SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA

Melissa
Huckaby acted strangely and apparently tried to harm herself in the
days leading up to her last court appearance, San Joaquin County Court
records show. The 28-year-old Tracy woman is accused of
kidnapping, killing and raping Sandra Cantu, her 8-year-old neighbor,
and drugging two other people in cases unrelated to Sandra's. Huckaby,
whose 5-year-old daughter was Sandra's playmate, is being held without
bail at the San Joaquin County Jail.Jail records in Huckaby's
court file said that two days before her most recent court hearing on
Aug. 17, Huckaby was found hiding behind the mattress in her cell with
a blanket tied around her neck. She was taken to the safety cell, the
records said, and later that day she refused to eat dinner.On
Aug. 12, a deputy reported seeing Huckaby sitting next to her bed with
a trash can. When asked what was wrong Huckaby replied, "I took pills."
She was taken by ambulance for treatment. That incident took
place about an hour and half after she was found lying on the floor in
her cell. She told the deputy that she had felt dizzy and passed out.
Huckaby was checked by a nurse, and psychiatric staff was called to the
scene.Huckaby had two unexplained scratches on her forehead when
she showed up Aug. 17 to hear the five-count indictment against her.
Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa asked the judge during that
hearing to order Huckaby to attend all her court hearings.Huckaby had
reportedly tried to hurt herself before. According to court documents
filed by her ex-husband seeking the custody of their daughter, Huckaby
tried to commit suicide by swallowing three razor blades shortly after
Sandra's body was found April 6. The Tracy second-grader was last seen
March 27 and her body was found 10 days later in a suitcase in a pond
not far from the mobile home park where Huckaby and Sandra lived.Tracy
police arrested Huckaby on April 10 in connection with the girl's
death. Before her arrest, Huckaby told a Tracy newspaper that she owned
a similar suitcase to the one that Sandra was found in, but it had
disappeared March 27, the day Sandra went missing.On July 31,
after more than 70 people testified in secret proceedings, a San
Joaquin County grand jury indicted Huckaby on murder with three
enhancements: kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on child under 14,
and rape by instrument. It also issued a second count of a sex crime
with a child 10 years or younger.The grand jury also indicted
her on unrelated cases with a count of a child endangerment and
furnishing a harmful substance to a 7-year-old girl and an additional
count of furnishing a harmful substance to Daniel Plowman, 37, of
Hayward. The indictments were nearly identical to the charges
the D.A.'s Office filed against her. The indictment supersedes the
D.A.'s charges and the case may be set for trial after Huckaby enters a
plea.Huckaby is scheduled to return to court Sept. 10 in
Stockton to enter a plea. A public defender has been assigned to her
case, but a gag order prevents parties from speaking to the media.The
District Attorney's Office will decide whether to pursue the death
penalty on the case in the next month or two, Testa said at Huckaby's
last hearing.

Tracy murder suspect Melissa Huckaby acted up and tried to hurt herself
before her last court hearing, according to San Joaquin County jail
records.

The 28-year-old accused of kidnapping, raping and
killing 8-year-old neighbor girl Sandra Cantu is being held without
bail at the San Joaquin County Jail. A grand jury handed down an
indictment in August that also charges her with drugging a 7-year-old
girl in January and a 37-year-old man in March. She pleaded not guilty
last month to all the charges.

An incident report from the jail says that a couple days before her Aug. 17 court hearing, Huckaby hid
behind a mattress and wrapped a blanket around her neck. She was taken
to a “safety cell” and refused to eat dinner.

An Aug. 12 report says that a deputy found Huckaby lying on the floor by her bed. She
said she felt dizzy and then passed out. The jail ordered a psychiatric
nurse to check up on the inmate.

About a half-hour later, another jail employee found Huckaby sitting next to her bed with a
trash can. When the employee asked her what was wrong, Huckaby replied,
“I took pills,” according to the incident report. An ambulance took her
to a doctor for treatment, records show.

Huckaby apparently acted up the morning of her last court appearance in an attempt to get
out of going to the proceeding. She showed up in court with a couple
fresh scratches on her forehead and on her left forearm.

Huckaby’s ex-husband accused her of trying to kill herself before. In a Southern
California court when Johnny Huckaby was arguing for custody of their
5-year-old daughter, he said his ex-wife tried to kill herself by
swallowing razor blades the day Sandra’s body was found April 6.

The Jacobson Elementary School second-grader went missing on March 27 and
her body was found stuffed in a suitcase days later. The girl lived a
few doors down from Huckaby in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park.

More than 70 people testified before a secret grand jury that charged
Huckaby with murder and three enhancements that could qualify her for
the death penalty: kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child and
rape by instrument. A separate count charges her with having sex with a
child younger than 10.

Huckaby has yet to enter a plea, and is due in court on Sept. 10 in Stockton. A gag order bars anyone involved with the case from speaking publicly about it.

