tests are currently being performed to see if West was the father of each deceased child.
"None of us ever thought she was pregnant," Hawker added. "She was always so skinny and there were six full-term pregnancies."
Hawker's wife, Kathy, said Huntsman used to babysit their grandchildren.
"It makes us so sad, we want to cry," Kathie Hawker said. "We enjoyed having them as a neighbor. This has just blown us away."
