Guilty plea in dead babies case
Megan Huntsman, a former Pleasant Grove resident, pleaded guilty on Thursday to killing her six babies between 1996 and 2006. She choked or strangled all of the babies after they were born and hid their bodies in her garage.
Her estranged husband discovered one of the bodies last year and called police.
Huntsman, 39, will be sentenced on April 20.
Guilty verdict in shooting death
A jury on Thursday decided Danny Logue was guilty of shooting Andy Purcell in May 2011. Prosecutors have said Yuri Lara hired Logue and Darrell Morris to beat Purcell because Lara thought Purcell had given information to police about his drug dealing. Lara and Morris pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Logue will be sentenced on March 31.
Orem arson reward
The city of Orem is offering $12,500 for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible for two recent arsons at apartment complexes under construction.
The latest fire was last week at Sun Canyon Villas, which is just south of Midtown 360 between State Street and Orem Boulevard, and caused more than $1 million in damage. Firefighters discovered the fire after putting out a blaze in a nearby off-duty Provo police car, which also has been ruled arson. Another fire in December also caused more than $1 million in damage.
If you have information about the fires call police at (801) 229-7321.
Shooting in Provo
Early Wednesday morning residents of a basement apartment at 1200 E. Birch Lane in Provo told police that a man shot at their house, hitting their car, a window and the house. They reportedly said the shooter and another man had knocked on their door but they didn’t recognize him so they didn’t answer. They told police they didn’t know the men or why they were at their house, though police later learned the men may have been trying to collect a debt from one of the residents.
They gave police a description of the men and police were able to identify the two men — Adam Houtz, 29, of Provo and Wilfredo Mattei Jr., 18, of Salt Lake City — as well as a woman, Cristi Ozuna, 27, of Eureka. Police found the suspects at about 10 p.m. Wednesday night. Police say the accused shooter, Houtz, ran from them but was caught after a short foot chase. He was booked into jail on charges of discharge of a firearm, a restricted person in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, a parole violation and warrants. Mattei and Ozuna were arrested on charges of discharge of a firearm.
Orem graffiti reward
Orem is offering a $200 reward for information leading to the conviction of any or all of the people responsible for graffiti in the city. Over the past few months the city has seen an increase in graffiti, with tags including OCV, 801, VGM, Eukno, Vinci, COPD, 420, Wrek, LTK, Jenon, SICK, Hindu, 1200 and W. Tipsters will remain anonymous. Anyone with information about the graffiti should call Orem police at (801) 229-7070 or (801) 229-7091.