Prosecutor Thomas Testa said at the last hearing that the case is a death penalty case until otherwise indicated.

A prosecutor said today that he will seek the death penalty against the
woman accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering 8-year-old Tracy girl
Sandra Cantu.

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was indicted in July on
charges that she murdered Sandra during commission of rape, and drugged
two other people. She pleaded not guilty today to the charges after a
hearing where she tried to fire her attorney, public defender Sam
Behar. Her request — made in private while the prosecutor, the public
and reporters waited outside — was denied and her reasons for wanting
another attorney were undisclosed.

San Joaquin County District
Attorney James Willett made the decision to seek execution after
consulting attorneys and Sandra’s family, prosecutor Thomas Testa said.

Judge
Linda Lofthus disclosed during today’s hearing that the defense had
consulted a change-of-venue expert from Chico State University, which
means Behar may file a request to move Huckaby’s trial to another
county.

Lofthus also said that Huckaby sent her a letter since
her last hearing, which the judge refused to read until both attorneys
saw a copy of it. Testa placed the letter face-up on a table during the
hearing. It appeared to be a one-page handwritten missive, penned on a
leaf of binder paper. What the letter said wasn’t explained, and a gag
order prevents anyone officially involved in the case from talking
about the case outside of court.

Huckaby was ordered back to court on Sept. 25, when a judge may set a trial date, possibly sometime in March.

Testa
asked for a January trial date because he plans to call on witnesses
who are 7 or 8 years old, children who used to play with Sandra or go
to school with the girl, he told the judge. If the date is too far off,
their memories may fade. But Behar said he would rather have the trial
start in a year-and-a-half, especially since it’s now a capital
punishment case. Behar said he still has to finish reading nearly 1,800
pages of transcripts from a grand jury hearing, which the judge decided
should remain sealed.

Huckaby remained calm in court today, and
waved quickly at her family on her way out. Several members of Sandra’s
family attended, too, accompanied by friends and their attorney.

Sandra
was reportedly killed on March 27 at Clover Road Baptist Church, which
Huckaby’s grandfather owns and where Huckaby herself used to watch
children during church services.

The former Sunday school
teacher acted up in jail before her hearing last month, according to
incident reports included in her court file. She allegedly wrapped a
blanket around her neck, refused dinner and said she “took pills,”
according to jail employees. And on Aug. 17, she showed up to court
with fresh scratches on her forehead and left forearm.

Huckaby
was undergoing a mental evaluation before her April arrest for a petty
theft conviction, according to court records. Family members and
friends have said that she once tried to kill herself and has battled
depression for a long time. Her ex-husband said she tried to kill
herself by swallowing razor blades the day Sandra’s body was found in a
dairy pond a couple miles north of Tracy.

In addition to charges
that she drugged a 7-year-old girl in January and a 37-year-old Hayward
man in March, Huckaby is accused of killing Sandra, who used to play
with her 5-year-old daughter in their Tracy mobile home park. Sandra’s
body was found stuffed in a suitcase in an irrigation pond north of
town on April 6, 10 days after she went missing. Huckaby said she
reported a black suitcase stolen the day Sandra disappeared, and that
Sandra visited her house the hour she was last seen alive.

A trial date may be set Friday for the Tracy woman accused of killing and raping 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.Melissa
Huckaby, 28, is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. in a Stockton
courtroom where her public defender Sam Behar is expected to say when
he is available for trial on the capital case.Huckaby entered a
not guilty plea Sept. 10 on an indictment charging her with murder with
three enhancements: kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child
under 14 and rape by instrument. It issued a second count of a sex
crime with a child 10 years or younger.Before she entered a
plea, Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa announced that the District
Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty if the former Sunday
school teacher is convicted.Sandra, who lived in the same mobile
park as Huckaby and played with Huckaby's daughter, disappeared March
27. Her body was found April 6 inside a suitcase that was dumped in a
irrigation pond not far from where they lived. Tracy police arrested
Huckaby four days later.The grand jury also indicted her on
unrelated cases with a count of a child endangerment and furnishing a
harmful substance to another Tracy girl and an additional count of
furnishing a harmful substance to Daniel Plowman, 37, of Hayward. At
her last hearing, Huckaby had tried to dump Behar, but the judge denied
her request. Judge Linda Lofthus ordered the transcript of that hearing
sealed. Also sealed are the grand jury transcripts. In July more than
70 testified in the secret proceedings, where the defendant does not
attend. The grand jury handed down its five-count indictment July 31.
Huckaby was arraigned on the indictment Aug. 17. In the days
leading up to her arraignment, Huckaby had acted oddly in jail. In one
incident she was found hiding behind a mattress with a blanket around
her neck and in another incident had told a deputy she had taken pills.Huckaby has been at San Joaquin County Jail since her arrest. She is being held there without bail.

