SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
+21
Annabeth
mom_from_STL
Caylees_Voice
Impetuous
just_a_mom
Lisa_Z
LIElemteach
alwaysbelieve
ginybe
carlos
cindmo
kiwimom
Tink2
oviedo45
Teresa
inmyfloridaopinion
mimi40
mom_in_il
Soonerchick
TomTerrific0420
admin
25 posters
Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9 • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Sandra Cantu Case:NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Posted by Blink | Amber Alert, Kidnapping, Missing Persons, Murdered, Sandra Cantu | Thursday 9 April 2009 3:24 pm
Tracy, CA- The Hunt for Sandra Cantu’s killer or killers is yielding several new breaking developments.
As brought to you exclusively by Blink on Crime; local reporters and members of the Orchard Estates Community want to know what Fred Williams knows about the luggage Sandra was found in Monday.
Williams, 51, is a member and apparent care taker at the Clover Baptist Church where Police and FBI have recently completed their search and have recovered among other bags of evidence, a pair of work gloves in a crawlspace underneath the structure. Williams met Pastor Lawless at the Church following it’s release by the Crime Scene Investigation Team yesterday, and opened the door for Lawless with his key.
In prior statements, Williams indicated the luggage Sandra was found in was stolen on it’s way to the church’s rummage sale. Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy police Department confirmed to Blink on Crime there have never been any reports to police of stolen luggage. It would seem that is not the only thing Mr. Williams lied about. There was never any rummage sale planned at the church.
There was however, a yard sale at Fred and Anita Williams home the morning after Sandra went missing. What else was for sale? Matching luggage, possibly?
In other developments, an Oakland resident who Sgt. Sheneman has spoken to personally previously is directly pointing the finger at a man he says he saw on a boat with a young girl resembling Sandra on April 2nd. A source inside the investigation has confirmed to Blink on Crime that Johnny Williams saw Frank Williams being interviewed yesterday and returned to Tracy from his home to hand-deliver Tracy Police his information again.
..If Police say she was already dead by April 2nd, then I am wrong.. But I saw a heavy set man with a thick moustache interviewed on Tv yesterday and it’s him, it’s the man I saw on the boat..
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/09/sandra-cantu-casenew-developments/
Posted by Blink | Amber Alert, Kidnapping, Missing Persons, Murdered, Sandra Cantu | Thursday 9 April 2009 3:24 pm
Tracy, CA- The Hunt for Sandra Cantu’s killer or killers is yielding several new breaking developments.
As brought to you exclusively by Blink on Crime; local reporters and members of the Orchard Estates Community want to know what Fred Williams knows about the luggage Sandra was found in Monday.
Williams, 51, is a member and apparent care taker at the Clover Baptist Church where Police and FBI have recently completed their search and have recovered among other bags of evidence, a pair of work gloves in a crawlspace underneath the structure. Williams met Pastor Lawless at the Church following it’s release by the Crime Scene Investigation Team yesterday, and opened the door for Lawless with his key.
In prior statements, Williams indicated the luggage Sandra was found in was stolen on it’s way to the church’s rummage sale. Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy police Department confirmed to Blink on Crime there have never been any reports to police of stolen luggage. It would seem that is not the only thing Mr. Williams lied about. There was never any rummage sale planned at the church.
There was however, a yard sale at Fred and Anita Williams home the morning after Sandra went missing. What else was for sale? Matching luggage, possibly?
In other developments, an Oakland resident who Sgt. Sheneman has spoken to personally previously is directly pointing the finger at a man he says he saw on a boat with a young girl resembling Sandra on April 2nd. A source inside the investigation has confirmed to Blink on Crime that Johnny Williams saw Frank Williams being interviewed yesterday and returned to Tracy from his home to hand-deliver Tracy Police his information again.
..If Police say she was already dead by April 2nd, then I am wrong.. But I saw a heavy set man with a thick moustache interviewed on Tv yesterday and it’s him, it’s the man I saw on the boat..
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/09/sandra-cantu-casenew-developments/
mom_from_STL- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Arrest imminent?
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/10/sandra-cantu-case-source-says-arrest-imminent/
Sandra Cantu Case: SOURCE SAYS ARREST IMMINENT
Posted by Blink | Amber Alert, Kidnapping, Missing Child, Missing Persons, Murdered, Sandra Cantu | Friday 10 April 2009 11:47 am
Tracy, CA- Breaking developments coming out of the investigation of the abduction and murder of 8 year old Sandra Cantu. Tracy Police Sergant Tony Sheneman stated during yesterday’s press conference that detectives are narrowing their investigation in one direction, but declined to name a subject.
..We are still looking forward to a conclusion to this, but I cannot tell you what time,” “First of all, there are a lot of things that go on in an investigation that we do not want the public to hear because part of the public would be some of the suspects,” he said. “We do not want them to know what we are doing. We don’t want whoever it is to be tried on television. We want them to receive a fair trial in court. We want them to receive the punishment they deserve there.”
Over the past few days Sheneman has attempted to quell rumors of an imminent arrest, but this afternoon a source close to the case confirmed to Blink on Crime there has been a significant development in Sandra’s case Tracy Police will be announcing at 11:15 am PST.
Check back to Blink on Crime for updates following the press conference
Sandra Cantu Case: SOURCE SAYS ARREST IMMINENT
Posted by Blink | Amber Alert, Kidnapping, Missing Child, Missing Persons, Murdered, Sandra Cantu | Friday 10 April 2009 11:47 am
Tracy, CA- Breaking developments coming out of the investigation of the abduction and murder of 8 year old Sandra Cantu. Tracy Police Sergant Tony Sheneman stated during yesterday’s press conference that detectives are narrowing their investigation in one direction, but declined to name a subject.
..We are still looking forward to a conclusion to this, but I cannot tell you what time,” “First of all, there are a lot of things that go on in an investigation that we do not want the public to hear because part of the public would be some of the suspects,” he said. “We do not want them to know what we are doing. We don’t want whoever it is to be tried on television. We want them to receive a fair trial in court. We want them to receive the punishment they deserve there.”
Over the past few days Sheneman has attempted to quell rumors of an imminent arrest, but this afternoon a source close to the case confirmed to Blink on Crime there has been a significant development in Sandra’s case Tracy Police will be announcing at 11:15 am PST.
Check back to Blink on Crime for updates following the press conference
mom_from_STL- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Reward 30,000 dollars
Apr 10, 2009 4:18 pm US/Pacific
Reward Bumped Up To $30,000 In Sandra Cantu Case
TRACY, Calif. (CBS13/AP) ―
The reward leading to the arrest of Sandra Cantu's killer has received a boost.
During a 3:30 p.m. press conference today, Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said that Tracy Crime Stoppers is now offering $30,000 for information leading to the arrest of the girl's killer.
F.B.I. agents were at the Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy on Friday afternoon, searching a shed located on the grounds. Lane Lawless, the church pastor -- and resident mobile home park -- was questioned earlier in the week in connection with the case. The church and his home were also searched.
The Tracy press is reporting that the daughter of Lane Lawless, the minister whose home and church where he worked had been a focus of the case, has a criminal record. Melissa Huckaby pleaded no contest to (this is blank in the news article?)
This morning, a new memorial for Sandra was started for people to offer condolences to Sandra's family.
The Fry Memorial Chapel in Tracy has opened its doors to mourners who can sign a condolence book and leave mementos in honor of Sandra.
The memorial will continue into the weekend before wrapping up on Monday.
As for the investigation, police searching for Sandra's killer say their investigation has been side-tracked by a slew misleading tips.
Tracy police say they have gotten thousands of tips in the search for the person who killed 8-year-old Sandra, but they say they've been frustrated by several time-wasting leads.
