Megan Huntsman: Utah woman who killed six of her newborn children sentenced to life in prison

Prosecutors described her as 'a woman who was remarkably, unbelievably, incredibly indifferent and callous'

Huntsman in court (AP)

A US woman who pleaded guilty to killing six of her new-born children and then concealing their bodies in her garage has been sentenced to life in prison.

Megan Huntsman, 40, admitted to Utah police officers in February she had murdered six of her children, strangling them shortly after birth, wrapping their bodies in cloth and a plastic bag before hiding them in her home.

She told to police she killed the children after she became a methamphetamine addict and felt she was unable to care for the infants.

"These were very cold, calculated killings," prosecutor Jeff Buhman. "She was a woman who was remarkably, unbelievably, incredibly indifferent and callous."

Forensic tests on the bodies found all seven – including a stillborn child that had also been concealed – were full-term. Five were girls and two were boys, Sky News reported.

It is believed that all were killed between 1996 and 2006.

Huntsman’s estranged husband Darren West, who fathered all seven, found the bodies in April last year when he went to the house to collect his belongings after she had moved out.

Darren West, Megan Huntsman's estranged husband (AP)

She later told police officers she wanted to move the bodies, but was unsure of how to do so without being caught.

The couple have three surviving children. Two, born prior to Huntsman’s meth addiction, wrote letters read out in court defending their mother.

Despite their testimonies, describing an individual different from the “cold” and “calculated” woman painted by the prosecution, Judge Darold McDade handed down a longer minimum sentence than expected.

The Huntsman's home in the quiet Pleasant Grove area (AP)

A parole board will make the final decision on Huntsman’s prison term, but she is expected to serve a minimum of 15 years inside.

The sentencing ends a case that has electrified America and shocked the small Pleasant Grove community where Huntsman and her family lived.

Additional reporting by Associated Press