Sandra Cantu case: Melissa Huckaby laughs and smiles in court, no court date set


September 25, 3:06 PMCrime ExaminerCindy Adams


On Friday, the accused killer of 8-year-old Tracy, Calif. girl, Sandra Cantu, appeared in court for a hearing in the matter.
Melissa Huckaby is charged with the abduction, rape, and murder of Sandra and faces the death penalty if convicted.
According to San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Linda Loftus, “It’s premature to set a trial date today.”
Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa was not happy with the delay because some of the witnesses are children, whose memories fade as time passes.
According to Mercury News, Huckaby and her attorney, Sam Behar, met with Judge Loftus prior to the hearing, where Behar argued for a trial delay. However, to allay Testa’s concerns about child witnesses, Behar asked the judge to allow witness testimony to be taped prior to trial, and then be replayed during the actual proceeding. Loftus denied the request, citing that such testimony is only used when a witness is ill, elderly, or unable to attend a trial.
During the proceeding, Huckaby sat quietly shackled, but at certain points laughed and smiled with her attorney.

The parties will be back in court on Oct. 30 for a progress report and again on Dec. 4, when a trial date is expected to be set.

The
Tracy woman accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu is expected to
return to court today, where her attorney is expected to update the
judge on his progress preparing her defense.Melissa Huckaby and
her attorney, San Joaquin County Public Defender Sam Behar, are
expected to meet privately with the judge presiding over the
28-year-old's case before the hearing reconvenes in open court. Huckaby
is accused of killing and raping Sandra, a playmate of Huckaby's
daughter. Huckaby has been indicted on murder with three enhancements —
kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 and rape by
instrument — in connection with the girl's death. A second count
charges Huckaby with a sex crime with a child 10 years or younger.Huckaby
has also been indicted on two counts of furnishing a harmful substance
and one count of child endangerment for two unrelated drugging cases
involving another Tracy girl and a Hayward man.She has pleaded
not guilty to all counts. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's
Office will seek the death penalty if Huckaby is convicted. A gag order
prevents attorneys involved from publicly commenting.Tracy
police arrested Huckaby on April 10, four days after Sandra's body was
found stuffed in a suitcase and submerged in a pond not far from the
Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Huckaby and Cantu lived.Behar was victorious at last month's hearing, when he asked forand
received more time before a date was set for Huckaby's trial. Deputy
District Attorney Thomas Testa, who is prosecuting the case, pushed for
a trial date as soon as possible. After hearing Behar privately on
Sept. 25, Judge Linda Lofthus set two court dates for Behar to update
the court on the progress of his preparation. Today's court date is the
first of two. The second hearing is set for Dec. 4, when a trial date
may be set. Testa was pushing for a trial date because the
memories of the children who will be called to testify — the alleged
victim of the drugging and Sandra's friends — fade with time. He has
said the defense has had ample time to prepare for trial. Cantu, a second-grader, was last seen alive March 27. A 10-day search ensued that received national attention.Before
she was arrested, Huckaby told a Tracy newspaper that she owned a
suitcase similar to the one Sandra was found in. Huckaby said her
suitcase disappeared the same day Sandra did.

The attorney for the Tracy, Calif., woman accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu
is going full force in defending his client, asking that the indictment
against her be thrown out and seeking an attorney experienced in
high-profile murder cases to assist in the case.


Melissa Huckaby's
public defender, Sam Behar, has enlisted the help of San Francisco
attorney Michael Burt, who has participated in the defense of Richard
Ramirez, Charles Ng and Lyle Menendez, among other death penalty cases.
Burt was not at a hearing for Huckaby on Friday in San Joaquin County
Superior Court in California, but will be at the defense table with
Behar and Huckaby at the next court date Dec. 4, when a trial date may
be set.

The money to pay for Burt will come from a special fund
within the Public Defender's Office for death penalty cases, said
Robert Himelblau, spokesman for the San Joaquin County District
Attorney's Office. He said it is not uncommon for the public defenders
to seek private counsel as second chair.

Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Huckaby, 28,
is convicted. A grand jury has indicted her on murder with three
enhancements kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14
and rape by instrument in connection with Sandra's death. A second
count charges Huckaby with a sex crime with a child 10 years old or
younger.

Huckaby has also been indicted on two counts of furnishing a harmful
substance and one count of child endangerment for two unrelated
drugging cases involving another Tracy girl and a Hayward, Calif., man.


She has pleaded not guilty to all counts. A gag order prevents attorneys involved from commenting.

At Friday's hearing, Behar also filed a motion to suppress evidence and
a motion to dismiss the indictment. Judge Linda Lofthus ordered those
files sealed from public access because they contain information from
the grand jury transcripts, which she also ordered sealed.