One of those false leads popped up yesterday when someone left an envelope outside the mobile home park where Sandra lived addressed "To My Killer, From Sandra".
Police say it had nothing to do with her death, or the investigation. Following bogus leads wastes the time of more than 25 city officers assigned to the case but detectives say any leads, false or not, are difficult to ignore. They have to check out everything.
Meantime, Sandra's family is planning for her memorial. Tracy police say the family of Sandra Cantu has set a public service for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Tracy's Merrill F. West High School.
The service will be held in the school's gym, which holds about 2,500 people. Overflow seating will be available in the school's cafeteria.
The family asks that no more gifts be left outside the trailer park at the site where the makeshift memorial had been located. Donations can be made to Crime Stoppers or to the family's fund.
http://cbs13.com/crime/sandra.cantu.2.981929.html
Reward Bumped Up To $30,000 In Sandra Cantu Case
TRACY, Calif. (CBS13/AP) ―
The reward leading to the arrest of Sandra Cantu's killer has received a boost.
During a 3:30 p.m. press conference today, Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said that Tracy Crime Stoppers is now offering $30,000 for information leading to the arrest of the girl's killer.
F.B.I. agents were at the Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy on Friday afternoon, searching a shed located on the grounds. Lane Lawless, the church pastor -- and resident mobile home park -- was questioned earlier in the week in connection with the case. The church and his home were also searched.
The Tracy press is reporting that the daughter of Lane Lawless, the minister whose home and church where he worked had been a focus of the case, has a criminal record. Melissa Huckaby pleaded no contest to (this is blank in the news article?)
This morning, a new memorial for Sandra was started for people to offer condolences to Sandra's family.
The Fry Memorial Chapel in Tracy has opened its doors to mourners who can sign a condolence book and leave mementos in honor of Sandra.
The memorial will continue into the weekend before wrapping up on Monday.
As for the investigation, police searching for Sandra's killer say their investigation has been side-tracked by a slew misleading tips.
Tracy police say they have gotten thousands of tips in the search for the person who killed 8-year-old Sandra, but they say they've been frustrated by several time-wasting leads.
One of those false leads popped up yesterday when someone left an envelope outside the mobile home park where Sandra lived addressed "To My Killer, From Sandra".
Police say it had nothing to do with her death, or the investigation. Following bogus leads wastes the time of more than 25 city officers assigned to the case but detectives say any leads, false or not, are difficult to ignore. They have to check out everything.
Meantime, Sandra's family is planning for her memorial. Tracy police say the family of Sandra Cantu has set a public service for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Tracy's Merrill F. West High School.
The service will be held in the school's gym, which holds about 2,500 people. Overflow seating will be available in the school's cafeteria.
The family asks that no more gifts be left outside the trailer park at the site where the makeshift memorial had been located. Donations can be made to Crime Stoppers or to the family's fund.
http://cbs13.com/crime/sandra.cantu.2.981929.html
mom_from_STL- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Allegedly Huckabee was/is a thief. Ironic.
cindmo- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Tracy Woman Arrested In Cantu Murder Case
Tracy Woman Arrested In Cantu Murder Case Posted: 10:43 pm PDT April 9, 2009 Updated: 2:46 am PDT April 11, 2009 TRACY, Calif. -- A Tracy woman, who was one of the last people to see eight-year-old Sandra Cantu alive, was arrested early Saturday for the murder of the young girl. Melissa Huckaby, 28, had been interviewed by police since early Friday evening and was taken into custody at 1 a.m., authorities said. The arrest ended a wild 16-hour period filled with rumors about Huckaby's possible arrest. She told the Tracy Press and sources confirmed to KTVU that someone stole her waterproof, charcoal-trimmed Eddie Bauer suitcase from the park two weeks ago. She said she had inadvertently left the suitcase in her driveway and it was taken from there. She claimed she had filled the suitcase with items to decorate a classroom where she teaches Sunday school at her grandfather’s church, but forgot her keys and cell phone. Huckaby went into the home to retrieve them and then drove off without the bag. Cantu’s body was found Monday stuffed in a large, dark colored suitcase submerged in a Tracy irrigation pond. “It’s not my grandfather’s,” Huckaby told the paper of the missing suitcase. “It’s mine and someone took it.” At an afternnon news conference, Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said he did not have any information about the kind of suitcase in which the girl's body was found. She also admitted that Cantu had come over to her mobile home the day the girl disappeared to play with Huckaby’s daughter. Huckaby said she told Cantu that her daughter had to clean her room and the little girl left to go to another unnamed friend’s home. Huckaby said police had interviewed her at the hospital earlier this week, but at Friday's press conference Sheneman would not confirm that the woman had been interviewed. She spent several days in the intensive care unit being treated for what she said was “internal bleeding.” Local investigators and FBI technicians had seized Huckaby’s Kia SUV earlier in the week and meticulously searched it. Evidence teams had also searched the grounds of the church where her grandfather, Lane Lawless, is the pastor. Police were back at the church on Friday afternoon. Sheneman told KTVU early Friday that his department was feeling the pressure for an arrest, but that the media attention given to the case was amplifying any action the department takes. “First of all, there are a lot of things that go on in an investigation that we do not want the public to hear because part of the public would be some of the suspects,” he said. “We do not want them to know what we are doing. We don’t want whoever it is to be tried on television. We want them to receive a fair trial in court. We want them to receive the punishment they deserve there.” Meanwhile, the family of the slain girl has set up a public memorial to her at Tracy’s Fry Memorial Chapel. Starting Friday morning, local residents had the opportunity to visit the facility and leave their condolences and written thoughts about the young girl. Cantu's family was also asking the public to stop leaving items because of the sight of the memorial is a painful reminder. After city workers came in overnight to remove the items, a much smaller memorial remains. A public memorial service for Sandra Cantu is set for next Thursday, April 16, at 1 p.m at West High School in Tracy.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514435,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514435,00.html
Teresa- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
- Job/hobbies : All Post are my own opinion....
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
I woke up to this news this morning and I am speechless. After work I will have to read more about it...I dont think anyone saw this coming!!! :shock: There has got to be more to this than meets the eye..
carlos- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Arrest Made in Sandra Cantu Case
TRACY, CA -- Tracy Police arrested 28-year old Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby around 2 a.m. Saturday Morning on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering of 8 year old Sandra Cantu. During a 3 a.m. news conference Saturday morning Tracy Police Chief Janet Thiessen, was called in to speak. She said "over the course of the investigation, agents and investigators from numerous agencies, have been instrumental in identifying Melissa Huckaby as being responsible for Sandra's death."
While she would not elaborate on the cause of death, Thiessen went on to say "We have information that Sandra, by the time she was reported missing to us, probably had already been murdered."
The arrest was made more than two weeks after Sandra was last seen outside her home at the Orchard Estates Mobile home park.
Huckaby is the granddaughter of Lane Lawless, the pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church. On Friday, Tracy police and the FBI searched the Church and the surrounding area for a second time looking for evidence in her death.
Huckaby teaches Sunday school at the church.
Earlier this week, Huckaby told the Tracy Press her black suitcase was stolen on March 27th the same day that Sandra disappeared. Sandra's body was found just days later in a suitcase left in an irrigation pond just two miles from her home.
Tracy police now say that Huckaby's story about the suitcase being stolen is a lie, and Sgt. Tony Sheneman confirmed the suitcase Sandra was found in belongs to Huckaby.
Sheneman said during her interview with officers Huckaby gradually came to terms with her situation.
"She was very relaxed for a bit, then she became very emotional, then she became relaxed again, then she became resigned to what was happening," Sheneman says.
Sheneman say he will not elborate on any motive to why Huckaby killed the 8 year old.
Huckaby has been booked in San Joaquin County jail, where she is currently being held.
