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Sandra Cantu's uncle, Joe Chavez, right, his wife, Angie Chavez, left, and Susan Levy, center, mother of slain Washington intern Chandra Levy, talk to reporters in Tracy on Saturday about the arrest of Melissa Huckaby in connection with the killing of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu. (AP Photo/Bay Area News Group, Doug Duran)
Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby, 28, booked in Tracy child's death
Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman: 'I couldn’t begin to even theorize what her motive was'; suspect being held in isolation on suicide watch for her own safety; arraignment scheduled for Tuesday
By Terry Collins
Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, April 11, 2009 2:15 PM PDT
TRACY — Tracy police said Saturday they do not know what motivated the Sunday school teacher they arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body was found in a suitcase in an irrigation pond.
Melissa Huckaby
Melissa Huckaby, 28, was arrested before midnight Friday, about five hours after she drove herself to the local police station at the request of officers, said police Sgt. Tony Sheneman.
Watch video of arrest announcement
“She walked through the door of the police department and started a conversation (with officers),” Sheneman said at a news conference. “She was calm, cool and collected, then she became very emotional....She went back and forth from being calm to emotional.”
Ultimately, she became “resigned” as the interrogation continued, Sheneman said.
Sandra Cantu
“I couldn’t begin to even theorize what her motive was,” he said.
Police declined to say where or how the girl was allegedly killed.
The slain girl’s aunt, Angie Chavez, said Sandra’s mother, Maria Chavez, remains devastated despite the arrest.
“It’s not over. This is just the beginning of a horrible nightmare,” Angie Chavez said at the entrance to the mobile home park where Sandra lived with her mother.
“Why?” wondered Angie Chavez’ husband, Joe Chavez, shaking his head. He said Huckaby should face the death penalty if convicted.
Inconsistencies in Huckaby’s story led to her arrest, Sheneman said. There are no other suspects and no other arrests are expected, he said.
“Sandra was very close friends with Melissa’s daughter. They used to play together,” Sheneman said.
Huckaby is being held without bail at San Joaquin County Jail, and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
She is on suicide watch in an observation cell away from other inmates for her own safety, though there have been no incidents, said sheriff’s Deputy Les Garcia. Huckaby is refusing visits, he said.
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 in the hunt for Sandra and her killer.
On April 6, farmworkers draining an irrigation pond found the suitcase.
Sheneman said it was unexpected that the suspect turned out to be a woman.
“There was some speculation early on that it would be a man,” he said. “It’s unusual for it to be a woman statistically and according to the FBI.”
Everyone who cooperated with police offered to help them locate “the monster, the man that did this,” Sheneman said. Discovering it was a woman and a member of the tight knit Tracy community who knew the family was “a double blow.”
“Today’s going to be a very difficult day for everyone to digest that,” Sheneman said.
Huckaby attended the second of the several vigils for the slain girl, Sheneman said.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done in the next several weeks to ensure that Miss Huckaby pays for what’s she’s done,” he said. “There are no other suspects in this case. We do not anticipate any other arrests in this case.”
An attorney who represented Huckaby in a previous petty theft case did not immediately return a telephone message left at her home. Garcia said jail records did not reflect if Huckaby has an attorney on the new allegations.
Police said autopsy results are not yet available, and they declined to say whether investigators believe the slaying was accidental or deliberate. Sheneman said that will be an issue for Huckaby’s arraignment and trial.
Police began to narrow their focus on a suspect about the same time the girl’s body was found, Sheneman said. “No one person pointed their finger,” he said. “It was a compilation of evidence.”
After questioning, Huckaby began crying as she was handcuffed and led away for fingerprinting after 1 a.m., Sheneman said.
The girl’s extended family said the investigation strained trust in the Central Valley city.
“You eye everybody with a great deal of suspicion. We’re shell-shocked here,” said Joe Chavez.
Susan Levy of nearby Modesto, mother of slain Washington intern Chandra Levy, appeared arm-in-arm with Angie and Joe Chavez as they spoke with reporters.