She said she sealed the records in the interest of a fair trial both
sides, as well as privacy for Sandra's family and the victim in the
drugging case. Those issues override the public's right to know, she
said.


No arguments were heard at Friday' hearing about either motion.

Veteran defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, of Lafayette, Calif., who is
not a party to the case, said there are typically two reasons why an
attorney would want the indictment tossed. Generally, he said, the
defense attorney believes the testimony does not add up to the charges,
or the prosecution withheld information from the grand jury that could
be helpful to the defense.

The standard of defense in death penalty cases is high, Horowitz said,
and an attorney does everything he or she can to give his client a full
and complete defense.


"To file every motion (possible) is standard," he said.

Before the public hearing, Behar met privately with Lofthus for about
five minutes to update her on his progress. In open court, she told
prosecutor Thomas Testa and the public what she could about the brief
discussion she had with Behar.

"I'm very pleased to reveal this. Mr. Behar is making tremendous
progress," she said. Huckaby is his now his only case, she said, and he
told her he is working on the case "more than 24/7."


Testa was not as impressed with the progress and reiterated what he has been saying along set a trial date right away.


"Unlike Mr. Behar, I do have other cases, other special circumstances cases, that are percolating," he said.


Tracy police arrested Huckaby on April 10, four days after Sandra's
body was found stuffed in a suitcase and submerged in a pond not far
from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Huckaby and Sandra
lived.

Sandra, a second-grader and frequent playmate of Huckaby's daughter,
was last seen alive March 27. A 10-day search ensued that received
national attention.

Before she was arrested, Huckaby told a Tracy newspaper that she owned
a suitcase similar to the one Sandra was found in. Huckaby said her
suitcase disappeared the same day Sandra did.

The public won't get a glimpse into the
arguments that attorneys for Melissa Huckaby make to undercut the case
against her on charges she kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old
Sandra Cantu.
San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus in a Friday hearing ordered pretrial motions
for Huckaby's defense team to be sealed. Lofthus said she wanted to
protect the trial's integrity.
Lofthus also officially stated her reason for sealing more than 1,000 pages of grand
jury transcripts of a hearing that ended with Huckaby's indictment. The
charges make Huckaby eligible for a death sentence.
"I do not take that decision lightly," Lofthus said, adding that she has
to balance the public's right to know details of the case with
Huckaby's right to a fair trial and the privacy rights of Sandra's
family.
Lofthus said she considered releasing part of the transcripts, but later decided that everything is
"inextricably intertwined." It remains a mystery to the public how
Sandra died and what instrument Huckaby allegedly used to rape the girl.
Huckaby, 28, looked at ease in the hearing, resting both of her elbows on the
table. She once yawned and at another time smiled and quietly laughed
along with light banter between attorneys and the judge.
Lofthus said she checked jail records and found three incident reports. Huckaby
had a puzzled look on her face as if to say she didn't know what the
judge was talking about.
Lofthus gave no details but said the incidents did not appear to be anything Huckaby did in an attempt to avoid coming to court.
Before the open hearing, Huckaby appeared in court with San Joaquin County
Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar for a closed-door meeting with the
judge. Lofthus wanted a progress report on Huckaby's defense before
setting a trial date.
Lofthus then - in open court - complimented both the defense and prosecution for moving things
along and predicted she would set the trial date at Huckaby's next
hearing in early December.
Lofthus and the attorneys also set hearing dates to argue Behar's motion seeking to
suppress evidence investigators collected and dismiss parts or all of
the grand jury's findings.
Attorney Michael Burt was not in court Friday, but Behar announced that Burt, a star
death penalty defense attorney from San Francisco, would be assisting
in Huckaby's defense.
Burt would play a large role in arguing the pretrial motions, Behar said. Burt brings
dedication, experience in death-penalty cases and access to experts in
psychology, forensic evidence and other critical aspects of the case.
"He's the attorney's attorney," Behar said outside of court. "I and Ms. Huckaby are lucky to have him as a member of the team."

The Tracy woman charged with the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl last March learned Friday when her case goes to trial.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Loftus set
Oct. 18, 2010, for opening arguments in the trial of Melissa Huckaby,
the former Sunday School teacher accused in the death of Sandra Cantu
of Tracy.




Cantu was reported missing on March 27. Ten days later her body was found in an suticase in an irrigation pond in Tracy.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder with
special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious act with a
minor under 14. She is also facing three other charges of poisoning and
child endangerment charges involving two other people.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for Huckaby.

STOCKTON, CA - The Tracy woman charged with the rape and
murder of an 8-year-old girl last March learned Friday when her case
goes to trial.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Loftus set
Oct. 18, 2010, for opening arguments in the trial of Melissa Huckaby,
the former Sunday School teacher accused in the death of Sandra Cantu
of Tracy.