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=57671&catid=2
TRACY, CA -- Tracy Police arrested 28-year old Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby around 2 a.m. Saturday Morning on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering of 8 year old Sandra Cantu. During a 3 a.m. news conference Saturday morning Tracy Police Chief Janet Thiessen, was called in to speak. She said "over the course of the investigation, agents and investigators from numerous agencies, have been instrumental in identifying Melissa Huckaby as being responsible for Sandra's death."
While she would not elaborate on the cause of death, Thiessen went on to say "We have information that Sandra, by the time she was reported missing to us, probably had already been murdered."
The arrest was made more than two weeks after Sandra was last seen outside her home at the Orchard Estates Mobile home park.
Huckaby is the granddaughter of Lane Lawless, the pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church. On Friday, Tracy police and the FBI searched the Church and the surrounding area for a second time looking for evidence in her death.
Huckaby teaches Sunday school at the church.
Earlier this week, Huckaby told the Tracy Press her black suitcase was stolen on March 27th the same day that Sandra disappeared. Sandra's body was found just days later in a suitcase left in an irrigation pond just two miles from her home.
Tracy police now say that Huckaby's story about the suitcase being stolen is a lie, and Sgt. Tony Sheneman confirmed the suitcase Sandra was found in belongs to Huckaby.
Sheneman said during her interview with officers Huckaby gradually came to terms with her situation.
"She was very relaxed for a bit, then she became very emotional, then she became relaxed again, then she became resigned to what was happening," Sheneman says.
Sheneman say he will not elborate on any motive to why Huckaby killed the 8 year old.
Huckaby has been booked in San Joaquin County jail, where she is currently being held.
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=57671&catid=2
mom_from_STL- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Sandra Cantu Murder: Melissa Huckaby Arrested (Blink)
andra Cantu Murder: Melissa Huckaby Arrested
Posted by Blink Saturday 11 April 2009 9:09 am
Tracy, CA- At 2:59 AM PST, Melissa Huckaby, 28, was arrested on kidnapping and suspicion of murder charges for 8 year old Sandra Cantu.
Sources inside the investigation have confirmed to Blink on Crime that Huckaby had been on Tracy PD Investigators radar almost immediately. Huckaby was the last person to see Sandra alive, and claimed she frequently played with her 5 year old daughter at the home she shared for the last year with her grandparents Pastor Clifford Lane Lawless and Connie Lawless.
It would seem Huckaby raised immediate flags to police and the community when she told Investigators a black suitcase containing scrapbooking supplies for her Sunday school class had been stolen from her driveway. Huckaby is also due to be sentenced on a theft charge on April 17th, in which she claimed to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Following a mental evaluation, the court determined she was fit and she pled guilty of the charge.
Melissa Huckaby is the daughter of Brian Lawless, who is also affilliated with a Baptist Church; NOT his dad’s. Blink on Crime has learned that although Melissa has told police she is a Sunday School teacher at the Clover Baptist Church which her grandfather Lane Lawless is a pastor, she is not.
Huckaby is a volunteer Sunday School teacher and Church Choir member at the First Missionary Baptist Church in Bellflower, CA. Located at 9246 Rosser St, FMBC shows both Huckaby’s Father and Uncle, Brett Lawless, are assistant pastors or Bible Class educators in a church completely unaffilliated with their Fathers. Odd.
Why would this woman have access to her grandfather’s church that by all accounts has no more than 15 members and has not had actual services in years? The last confirmed continuing education classes I can track Lawless to is in 2007.
Huckaby claimed to have received a note the day after Sandra Cantu went missing saying “Cantu.. suitcase..water..” with the word suitcase mispelled and at least the word Whitehall in it. Blink on Crime has received an unverified tip the note in question was actually written by Huckaby prior to a suicide attempt which anded her in Sutter Tracy hospital last week in the ICU. Tracy Police were stationed outside of her room in rotating shifts while Investigators continued to build
their case.
By Huckaby’s own admission, she volunteered that as recently as a few months ago, she was interviewed by police regarding a 7 year old girl from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park who she had taken to a nearby park three times during that week with her five year old daughter. She stated to several reporters in telephone interviews late yesterday afternoon that at approximately 2 am, hours after she returned the young playmate, police showed up at her trailer and told her the child had narcotics in her system. Blink on Crime has attempted to corroberate this information with Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy Police Department, but Sheneman was unaware of the incident. He has requested that information from Investigators. Regarding the suitcase she claimed had been stolen, she told reporters that she did not have online access to report it, but her myspace page indicates otherwise.
Sgt. Sheneman answered a few questions from reporters last evening indicating that the information that led to Huckaby’s arrest came from her directly. When asked by a reporter if there would be more arrests he stated that he did not anticipate their would be additional arrests in this case, It is my opinion that Sgt. Sheneman chose his words very carefully for a reason. He responded: “not in this particular case ..”
I will go out on a limb on this one and interpret that response for my readers, albeit subjectively, I admit. You have a woman with a history of drug abuse, a juvenile record and current theft charges, who has been investigated for narcotics being found in a small girl, who was taken to a “park” in the evening for several hours . You have a town that is currently investigating 60 Sex Offenders, convicted of various assaults on children, and two recent high profile arrests of men within the school district accused of similar atrocities, awaiting trial. You have an 8 year old child abducted and murdered and I believe her pathology report will show drugs in her system. You have Fred Williams, a church member/caretaker with access to the church and shed who lies about a rummage sale, is seen on video dropping off the “letter to Sandra’s killer” at the memorial site , and lives in a 4,000 sq Ft. home worth over half a mill with extensive rap sheets for him and the Mrs. hanging on the fridge. Was that note to Mel to the Issa to keep quiet?
So.. the question becomes.. Why would she be drugged, for what purpose? I feel strongly this is the tip of the iceberg within Orchard Estates and the Clover Baptist Church. On the comments section of my site, you will note their is a poster who claims Christian Sinclair and Huckaby are “dating.” You will also note that I received some comments from a person claiming to be Sinclair’s child. I checked them out, she is. She posted that the Isuzu Trooper impounded by the FBI had been returned last week. She was correct, but what has not yet been, is his Cadillac, pictured here next to Huckaby’s KIA in the FBI Forensic Bay:
In a 3 am Press conference, Chief of Tracy Police Department Janet Thiessen spoke briefly:
..over the course of the investigation, agents and investigators from numerous agencies, have been instrumental
in identifying Melissa Huckaby as being responsible for Sandra’s death.” “We have information that Sandra,
by the time she was reported missing to us, probably had already been murdered.”
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/11/sandra-cantu-murder-melissa-huckaby-arrested/
Posted by Blink Saturday 11 April 2009 9:09 am
Tracy, CA- At 2:59 AM PST, Melissa Huckaby, 28, was arrested on kidnapping and suspicion of murder charges for 8 year old Sandra Cantu.
Sources inside the investigation have confirmed to Blink on Crime that Huckaby had been on Tracy PD Investigators radar almost immediately. Huckaby was the last person to see Sandra alive, and claimed she frequently played with her 5 year old daughter at the home she shared for the last year with her grandparents Pastor Clifford Lane Lawless and Connie Lawless.
It would seem Huckaby raised immediate flags to police and the community when she told Investigators a black suitcase containing scrapbooking supplies for her Sunday school class had been stolen from her driveway. Huckaby is also due to be sentenced on a theft charge on April 17th, in which she claimed to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Following a mental evaluation, the court determined she was fit and she pled guilty of the charge.
Melissa Huckaby is the daughter of Brian Lawless, who is also affilliated with a Baptist Church; NOT his dad’s. Blink on Crime has learned that although Melissa has told police she is a Sunday School teacher at the Clover Baptist Church which her grandfather Lane Lawless is a pastor, she is not.