Levy said she was there to support the family as they, too, dealt with the tragic loss of a child. District of Columbia authorities recently issued an arrest warrant for a Salvadoran immigrant with sexually assaulting and killing Levy on a trail in Rock Creek Park in May 2001 in a heavily publicized case.
During an early morning news conference, Tracy Police Chief Janet Thiessen said investigators worked the case tirelessly in the hopes of finding Sandra.
“We have information that Sandra, by the time she was reported missing to us, that she probably had already been murdered,” said Thiessen.
Sheneman told The Associated Press that The Tracy Press’ published interviews with Huckaby revealed inconsistencies that prompted further inquiries from investigators.
Huckaby had previously told The Tracy Press that Sandra visited her home on the day of her disappearance to play with her 5-year-old daughter. But Huckaby said she’d turned Sandra away because her daughter needed to pick up her toys and Sandra went to another friend’s home. Huckaby also said she had left her suitcase in the driveway that day, and that it was missing.
Sheneman confirmed early Saturday that the suitcase that held Sandra’s body belonged to Huckaby.
The Tracy Press reported that Huckaby was released Thursday from Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, where she spent several days in intensive care for what she described as “internal bleeding.”
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.
A phone call to Lawless was not immediately returned.
Huckaby’s family had been questioned at length during the investigation, and their home and vehicles had been searched, Sheneman said.
Huckaby was 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.
In an interview with the newspaper on Friday, Huckaby said someone else by the same name was facing charges for the attempted November theft from Target.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Huckaby has no state prison record.
Huckaby 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.”
Barbara Sokoloski, 69, whose home is behind Sandra’s, said she is glad an arrest was made. She described Sandra as “a friendly sweet little girl who always went around trying to find somebody to play with.”
“It’s too bad that kids these days can’t go out and play like we did when I was a little girl,” she said.
Associated Press Writer Don Thompson in Sacramento contributed to this article.
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Lodian wrote on Apr 17, 2009 1:17 PM:
" Whatever become of He who shall not be named?, anyone?... "
Shhh... don't wake the beast. "
Robb wrote on Apr 17, 2009 12:55 PM:
S & W 500 wrote on Apr 16, 2009 7:49 PM:
Lodian wrote on Apr 16, 2009 1:49 PM:
Robb wrote on Apr 15, 2009 4:05 PM:
Much worse has been done in the name of religion.. "
lionheart209 wrote on Apr 14, 2009 5:25 PM:
Of course I'm saddened by the death of the little girl, but people don't speak or think to hastily about the woman accused, until the whole truth is brought out.
Officer Buren "
deblaw wrote on Apr 13, 2009 2:01 PM:
http://lodinews.com/articles/2009/04/07/update/tracygirl.web.4.7.txt
He also said police searched a location Monday night at Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park.
Sheneman would not say why the church was being searched and did not give details if anything was found at the park, nor did he say the exact location of the search there.
He said authorities took all evidence to a crime lab in Sacramento. "
wtf wrote on Apr 13, 2009 12:42 PM:
Lodian wrote on Apr 13, 2009 12:07 PM:
wtf wrote on Apr 13, 2009 11:49 AM:
deblaw wrote on Apr 13, 2009 10:26 AM:
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12117259 "
deblaw wrote on Apr 13, 2009 7:11 AM:
wtf wrote on Apr 13, 2009 7:11 AM:
If they lived a few house apart, why would this be done?
I agree with deblaw that there is much more to this than we're being told. "
deblaw wrote on Apr 13, 2009 4:17 AM:
Lodian wrote on Apr 12, 2009 8:38 PM:
wtf wrote on Apr 12, 2009 6:30 PM:
We have forensics and FBI offices in San Joaquin County; so I was wondering why they had the forensics work done in another county. "
wtf wrote on Apr 12, 2009 5:53 PM:
I realize there are plenty of females who are quite capable of killing; but this story just doesn't sit right.
I think the best thing to do is sit tight and see what comes out. For some reason, I had the impression there were more people involved in this and that this woman could be "taking the rap" for someone else.