Cantu was reported missing on March 27. Ten days later her body was found in an suticase in an irrigation pond in Tracy.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder with
special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious act with a
minor under 14. She is also facing three other charges of poisoning and
child endangerment charges involving two other people.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for Huckaby.

http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=1400

This story just aired on Dateline..again. I will post the link as soon as it's up.

TRACY, Calif. --
The Tracy Police Department is conducting an internal investigation
of its detectives regarding the Sandra Cantu case.At issue is whether
any investigative rules were broken in that case, which led to the arrest of Melissa Huckaby.
Cantu, 8, disappeared from her home in Orchard Estates mobile home park on
March 27. Her body was found stuffed in a suitcase that was pulled from
an irrigation pond north of Tracy more than a week later.In a
motion by Huckaby's attorney, Sam Behar writes that prosecutor Tom
Testa pointed out that, "Several Tracy police detectives are being
investigated regarding whether any Tracy Police Department internal
rules were violated in connection with detective Nate Cogburn's
comments to Melissa Huckaby on 4/10/09.
"Former defense attorney and Humphreys Law college
Professor John Schick calls it an abundance of caution."The
Tracy Police Department may feel something may have been a little bit
out of line by one of their officers, so they are trying to cover that
now instead of years later when somebody would come back and have
somebody say, 'What about that? Why was that done?'" Schick said.Tracy
police released a statement, saying the Police Department is banned
from discussing any aspect of the Cantu case by a judicial gag order."Whatever
Detective Cogburn said to Huckaby somehow led to a statement from
Huckaby that led to her arrest ... a statement that the defense will
challenge as far as being admitted as evidence," the police statement
said."That suggests they suddenly had an answer to what had
happened and they knew she was their perpetrator," Schick said.Huckaby
will return to court on April 18 for a weeklong hearing at which time
her attorney will try to supress evidence that would be used in the
upcoming trial.The San Joaquin County district attorney's office is seeking the death penalty for Huckaby.

Melissa Huckaby’s lawyer next month may ask a judge to throw out some
evidence against her because Tracy detectives might have violated her
rights prior to her arrest last year.

According to court
records, Tracy Police are investigating whether their own detectives
last April broke rules in talking to Huckaby, who is charged with the
rape and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu. Huckaby faces the death
penalty if convicted.

Huckaby’s public defender Samuel Behar
said in papers filed Jan. 25 that he was told by prosecutor Tom Testa
that “several” Tracy police detectives “are being investigated” to see
if any “internal rules were violated in connection with Det. Nate
Cogburn’s comments to Huckaby” on April 10, hours before her arrest.

Whatever Cogburn said is unclear. A judge last year ruled a gag order on the case.

Tracy Police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sheneman would not comment.

Behar
said her statements to Det. Tim Bauer on April 10 were used to
authorize search warrants, but should could be thrown out if her rights
were violated, the motion says.

Huckaby is charged with the
kidnapping, rape and murder of her eight-year-old neighbor Sandra,
whose body was found last year stuffed in a suitcase floating in a
dairy pond. Both Huckaby and Sandra lived in the Orchard Estates Mobile
Home Park, and Huckaby is awaiting an October trial date while being
held at San Joaquin County Jail.

Last October, Behar filed a
motion to suppress evidence against his client. A hearing was set for
last month, but Behar was granted an extension until April 12.

Behar
also wrote in his motion he needed more time because he and attorney
Michael Burk have yet to see all the physical evidence in the case.

He
wrote he’s waiting to receive a list of all property seized during the
investigation against Huckaby, and he needed more time for other
reasons not to be disclosed to the public.

An April 12 hearing is scheduled when Behar and Testa will argue over evidence.

Sandra Cantu - Will Justice Be Served?

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Excerpt:

OK, we all know very well there is a gag order in the Melissa Huckaby case, but some disturbing news has been circulating recently that has me worried that total justice for Sandra Cantu may get circumvented.

The Tracy Police Department has begun an internal review to determine if any investigative rules were broken by detectives. Apparently, one of the detectives, Nate Cogburn, made a comment to Melissa Huckaby when she was being questioned on April 10, 2009. Because of the gag order we haven't been told what the comment was, but it may have led to Huckaby incriminating herself which led to her arrest. Whatever Huckaby uttered, it was used in several search warrents.


READ MORE: http://sprocket-trials.blogspot.com/2010/03/sandra-cantu-will-justice-be-served_1601.html

TRACY, CA -- The family of Sandra Cantu will gather at a park in Tracy tonight on what would have been the child's 9th birthday.
The 8-year-old girl disappeared last March from her family's mobile
home park, and her body was found ten days later in a suitcase that had
been dumped in an irrigation ditch.
Sandra's family and friends will hold a memorial celebration for her
at 7 p.m. at Robert Kenner Park in Tracy. Her family says they want to
remember Sandra's happy spirit, and they're inviting the community to
attend.
A neighbor and Sunday school teacher, Melissa Huckaby, has been
accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering the child, and could face
the death penalty if convicted.
Huckaby is due in court on March 29 for another hearing. Her trial is set to begin on October 18.
Robert Kenner Park is located at 1850 Kavanaugh Avenue in Tracy.

mom_in_il wrote:Sandra Cantu - Will Justice Be Served?