Huckaby is a volunteer Sunday School teacher and Church Choir member at the First Missionary Baptist Church in Bellflower, CA. Located at 9246 Rosser St, FMBC shows both Huckaby’s Father and Uncle, Brett Lawless, are assistant pastors or Bible Class educators in a church completely unaffilliated with their Fathers. Odd.
Why would this woman have access to her grandfather’s church that by all accounts has no more than 15 members and has not had actual services in years? The last confirmed continuing education classes I can track Lawless to is in 2007.
Huckaby claimed to have received a note the day after Sandra Cantu went missing saying “Cantu.. suitcase..water..” with the word suitcase mispelled and at least the word Whitehall in it. Blink on Crime has received an unverified tip the note in question was actually written by Huckaby prior to a suicide attempt which anded her in Sutter Tracy hospital last week in the ICU. Tracy Police were stationed outside of her room in rotating shifts while Investigators continued to build
their case.
By Huckaby’s own admission, she volunteered that as recently as a few months ago, she was interviewed by police regarding a 7 year old girl from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park who she had taken to a nearby park three times during that week with her five year old daughter. She stated to several reporters in telephone interviews late yesterday afternoon that at approximately 2 am, hours after she returned the young playmate, police showed up at her trailer and told her the child had narcotics in her system. Blink on Crime has attempted to corroberate this information with Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy Police Department, but Sheneman was unaware of the incident. He has requested that information from Investigators. Regarding the suitcase she claimed had been stolen, she told reporters that she did not have online access to report it, but her myspace page indicates otherwise.
Sgt. Sheneman answered a few questions from reporters last evening indicating that the information that led to Huckaby’s arrest came from her directly. When asked by a reporter if there would be more arrests he stated that he did not anticipate their would be additional arrests in this case, It is my opinion that Sgt. Sheneman chose his words very carefully for a reason. He responded: “not in this particular case ..”
I will go out on a limb on this one and interpret that response for my readers, albeit subjectively, I admit. You have a woman with a history of drug abuse, a juvenile record and current theft charges, who has been investigated for narcotics being found in a small girl, who was taken to a “park” in the evening for several hours . You have a town that is currently investigating 60 Sex Offenders, convicted of various assaults on children, and two recent high profile arrests of men within the school district accused of similar atrocities, awaiting trial. You have an 8 year old child abducted and murdered and I believe her pathology report will show drugs in her system. You have Fred Williams, a church member/caretaker with access to the church and shed who lies about a rummage sale, is seen on video dropping off the “letter to Sandra’s killer” at the memorial site , and lives in a 4,000 sq Ft. home worth over half a mill with extensive rap sheets for him and the Mrs. hanging on the fridge. Was that note to Mel to the Issa to keep quiet?
So.. the question becomes.. Why would she be drugged, for what purpose? I feel strongly this is the tip of the iceberg within Orchard Estates and the Clover Baptist Church. On the comments section of my site, you will note their is a poster who claims Christian Sinclair and Huckaby are “dating.” You will also note that I received some comments from a person claiming to be Sinclair’s child. I checked them out, she is. She posted that the Isuzu Trooper impounded by the FBI had been returned last week. She was correct, but what has not yet been, is his Cadillac, pictured here next to Huckaby’s KIA in the FBI Forensic Bay:
In a 3 am Press conference, Chief of Tracy Police Department Janet Thiessen spoke briefly:
..over the course of the investigation, agents and investigators from numerous agencies, have been instrumental
in identifying Melissa Huckaby as being responsible for Sandra’s death.” “We have information that Sandra,
by the time she was reported missing to us, probably had already been murdered.”
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/11/sandra-cantu-murder-melissa-huckaby-arrested/
mom_in_il- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
carlos1111 wrote:I woke up to this news this morning and I am speechless. After work I will have to read more about it...I dont think anyone saw this coming!!! :shock: There has got to be more to this than meets the eye..
I agree Carlos. We just got back from an out of town trip and I read this. I'm shocked to say the least. I wonder if it was some accident and she was panicked???? I just don't know. Tragic.
Tink2- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
More info on Huckaby
TRACY, Calif. (AP) — Police and residents were shocked when the suspect in the killing of an 8-year-old girl found stuffed into a suitcase turned out to be a woman, the mother of the slain girl's best friend.
The motive in the killing had not been determined.
Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher and granddaughter of a minister, was on suicide watch at the San Joaquin County Jail, where she remained in custody Sunday without bail on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sandra Cantu.
Huckaby was a "pretty normal kid" who has had difficulties in recent years, an uncle said.
Sandra's body was found in Huckaby's suitcase in an irrigation pond nearly a week ago, police said.
"This was an anomaly in the murder of a child," police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said at a news conference Saturday in this northern California town. "Finding out that it is a woman who is responsible for Sandra's kidnapping and murder, and then finding out it is a member of the community is another blow."
FBI statistics show women are involved in just 7 percent of murders of any sort. Solo killings of children by women are even more unusual.
"It's very unusual for women to be involved in an abduction and murder of a child," said Candice DeLong, a retired FBI profiler based in San Francisco. "Sometimes we see this when the woman is working with a male partner. It does not appear to be the case this time. But this was not a sexually motivated crime."
Sandra disappeared on March 27 and hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials turned out to search for her. Pictures of the girl with dark brown eyes and light brown hair were posted all over Tracy, a city of 78,000 people about 60 miles east of San Francisco. Police said they received 1,500 tips.
Huckaby, 28, had attended the second of several vigils for the slain girl, Sheneman said.
Sheneman said investigators had not determined the motive for the slaying. Police would not say where or how the girl was killed, though investigators said they believed she died very soon after she was last seen.
Police said autopsy results are not yet available, and they declined to say whether investigators believe the slaying was accidental or deliberate.
Inconsistencies in Huckaby's story led to her arrest, Sheneman said. There are no other suspects and no other arrests are expected, he said. Her arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
Huckaby is a granddaughter of Pastor Clifford Lawless, whose Clover Road Baptist Church was the subject of a police search. Huckaby taught Sunday school at the church and lived with Lawless in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park that also was Sandra's home.
Huckaby's uncle, John Hughes Jr. of Whittier, told The Associated Press his niece was from a good home, but had hit a rough patch in her life and had moved in with her grandparents in Tracy to get past her troubles.
"They opened their home up to her to try to get her life back on track. I think a lot of families have problems like that," Hughes said.
Huckaby grew up in Orange County and was a "pretty normal kid," he said. As the eldest of nine grandchildren, she played "mother hen" to the younger children when the family got together for the holidays.
After graduating from high school, Huckaby's path appears to have become rockier. She married, had a daughter and was divorced in a few short years. She had difficulty finding and keeping a job, partly owing to the challenges of single motherhood, Hughes said.
"She's had her struggles," he said. "But there's no way (her grandparents) or anybody would be fearful that anything this horrifying could possibly come from that."
Huckaby had been scheduled to appear in court on April 17 to check in with a county mental health program as part of a three-year probation sentence for a petty theft charge to which she pleaded no contest.
She was arrested late Friday, about five hours after she drove herself to the local police station at the request of officers.
"She was calm, cool and collected, then she became very emotional," Sheneman said.
It was not immediately clear if Huckaby had hired an attorney to speak for her.
She had worked as a checker at a Food for Less grocery store in a strip mall just east of the mobile park for nearly four years, until she was fired sometime in 2004, said Matt Duncan, an assistant manager at the store now known as FoodMaxx.
"I wouldn't have anything bad to say about her, until now," said Duncan, who has worked at the store off and on for about 10 years. "I would've never suspected her to do something like this."
———
Associated Press writer Don Thompson in Sacramento contributed to this report.
The motive in the killing had not been determined.
Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher and granddaughter of a minister, was on suicide watch at the San Joaquin County Jail, where she remained in custody Sunday without bail on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sandra Cantu.
Huckaby was a "pretty normal kid" who has had difficulties in recent years, an uncle said.
Sandra's body was found in Huckaby's suitcase in an irrigation pond nearly a week ago, police said.
"This was an anomaly in the murder of a child," police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said at a news conference Saturday in this northern California town. "Finding out that it is a woman who is responsible for Sandra's kidnapping and murder, and then finding out it is a member of the community is another blow."
FBI statistics show women are involved in just 7 percent of murders of any sort. Solo killings of children by women are even more unusual.
"It's very unusual for women to be involved in an abduction and murder of a child," said Candice DeLong, a retired FBI profiler based in San Francisco. "Sometimes we see this when the woman is working with a male partner. It does not appear to be the case this time. But this was not a sexually motivated crime."
Sandra disappeared on March 27 and hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials turned out to search for her. Pictures of the girl with dark brown eyes and light brown hair were posted all over Tracy, a city of 78,000 people about 60 miles east of San Francisco. Police said they received 1,500 tips.
Huckaby, 28, had attended the second of several vigils for the slain girl, Sheneman said.
Sheneman said investigators had not determined the motive for the slaying. Police would not say where or how the girl was killed, though investigators said they believed she died very soon after she was last seen.
Police said autopsy results are not yet available, and they declined to say whether investigators believe the slaying was accidental or deliberate.
Inconsistencies in Huckaby's story led to her arrest, Sheneman said. There are no other suspects and no other arrests are expected, he said. Her arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
Huckaby is a granddaughter of Pastor Clifford Lawless, whose Clover Road Baptist Church was the subject of a police search. Huckaby taught Sunday school at the church and lived with Lawless in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park that also was Sandra's home.
Huckaby's uncle, John Hughes Jr. of Whittier, told The Associated Press his niece was from a good home, but had hit a rough patch in her life and had moved in with her grandparents in Tracy to get past her troubles.
"They opened their home up to her to try to get her life back on track. I think a lot of families have problems like that," Hughes said.
Huckaby grew up in Orange County and was a "pretty normal kid," he said. As the eldest of nine grandchildren, she played "mother hen" to the younger children when the family got together for the holidays.
After graduating from high school, Huckaby's path appears to have become rockier. She married, had a daughter and was divorced in a few short years. She had difficulty finding and keeping a job, partly owing to the challenges of single motherhood, Hughes said.
"She's had her struggles," he said. "But there's no way (her grandparents) or anybody would be fearful that anything this horrifying could possibly come from that."
Huckaby had been scheduled to appear in court on April 17 to check in with a county mental health program as part of a three-year probation sentence for a petty theft charge to which she pleaded no contest.
She was arrested late Friday, about five hours after she drove herself to the local police station at the request of officers.
"She was calm, cool and collected, then she became very emotional," Sheneman said.
It was not immediately clear if Huckaby had hired an attorney to speak for her.
She had worked as a checker at a Food for Less grocery store in a strip mall just east of the mobile park for nearly four years, until she was fired sometime in 2004, said Matt Duncan, an assistant manager at the store now known as FoodMaxx.
"I wouldn't have anything bad to say about her, until now," said Duncan, who has worked at the store off and on for about 10 years. "I would've never suspected her to do something like this."
———
Associated Press writer Don Thompson in Sacramento contributed to this report.
mom_from_STL- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Melissa Huckaby Speaks With Reporter - Sandra Cantu
Melissa Huckaby Speaks With Reporter - Sandra Cantu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgPXjRAglRk (sierra1947)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgPXjRAglRk (sierra1947)
mom_in_il- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Sandra Cantu Murder: Family of Melissa Huckaby Speaks
Sandra Cantu Murder: Family of Melissa Huckaby Speaks
Posted by Blink Monday 13 April 2009 7:18 am
Tracy, CA- On Easter Sunday, The Family of Melissa Huckaby, accused in the kidnapping and murder of 8 year old Tracy resident Sandra Cantu, held an impromptu Easter Service at Clover Baptist Church.
Yes, you read that correctly. The family of the woman accused of murdering a child and stuffing her teensy frame into rolling luggage and lobbing her into an irrigation pond, held services celebrating the resurrection of Christ in the very church Police believe Sandra lost her life at the hands of Melissa Huckaby.
Spin Cycle
I will be honest. This article may end up being mostly editorial. I pride myself on being as factually objective as possible when I am writing or reporting on a case; but 9 months stomaching the Anthony’s spew their spin may have done me in. If you are one of those people that saw Cindy Anthony for the very first time and calld BS, then your already on that isle with me in the Cantu case following the press conference of Huckaby’s family.
Other than the blatant need to sanitize the family dynamic and a small lovely child is involved, there are no parallels to the Caylee Anthony case. With the exception, perhaps, of George Anthony’s recent quote:
SHUT UP… SHUT UP….
Above caption is my unsolicted advice slash/ request to the Lawless Family and their known associates.
You should know that we are perched and ready for you are to tell us how “out of character” this was for Melissa Huckaby and how loving of a Mother she was. Here’s a thought. Actual loving and responsible Mother’s do not murder babies, steal things repeatedly, and might even throw in the means to support ones self in the last few years. On Sunday, Brian Lawless, 48, defended his daughter:
“I just can’t comprehend. There are no words,” “She just always had an extra patience with her. Never raised her voice. Never yelled. Never struck her,” Brian Lawless said. “She was that same way with other children. She loved other children.”
So.. I have a few question for the Lawless family.. If your so dumbfounded Melissa could be capable of this, why has Huckaby’s 5 year old daughter been staying with Judy Lawless since the day after Sandra went missing? Please do not expect us to buy that tired “planned vacation” line. Is it possible this child can provide some answers to police as to what happened to Sandra as well as other patterns of her behavior? Tracy Police has stated that Madison Huckaby was not at the home when Sandra Cantu went there that fateful March 27th. Huckaby was scheduled for sentencing on a probation violation for theft on April
17th; Was this some sort of family intervention based on concerns for her own daughter that prompted the attack on Sandra?
BOTH Brian and Brett Lawless are on the schedule as Worship Team participants at their FBMC parish in Bellflower for Easter Sunday services, over 5 hours away from Tracy, CA. What made them pack up the Mission Mobile, hi-tail it to Tracy following Melissa’s arrest and call the press from the car?
I cannot say whether Lawless-Huckaby comes from a “good home” or not. I can only say that I will not stand by while the family of Sandra Cantu has to drive past this crime scene with a front lawn full of folks asking press to report how this girl cannot possibly be capable of what she is being accused of and what a wonderful mother she is.
Here is what I am willing to accept on their behalf, until further information is known about what happend to “Sunny” Sandra Cantu:
As the Family of Melissa Lawless Huckaby, we would like to ask the public to pray for the Cantu family, as well as ours, as we begin the quest for answers as to what happened to Sandra; and any possible role Melissa may have played in her death. It is unfathomable to us that she could be capable of what she is accused of and would ask that the public withold judgement until the facts of this case are known. Out of deep respect for the Family of Sandra Cantu, this will be our only statement until we have an opportunity to meet with Melissa and members of the Tracy Police Department. We would ask that our privacy be respected during this this time of grief for our family.
Wouldn’t it be a refreshing change for a family to encourage their loved one to be cooperative with Police, admit their wrongdoing and not take the opportunity to make this about “them”? I do not care to villafy any person’s family that has no involvement in such a heninous act, either directly or peripherally, but I dont care to give them an opportunity to use it as a pulpit either. We are resonable people that are aware that you don’t get to pick your family. If you interject
yourselves to defend a child killer, your putting yourselves out there for the scrutiny and the public closet search and we are damn good at it.