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Excerpt:

OK, we all know very well there is a gag order in the Melissa Huckaby case, but some disturbing news has been circulating recently that has me worried that total justice for Sandra Cantu may get circumvented.

The Tracy Police Department has begun an internal review to determine if any investigative rules were broken by detectives. Apparently, one of the detectives, Nate Cogburn, made a comment to Melissa Huckaby when she was being questioned on April 10, 2009. Because of the gag order we haven't been told what the comment was, but it may have led to Huckaby incriminating herself which led to her arrest. Whatever Huckaby uttered, it was used in several search warrents.


READ MORE: http://sprocket-trials.blogspot.com/2010/03/sandra-cantu-will-justice-be-served_1601.html

This does worry me a bit... dont like this type of news....

Sandra Cantu was the first to burst out the door to hug a visitor, to offer help or to tell someone they looked pretty.

A child prone to infectious laughter and a bit of a daredevil on her bike, the energetic, inquisitive 8-year-old exuded love.

That's how her family remembered the little girl on what would have been her ninth birthday.

“She was full of life,” Sandra’s aunt, Angie Chavez, said. “She had a huge heart and she shared it with so many people.”

Nearly
400 people laughed, cried and ate pink cupcakes in the gymnasium at
Jacobsen Elementary School, where she was a second grader last year.

Sandra Cantu went missing last March from her home at Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park.

Ten
days later, her body was found last April in a suitcase in a dairy
pond. A neighbor, 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby, is charged with the
girl’s murder, rape and kidnapping, and awaits trial in October.

Teary-eyed
friends gazed at photos of the tiny girl in costumes or with her two
siblings while “Lean on Me” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played.

AJ Lee, 12, sang and played mandolin, accompanied by her mother Betsy Riger, and the Tracy Community Choir sang two songs.

Sandra’s family, in T-shirts reading “Tracy’s Angel, forever in our hearts,” released illuminated pink balloons into the sky.

Tracy Police chaplain Don Higgins prayed for love, comfort, peace and hope for Sandra’s family.

“Her life was and continues to be a gift from God,” he said.

Police
officials and the Community Emergency Response Team, who had helped
search for Sandra, packed the memorial that had been planned for nearby
Robert Kenner Park, before windy rains forced the crowd inside.

Last
year, Sandra’s family and the city planted a tree in the park in her
memory. The crepe myrtle explodes in brilliant pink blooms in the
summer, a dedication to her favorite color.

In the gym, Sandra’s
grandfather, Jose Chavez, told the crowd when the weather got cold, he
was worried to find the tree had turned brown.

He called the city’s Parks and Recreation department, suggesting the tree might need more water or fertilizer.

But the city reassured him the tree was just dormant, he said.

“They
told me it everything was fine, and it was sturdy and strong,” he said.
“It’s roots were embedded, and the roots are where its strength is. And
Sandra’s strength is in the roots of the community.”

Janet Anderson, a cousin of Sandra’s mother Maria Chavez, said Tracy had pulled together to support Sandra’s family.

“Without
this community I don’t think the family would have made it through
this,” she said. “We all need to be there for each other.”

Accused child killer Melissa Huckaby was back in a Stockton
courtroom Monday with a dramatically changed appearance.
Huckaby's hair was much shorter, curlier and darker than during
previous court hearings. She also appeared to be substantially
heavier. Pictures of Huckaby's new look were not available because San
Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus previously ruled
against cameras in the courtroom.
Huckaby's court appearance Monday was an opportunity for attorneys in
the case to provide an update on their preparation to Lofthus.
The sole development Monday was the rescheduling of an upcoming
hearing from April 12 to May 10. At that date, Lofthus is expected to
set a date for a motion by the defense to suppress police evidence.
On March 27, 2009, Cantu was reported missing. Crews found her body
on April 6. It was stuffed into a suitcase and left inside a drainage
ditch about 2 miles away from her Tracy home.
Huckaby lived in the same mobile home park as Cantu's family. She has
been charged with murder, kidnapping and rape.
Huckaby's trial is scheduled to start Oct. 18, 2010.

Calif woman guilty in death of daughter's playmate

Posted: May 10, 2010 12:08 PM CDT

Updated:May 10, 2010 12:08 PM CDT

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) - A former California Sunday school teacher accused of killing an 8-year-old playmate of her daughter, then hiding the body in a suitcase, has pleaded guilty to murder.

. . . .