Reminder:
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/13/sandra-cantu-murder-family-of-melissa-huckaby-speaks/
Posted by Blink Monday 13 April 2009 7:18 am
Tracy, CA- On Easter Sunday, The Family of Melissa Huckaby, accused in the kidnapping and murder of 8 year old Tracy resident Sandra Cantu, held an impromptu Easter Service at Clover Baptist Church.
Yes, you read that correctly. The family of the woman accused of murdering a child and stuffing her teensy frame into rolling luggage and lobbing her into an irrigation pond, held services celebrating the resurrection of Christ in the very church Police believe Sandra lost her life at the hands of Melissa Huckaby.
Spin Cycle
I will be honest. This article may end up being mostly editorial. I pride myself on being as factually objective as possible when I am writing or reporting on a case; but 9 months stomaching the Anthony’s spew their spin may have done me in. If you are one of those people that saw Cindy Anthony for the very first time and calld BS, then your already on that isle with me in the Cantu case following the press conference of Huckaby’s family.
Other than the blatant need to sanitize the family dynamic and a small lovely child is involved, there are no parallels to the Caylee Anthony case. With the exception, perhaps, of George Anthony’s recent quote:
SHUT UP… SHUT UP….
Above caption is my unsolicted advice slash/ request to the Lawless Family and their known associates.
You should know that we are perched and ready for you are to tell us how “out of character” this was for Melissa Huckaby and how loving of a Mother she was. Here’s a thought. Actual loving and responsible Mother’s do not murder babies, steal things repeatedly, and might even throw in the means to support ones self in the last few years. On Sunday, Brian Lawless, 48, defended his daughter:
“I just can’t comprehend. There are no words,” “She just always had an extra patience with her. Never raised her voice. Never yelled. Never struck her,” Brian Lawless said. “She was that same way with other children. She loved other children.”
So.. I have a few question for the Lawless family.. If your so dumbfounded Melissa could be capable of this, why has Huckaby’s 5 year old daughter been staying with Judy Lawless since the day after Sandra went missing? Please do not expect us to buy that tired “planned vacation” line. Is it possible this child can provide some answers to police as to what happened to Sandra as well as other patterns of her behavior? Tracy Police has stated that Madison Huckaby was not at the home when Sandra Cantu went there that fateful March 27th. Huckaby was scheduled for sentencing on a probation violation for theft on April
17th; Was this some sort of family intervention based on concerns for her own daughter that prompted the attack on Sandra?
BOTH Brian and Brett Lawless are on the schedule as Worship Team participants at their FBMC parish in Bellflower for Easter Sunday services, over 5 hours away from Tracy, CA. What made them pack up the Mission Mobile, hi-tail it to Tracy following Melissa’s arrest and call the press from the car?
I cannot say whether Lawless-Huckaby comes from a “good home” or not. I can only say that I will not stand by while the family of Sandra Cantu has to drive past this crime scene with a front lawn full of folks asking press to report how this girl cannot possibly be capable of what she is being accused of and what a wonderful mother she is.
Here is what I am willing to accept on their behalf, until further information is known about what happend to “Sunny” Sandra Cantu:
As the Family of Melissa Lawless Huckaby, we would like to ask the public to pray for the Cantu family, as well as ours, as we begin the quest for answers as to what happened to Sandra; and any possible role Melissa may have played in her death. It is unfathomable to us that she could be capable of what she is accused of and would ask that the public withold judgement until the facts of this case are known. Out of deep respect for the Family of Sandra Cantu, this will be our only statement until we have an opportunity to meet with Melissa and members of the Tracy Police Department. We would ask that our privacy be respected during this this time of grief for our family.
Wouldn’t it be a refreshing change for a family to encourage their loved one to be cooperative with Police, admit their wrongdoing and not take the opportunity to make this about “them”? I do not care to villafy any person’s family that has no involvement in such a heninous act, either directly or peripherally, but I dont care to give them an opportunity to use it as a pulpit either. We are resonable people that are aware that you don’t get to pick your family. If you interject
yourselves to defend a child killer, your putting yourselves out there for the scrutiny and the public closet search and we are damn good at it.
Reminder:
http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/04/13/sandra-cantu-murder-family-of-melissa-huckaby-speaks/
mom_in_il- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Huckaby arraignment Tuesday April 14 at 1:30pm
http://www.news10.net/news/liveonline/
they may try to get their camera in the courtroom
they may try to get their camera in the courtroom
oviedo45- Admin
Rape and Molestation charges to be added?
HLN reported that they could add rape and molestation charges (foreign object) and the death penalty may be on the table.
oviedo45- Admin
Memorial site for sandy cantu
In Loving Memory of
Sandra Renee Cantu
Mar 8, 2001 - Apr 6, 2009
Tracy, CA
Funeral Home website for memory Book and Condolences
http://www.frymemorialchapel.com/obit-service-schedule.jsp?site=0414&id=43353
thanks tom terrific for your post
Sandra Renee Cantu
Mar 8, 2001 - Apr 6, 2009
Tracy, CA
Funeral Home website for memory Book and Condolences
http://www.frymemorialchapel.com/obit-service-schedule.jsp?site=0414&id=43353
thanks tom terrific for your post
oviedo45- Admin
Today Show 4/14/2009
Shocking New Details in Sandra Cantu Case
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30205825#30205825
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30205825#30205825
mom_in_il- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Suspect in girl's killing had 'challenges,' relatives say
Suspect in girl's killing had 'challenges,' relatives say
(CNN) -- Nothing about Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher at her grandfather's California church, would indicate she's capable of killing her daughter's 8-year-old friend as police allege, relatives say.
Huckaby, expected to be arraigned Tuesday in the death of Sandra Cantu, is a wonderful mother who is at ease with other children, relatives say. Cantu's body was found last week in a suitcase submerged in a pond.
But they acknowledge her life was less than tranquil before moving into her grandparents' Tracy, California, home last year. They say she's had difficulties dealing with a divorce, and she's had legal problems, including bankruptcy and a theft conviction.
"She is a good, church-going girl, but she has had her challenges," California resident Cynthia Browning, Huckaby's great-aunt, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Huckaby, 28, was arrested on charges of murder and kidnapping late Friday, four days after the suitcase with Cantu's body was found at a dairy farm's pond in Tracy, not far from the church run by Huckaby's grandfather.
Cantu was last seen alive March 27 in the Tracy mobile home park where she lived. It's the same park where Huckaby lives with her 5-year-old daughter and grandparents. The two children were close friends and played frequently, Tracy police said.
Investigators believe the suitcase is Huckaby's and that she lied about it being missing, police said. Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told reporters over the weekend that he didn't know the motive in the slaying, and he declined to say whether Huckaby confessed but said "she revealed enough information that we had probable cause to arrest her."
Don't Miss
"The information we've been given regarding the charges against [her] are completely out of character for her," said one man, who identified himself only as a relative. Another relative, also declining to give her name, said Huckaby "is a fantastic mother, very loving."
Huckaby, who grew up in Orange County, California, moved in with her grandparents about eight months ago, according to the Contra Costa Times. She did so in part so that she'd have more time "to take better care of her daughter, who ... gets sick a lot," Browning told the Chronicle.
Huckaby divorced a few years ago and has had a hard time coping, her father, Brian Lawless of Orange County, told the Chronicle. She has fought depression, her relatives said, according to the newspaper.
She also has faced legal difficulties. Citing court records, the Tracy Press reported she pleaded no contest January 9 to a felony charge of second-degree commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of property theft.
A criminal complaint says she was jailed in Los Angeles County on a property theft conviction in 2006 and that she tried to steal from a store in November 2008. According to the complaint, she was on probation in San Joaquin County and was due back in court Friday.
And she filed for bankruptcy in 2003, reporting credit card and medical debt, according to CNN affiliate KCRA-TV.
Relatives said her only current job was the Sunday school teaching, according to the Chronicle.
The allegations stunned a friend of Huckaby's from high school, Emily Glyer Fontes, according to the Orange County Register. Fontes said she recalled that Huckaby "was almost like a mother" to a baby girl that Huckaby's parents adopted while she was in high school.
"That's why this is so overwhelming to me," Fontes, who said she and Huckaby were on the school's dance team, told the Register. "She was so wonderful with kids -- absolutely amazing. I feel so completely confused and so devastated about this. Everything I knew has been turned upside down."
Police have not said how Cantu died. The day she was last seen, she came home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives nearby, a family spokeswoman has said.
Before her arrest, Huckaby told the Tracy Press that Cantu came by her home to see whether she could play with Huckaby's daughter, but Huckaby would not let her daughter play because she wanted her daughter to pick up her toys. Cantu left for another friend's house, Huckaby told the newspaper.
Huckaby also told the Tracy Press that she owned the suitcase in which the child's body was found, but said she reported it missing the day before the body's discovery. She said it disappeared about the same time the child did.
Sheneman told reporters after Huckaby's arrest that "inconsistencies" between that interview and statements Huckaby had made to police were one reason police re-interviewed her Friday night.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/13/california.slain.girl.suspect/index.html
(CNN) -- Nothing about Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher at her grandfather's California church, would indicate she's capable of killing her daughter's 8-year-old friend as police allege, relatives say.
Huckaby, expected to be arraigned Tuesday in the death of Sandra Cantu, is a wonderful mother who is at ease with other children, relatives say. Cantu's body was found last week in a suitcase submerged in a pond.
But they acknowledge her life was less than tranquil before moving into her grandparents' Tracy, California, home last year. They say she's had difficulties dealing with a divorce, and she's had legal problems, including bankruptcy and a theft conviction.
"She is a good, church-going girl, but she has had her challenges," California resident Cynthia Browning, Huckaby's great-aunt, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Huckaby, 28, was arrested on charges of murder and kidnapping late Friday, four days after the suitcase with Cantu's body was found at a dairy farm's pond in Tracy, not far from the church run by Huckaby's grandfather.
Cantu was last seen alive March 27 in the Tracy mobile home park where she lived. It's the same park where Huckaby lives with her 5-year-old daughter and grandparents. The two children were close friends and played frequently, Tracy police said.
Investigators believe the suitcase is Huckaby's and that she lied about it being missing, police said. Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told reporters over the weekend that he didn't know the motive in the slaying, and he declined to say whether Huckaby confessed but said "she revealed enough information that we had probable cause to arrest her."
Don't Miss
- Family: Charges 'out of character'
- Slain girl's family expresses shock at arrest
- Girl, 8, disappears after playing with friend
"The information we've been given regarding the charges against [her] are completely out of character for her," said one man, who identified himself only as a relative. Another relative, also declining to give her name, said Huckaby "is a fantastic mother, very loving."
Huckaby, who grew up in Orange County, California, moved in with her grandparents about eight months ago, according to the Contra Costa Times. She did so in part so that she'd have more time "to take better care of her daughter, who ... gets sick a lot," Browning told the Chronicle.
Huckaby divorced a few years ago and has had a hard time coping, her father, Brian Lawless of Orange County, told the Chronicle. She has fought depression, her relatives said, according to the newspaper.
She also has faced legal difficulties. Citing court records, the Tracy Press reported she pleaded no contest January 9 to a felony charge of second-degree commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of property theft.
A criminal complaint says she was jailed in Los Angeles County on a property theft conviction in 2006 and that she tried to steal from a store in November 2008. According to the complaint, she was on probation in San Joaquin County and was due back in court Friday.
And she filed for bankruptcy in 2003, reporting credit card and medical debt, according to CNN affiliate KCRA-TV.
Relatives said her only current job was the Sunday school teaching, according to the Chronicle.
The allegations stunned a friend of Huckaby's from high school, Emily Glyer Fontes, according to the Orange County Register. Fontes said she recalled that Huckaby "was almost like a mother" to a baby girl that Huckaby's parents adopted while she was in high school.
"That's why this is so overwhelming to me," Fontes, who said she and Huckaby were on the school's dance team, told the Register. "She was so wonderful with kids -- absolutely amazing. I feel so completely confused and so devastated about this. Everything I knew has been turned upside down."
Police have not said how Cantu died. The day she was last seen, she came home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives nearby, a family spokeswoman has said.
Before her arrest, Huckaby told the Tracy Press that Cantu came by her home to see whether she could play with Huckaby's daughter, but Huckaby would not let her daughter play because she wanted her daughter to pick up her toys. Cantu left for another friend's house, Huckaby told the newspaper.
Huckaby also told the Tracy Press that she owned the suitcase in which the child's body was found, but said she reported it missing the day before the body's discovery. She said it disappeared about the same time the child did.
Sheneman told reporters after Huckaby's arrest that "inconsistencies" between that interview and statements Huckaby had made to police were one reason police re-interviewed her Friday night.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/13/california.slain.girl.suspect/index.html
mom_in_il- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
No plea entered, Melissa Huckaby arraigned today
14 Apr 09, 01:15 PM
news10-cjohnson:
Well, folks, that was quick. Huckaby faces 1 count of murder and 3
special circumstances - kidnapping during the commision of murder, lewd
or lascivious act with a minor and rape w/ a foreign object. She did
not enter a plea. Next court hearing is 4/24.
http://www.news10.net/news/liveonline/
news10-cjohnson:
Well, folks, that was quick. Huckaby faces 1 count of murder and 3
special circumstances - kidnapping during the commision of murder, lewd
or lascivious act with a minor and rape w/ a foreign object. She did
not enter a plea. Next court hearing is 4/24.
http://www.news10.net/news/liveonline/
oviedo45- Admin
Melissa Huckaby arraignment
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=57779&catid=2
they had a video posted that shows the arraignment
they had a video posted that shows the arraignment
oviedo45- Admin
CNN story
(CNN) -- A California woman accused in the rape and murder
of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu fought tears Tuesday as a judge read the
charges against her in a brief court appearance.
Melissa Huckaby is charged with killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, who was a friend of her own daughter.
Wearing red jail scrubs over a white T-shirt, Melissa Huckaby, 28, flinched at the
mention of Sandra's name. She is charged with killing Sandra, who was a
friend of her own daughter. The Sunday school teacher's lip
quivered and a single tear rolled down her cheek as the judge read
special circumstances alleged against her -- that the murder was
committed in conjunction with a kidnapping, the performance of a lewd
and lascivious act upon a child, and rape by instrument. Huckaby
did not enter a plea or speak during the appearance. Public defender
Ellen Schwarzenberg, who appeared in court with Huckaby, said she would
not enter a plea at that time, adding she had spoken with Huckaby "very
briefly."Read the complaint (PDF) The matter was continued for arraignment on April 24.