Assistant Court Executive Officer Sharon Morris says Huckaby faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced June 14.

READ MORE: http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=12457259

This bothers me, Sandra had been RAPED-with an "instrument" and I don't think the charged should've been dropped. I wished they'd gone for the death penalty. It just bothers me that this scum gets to live, maybe it is in prison but, Sandra doesn't even get that chance. This was a violent death and for me, the charges don't reflect that.
RIP Sandra

alwaysbelieve wrote: This bothers me, Sandra had been RAPED-with an "instrument" and I don't think the charged should've been dropped. I wished they'd gone for the death penalty. It just bothers me that this scum gets to live, maybe it is in prison but, Sandra doesn't even get that chance. This was a violent death and for me, the charges don't reflect that.
RIP Sandra

I know she should have to pay with her life, but at least Sandra Cantu's family will be spared the horrors of having to relive it during the trial. Let's wait and see what the sentence is - June 14.

In the small California city sent reeling last year by an 8-year-old
girl's killing, a local Sunday school teacher's guilty plea Monday
brought relief to residents — even as disturbing questions remained,
including how, where and why the girl was murdered.Hours after
29-year-old Melissa Huckaby admitted to killing Sandra Cantu, police
stood guard at the entrance to the mobile home park where both the
victim and the defendant lived.Evelyn McClelland, 61, a
neighborhood resident for 26 years, believed the plea will bring some
measure of peace to the victim's family and to a Northern California
community striving to overcome the mistrust that descended after the
girl's disappearance."The children are back outside playing
again. This all closes a very painful chapter in Tracy," McClelland
said.Susan Alley, 50, another mobile park resident, was relieved
to hear Monday's news, too. She said neighbors only recently have
started to feel comfortable around each other again."It's gotten
better out here. Nobody trusted each other," Alley said.At
Melville S. Jacobson Elementary School, where Sandra was a
second-grader, Principal Cindy Sasser showed off a school garden and
playground dedicated to Sandra last fall."It has been a long
ordeal and hopefully this plea will bring some peace," Sasser said.A
10-day search after Sandra — a playmate of Huckaby's daughter — went
missing in March 2009 ended when her body was found stuffed in a black
suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond a few miles from the mobile home park.



Huckaby was arrested less than a week later after telling a
reporter that the suitcase that contained Sandra's body was hers, but
it had been stolen out of her driveway the day Sandra disappeared.Her
guilty plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to first-degree murder
with a special circumstance of kidnapping came in a deal with
prosecutors: All other charges — including two involving rape and lewd
or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 — were dropped, according to
court spokeswoman Sharon Morris. She would have been eligible for the
death penalty if convicted in a jury trial.Morris said Huckaby
now faces 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole
when she is sentenced next month.Huckaby also had been charged
with previously drugging a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man, whom
police believe she had been dating. Those charges also were dropped in
the plea deal.During Monday's hearing, Judge Linda Lofthus
maintained a gag order imposed in the case last year, according to Tracy
police spokesman Tony Sheneman. That means details of evidence against
Huckaby remain sparse, as they have since she was arrested.Attorneys
in the case did not return calls seeking comment. Angie Chavez,
Sandra's aunt and the spokeswoman for the Cantu family, declined comment
Monday, citing the gag order. Members of Huckaby's family did not
immediately respond to messages.Investigators have never said
how, why or where Sandra was killed. Autopsy results have remained
sealed. Criminologists said at the time of her arrest that allegations
that a mother acting alone raped and murdered a child not her own were
nearly unprecedented in recent U.S. history.During the morning
hearing, Huckaby calmly answered the judge's questions about whether she
was in a sound state of mind and understood that she was entering a
guilty plea, said courtroom artist Vicki Behringer."She was just
really relaxed and pleasant. She looked better than I had seen her in a
long time," said Behringer, who has attended every court hearing in the
case.At several prior hearings, including her arraignment,
Huckaby appeared in court tearful and disheveled.Prosecutors
wanted the judge to ask more questions to ensure the defense could not
backpedal later by claiming Huckaby was not in her right mind, but the
judge was satisfied with Huckaby's answers, Behringer said.Steven
Clark, a Bay Area defense attorney and former prosecutor who attended
several of Huckaby's pretrial hearings, said Monday that prosecutors and
the defense likely worked for months to reach a plea agreement."This
community was so outraged by this murder that I think a death verdict
was a real possibility," he said.Clark said that the guilty plea
also spares Sandra's family the years of appeals and retrials that would
have likely followed a death penalty verdict."They now know that
Melissa Huckaby will never get out of jail again and that the gruesome
details of Sandra's murder will not be played out on a national stage,"
Clark said. "This way they are assured, because of the brutal nature of
this crime, they won't have to relive it over and over again in a courtroom."

mom_in_il wrote:

alwaysbelieve wrote: This bothers me, Sandra had been RAPED-with an "instrument" and I don't think the charged should've been dropped. I wished they'd gone for the death penalty. It just bothers me that this scum gets to live, maybe it is in prison but, Sandra doesn't even get that chance. This was a violent death and for me, the charges don't reflect that.
RIP Sandra

I know she should have to pay with her life, but at least Sandra Cantu's family will be spared the horrors of having to relive it during the trial. Let's wait and see what the sentence is - June 14.