Don't Miss
judge put off that matter until April 24 as well. Huckaby will remain
in the San Joaquin County Jail without bond. Huckaby is
undergoing a medical evaluation as part of another case, an alleged
petty theft being handled in a mental health court, Willett said.Asked whether that would affect the murder case, he said, "Obviously, any mental health issues would have an effect on this case." Schwarzenberg said she hopes people will not rush to judgment in the case until all the facts are known.If convicted as charged, Huckaby faces the death penalty or life in
prison without parole, San Joaquin County District Attorney James
Willett told reporters after the hearing. A decision on whether to seek
the death penalty will be made later, he said. Sandra's body
was found April 6, stuffed into a suitcase and submerged in a pond at a
dairy farm. Huckaby was arrested Friday night after questioning by
police. Sandra was last seen alive March 27 in the mobile home
park where she lived with her family -- the same mobile home park where
Huckaby lives with her own 5-year-old daughter. The two children were
close friends and played together frequently, police said. Huckaby is the granddaughter of Clifford Lane Lawless, pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church
near the mobile home park, and she taught Sunday school at the church,
police said. The church was searched as part of the investigation into
Sandra's disappearance and death. Before her arrest, Huckaby
acknowledged to a newspaper reporter that she owned the suitcase that
contained Sandra's body. But Huckaby said the suitcase had been stolen.
Willett declined to comment on any of the evidence or allegations in the case, saying evidence would be presented in court.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/14/california.slain.girl/index.html
of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu fought tears Tuesday as a judge read the
charges against her in a brief court appearance.
Melissa Huckaby is charged with killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, who was a friend of her own daughter.
Wearing red jail scrubs over a white T-shirt, Melissa Huckaby, 28, flinched at the
mention of Sandra's name. She is charged with killing Sandra, who was a
friend of her own daughter. The Sunday school teacher's lip
quivered and a single tear rolled down her cheek as the judge read
special circumstances alleged against her -- that the murder was
committed in conjunction with a kidnapping, the performance of a lewd
and lascivious act upon a child, and rape by instrument. Huckaby
did not enter a plea or speak during the appearance. Public defender
Ellen Schwarzenberg, who appeared in court with Huckaby, said she would
not enter a plea at that time, adding she had spoken with Huckaby "very
briefly."Read the complaint (PDF) The matter was continued for arraignment on April 24.
Don't Miss
Suspect in girl's killing had 'challenges,' relatives say
Family: Charges 'out of character'
Slain girl's family expresses shock at arrest
Girl, 8, disappears after playing with friend
judge put off that matter until April 24 as well. Huckaby will remain
in the San Joaquin County Jail without bond. Huckaby is
undergoing a medical evaluation as part of another case, an alleged
petty theft being handled in a mental health court, Willett said.Asked whether that would affect the murder case, he said, "Obviously, any mental health issues would have an effect on this case." Schwarzenberg said she hopes people will not rush to judgment in the case until all the facts are known.If convicted as charged, Huckaby faces the death penalty or life in
prison without parole, San Joaquin County District Attorney James
Willett told reporters after the hearing. A decision on whether to seek
the death penalty will be made later, he said. Sandra's body
was found April 6, stuffed into a suitcase and submerged in a pond at a
dairy farm. Huckaby was arrested Friday night after questioning by
police. Sandra was last seen alive March 27 in the mobile home
park where she lived with her family -- the same mobile home park where
Huckaby lives with her own 5-year-old daughter. The two children were
close friends and played together frequently, police said. Huckaby is the granddaughter of Clifford Lane Lawless, pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church
near the mobile home park, and she taught Sunday school at the church,
police said. The church was searched as part of the investigation into
Sandra's disappearance and death. Before her arrest, Huckaby
acknowledged to a newspaper reporter that she owned the suitcase that
contained Sandra's body. But Huckaby said the suitcase had been stolen.
Willett declined to comment on any of the evidence or allegations in the case, saying evidence would be presented in court.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/14/california.slain.girl/index.html
oviedo45- Admin
Some theories on MH in Sandra's death
I have to say that when I saw Melissa on tv last night I had some level of compassion for her. She seemed truly upset over this...like she just snapped and now realizes what she has done. It does not change that I think she should pay for her crime. She clearly needs help. But, I just could not help but feel bad for her last night. Now the really sad thing is I NEVER felt bad for Casey. I have felt bad for G and C at times. Anyway after a short blog discussion today here is what some of us are thinking could have happened... feel free to comment or add.
1. At first I thought she was taking the fall for the pastor...I just dont know now. Could the rape be after death to make it look like the reason ? I cant help but think she just snapped. sandra reminds me of my niece who just turned 8. She can drive you nuts, high energy, beautiful, but at some point it is like go away. Maybe someone unstable like Melissa just could not handle it and snapped then tried to hide it with the rape etc..so to look to authorities that a man did it?
2. What if the pastor (grandfather) did rape her as a child and she didnt want it to happen to her own child so she instigated this with sandra to try and frame the pastor and get him out of the picture...What if he had done something inappropriate to her or her child since they moved in?
3. I have not read/heard she claimed it was an accident. What if she was going to drug her and make a tape or something to sell to some porn guy for a few bucks and things went wrong?
1. At first I thought she was taking the fall for the pastor...I just dont know now. Could the rape be after death to make it look like the reason ? I cant help but think she just snapped. sandra reminds me of my niece who just turned 8. She can drive you nuts, high energy, beautiful, but at some point it is like go away. Maybe someone unstable like Melissa just could not handle it and snapped then tried to hide it with the rape etc..so to look to authorities that a man did it?
2. What if the pastor (grandfather) did rape her as a child and she didnt want it to happen to her own child so she instigated this with sandra to try and frame the pastor and get him out of the picture...What if he had done something inappropriate to her or her child since they moved in?
3. I have not read/heard she claimed it was an accident. What if she was going to drug her and make a tape or something to sell to some porn guy for a few bucks and things went wrong?
carlos- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Carlos you have some veryinteresting points and questions. I just do not know. It is hard to try to figure out someone who appears to be sane and then just snaps! I do agree that this is very unusual for a woman to have done. However, she did have some issues already.
I try to put pieces together in my mind, and all I can see is Sandra walking in the church asking her a question and then her running Sandra down and........ :.0 ........well...... :.0 !
If she didn't do the rape thing for a cover up, then what has she been doing to other children and her own duaghter? I would think that if it was truley about sex, then there would be more to her history. Maybe things we just have not found out yet. :king:
I try to put pieces together in my mind, and all I can see is Sandra walking in the church asking her a question and then her running Sandra down and........ :.0 ........well...... :.0 !
If she didn't do the rape thing for a cover up, then what has she been doing to other children and her own duaghter? I would think that if it was truley about sex, then there would be more to her history. Maybe things we just have not found out yet. :king:
mimi40- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
- Job/hobbies : nurse
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Just a couple of points. The rape part is not about sex. It's another thing abusers sometimes do to hurt their victims. The statistics show that murderers have almost always been thieves before they murder. Like Casey, Huckaby fits this profile IMO.
kiwimom- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Re: SANDRA CANTU - 8 yo (3/2009) - Tracy CA
Well as I am watching JVM while blogging tonight...it looks like #3 is along the lines of what police are thinking. They are asking parents to talk to children who had contact with her to see if there may be others. Maybe this was the first time and she got scared or just caught or something. They are talking gag order so we may not find out much more.
carlos- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
Live Stream of memorial today 4/16 at 1pm Pacific 4pm EST
http://www.news10.net/news/liveonline/default.aspx?menuid=181
oviedo45- Admin
Page 3 of 9 • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Similar topics
» Sandra Cantu
» Toddler 'Cantu' - 3 yo - Marietta GA
» LIZBETH CANTU DENOVA - 13 yo - Glendale AZ
» MARK CANTU and BRYANT YBERRA - 6 and 9 yo - Houston TX
» The Clothes Comment made to Tracy
» Toddler 'Cantu' - 3 yo - Marietta GA
» LIZBETH CANTU DENOVA - 13 yo - Glendale AZ
» MARK CANTU and BRYANT YBERRA - 6 and 9 yo - Houston TX
» The Clothes Comment made to Tracy
Page 3 of 9
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|