I do understand about the family, my heart just breaks for them and I wouldn't want them to have to relive it as I'm sure they do everyday. It's the damn plea deals I just hate, and I think they should make the families leave the courtroom or, just don't come when the trial is going on. The criminals can't keep using plea deals to down play the crimes they commit against children, the death penalty should be very active and aggressive in these situations. It just hurts to know how a child suffered a death and the criminal can still breath, bothers me terribly. God Bless Sandra and her family.

A lawyer for the family of a Northern California
girl killed by her playmate's mother is seeking to stop details of
her slaying from being released.The family of 8-year-old Sandra
Cantu opposes lifting the gag order in the case. The family's lawyer
says in a motion filed Thursday that the release of murder details would
be "not only morally reprehensible but unconstitutional."The
motion also seeks to keep under seal any documents related to
examinations of the victim's body and crime scene photographs.

A San Joaquin County judge maintained the gag order after Melissa Huckaby pleaded guilty to murder last week.The Associated Press, Bay
Area News Group and The Record of Stockton
have sought to lift the order, citing public interest.Huckaby's
sentencing is scheduled for June 14.

The veil
could soon be lifted in a murder case that has been shrouded in secrecy
and silence.Three news organizations will argue in court Monday
that a gag order should be lifted and court records unsealed in the case
against Melissa Huckaby, who pleaded guilty May 10 to charges of
kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, of Tracy. Some
legal experts say it is a very unusual to keep a gag order in place
after a case is decided, but San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge
Linda Lofthus declined to lift it when Huckaby accepted the plea deal.Huckaby,
29, is scheduled be sentenced June 14 to life in prison without parole.Duffy
Carolan, the lawyer representing Bay Area News Group, The Associated
Press and The Stockton Record, says case records should now be made
public and attorneys and family members be allowed to talk about the
case. "At this point, it is vitally important for the public to
have access to official sources of information and court records to
fully understand why the State entered into a plea deal dismissing
various charges and agreeing not to seek the death penalty in exchange
for a plea of guilty to murder with a special circumstance of
kidnapping," Carolan wrote in her court filings.In exchange for
Huckaby's guilty plea, the District Attorney's Office agreed not to
pursue the death penalty, dropped two enhancements to the murder charge —
lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, and rape by
instrument — and one count of committing a sex crime against a child 10
years old or younger. Also dropped were charges in two unrelated cases
in which Huckaby was accused of drugging a Hayward man and another Tracy
girl.Sandra's mother and siblings want to keep details about
the second-grader's death sealed forever. In court filings on their
behalf, their lawyers have argued that opening the case files to media
scrutiny would continue the family's pain.One legal expert said
he hadn't heard of a gag order continuing after a guilty finding."The
gag order is aimed at the public, making sure that you don't develop
prejudice" before a trial, said Ed Steinman, a Santa Clara University
School of Law professor.There was wide coverage of Sandra's
death, and communitywide help in a search for her. Sandra's body was
found in a suitcase in a farm pond a few miles from her Tracy home on
April 6, 2009. She had been missing since March 27.Prosecutor
Thomas Testa, who tried to lift the gag order on May 10, now believes
it's best to wait until after sentencing to speak. He said there were
concerns that with people talking about the case, Huckaby might change
her plea and want her day in court. By then, the potential jury pool
might have been tainted, he said.But Steinman said he was unsure
if such a scenario had ever occurred."If it's happened, I don't
know about it," Steinman said. "More importantly, that is not a
justification for gag orders continuing." Sandra's mother and
siblings say releasing graphic details about Sandra's death would
traumatize the family all over again. The family is satisfied with the
plea agreement, Maria Chavez, Sandra's mother, stated in court
documents."Any claim by the media that additional facts are
needed to evaluate the reasonableness and fairness of the plea agreement
ignores the fact my family and I are convinced that the negotiated plea
agreement was, and is, appropriate," Chavez states. "We are both
comfortable and satisfied with this result and are able to find peace
from this resolution."Ruth Jones, a professor at University of
the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, said it's not unusual for victims'
family members to try to protect their loved ones privacy, but the
court can only do so much to accommodate them."It's not their
case," Jones said. "It's a public case of the state versus a defendant."But,
there could be reasons why information has not yet been released just
yet, Jones said, and that will keep the public in the dark a little
longer. "She's not sentenced," Jones said. "So the case is not
over."