Did anyone see the TV news where a young police cadet said he saw a suspicious truck by the pond where Sandra's body was found? "
Mrs. S. wrote on Apr 12, 2009 12:27 PM:
I'm no June Cleaver, and my husband isn't Ward, either. My husband has gone to see those action/violence-type movies with my sons and their friends when they were in their late teens. I've known coaches who are very close to the kids on their teams. There isn't necessarily any suspicion on anyone's part toward these people.
However, I do see what you mean. When guys work with and grow close to very young kids, people will raise an eyebrow.
If Sandra's killing teaches us anything, it's that parents should be cautious with anyone working with their children. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 12, 2009 9:32 AM:
I suppose my point is that no investigation should rule out anyone until the evidence points them in a definitive direction. To rule women out at the outset is to eliminate over half of the possible suspects of any crime. Now that doesn't make sense either, does it?
Of course my detractors on this forum might want to suggest that for whatever reason I've got something against women. So, I'll head this off right here. No, I have the utmost respect for the fairer gender; always have, always will. They deserve their place on pedestals. Keep in mind though, they're only human and capable of falling off. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 12, 2009 9:20 AM:
How do you think it would look to others if you had been "Mr. S." and made the following comment, "When my kids' friends come over, it's almost like they're my 'adopted kids'"? As a woman who comes across very June Cleaver-esque, I envision the little white house with the picket fence where all the neighborhood kids gather after school for milk and cookies (save Eddie Haskell, of course). But a man behaving in this fashion? I don't think we're quite at that point where we would trust such a relationship in any neighborhood in the good ol' U.S.A.
If Huckaby is the perpetrator of this crime, then it is but one more tear in our national quilt under which we used to feel warm and safe. And that is sad, don't you think? "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 12, 2009 9:08 AM:
This is no "anomaly," but it does support my previous contention that too many people are inclined to believe that women are simply incapable of committing such wanton criminal acts. A number of years ago the husband of a wife who drowned her children in Texas was considered the bad guy. He made her do it!! And while their family dynamics might have not been the best, it was she who planned and carried out the execution of her children. Still, her conviction was overturned and at this point I have no idea where the case is.
Society simply cannot seem to grasp the notion that women, just as men, can be evil. We see it more and more, yet so many keep looking for someone else to blame. We're just going to have to accept it, because it isn't going to get better. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 12, 2009 8:59 AM:
My concern is that while so many call for withholding judgment, I want to know where the outrage is hiding. An innocent child has been deprived of her chance to live her life; something guaranteed for all of us here. Her family and friends will never be the same; nor will her community.
I suppose it's out of fear that we search for a "reason" to explain why this happened; it is hard to accept that there are just evil people among us - frightening indeed. "
OTH wrote on Apr 11, 2009 9:36 PM:
Previous posters have said the woman could not be in her right mind. No one who commits this type of crime, male or female, could be in their right mind. What she did was wrong and deplorable and she deserves to serve whatever sentence is handed down. Sandra, the Cantu family, and the family of Ms Huckaby will be in my prayers. "
OTH wrote on Apr 11, 2009 9:27 PM:
How many of us know someone, maybe even a family member, who cannot get the help they need because of the lack of treatment facilities?
This may not be popular but I not only feel sorry for the little girl and her family but I do feel sorry for the woman as well. cont'd "
Robb wrote on Apr 11, 2009 8:58 PM:
Great American Trucker wrote on Apr 11, 2009 5:49 PM:
Mrs. S. wrote on Apr 11, 2009 4:44 PM:
By "explanation", I mean that it would give people a glimpse into what was going on in her mind.
For example, the "Son of Sam" killer murdered people in New York in the seventies because he reportedly thought his neighbor's dog was telling him to. That's certainly warped and weird, but it gives people a sort of explanation for why he did it. However, most people neither feel sorry for him, nor do they want him out in society ever again. "
Mrs. S. wrote on Apr 11, 2009 4:39 PM:
I hope I didn't imply to you that I have any sympathy for this person (should she be convicted), because I don't. I just think that any inappropriate thought process she may have had would provide a motive for the crime. It wouldn't provide an excuse or a reason to feel sorry for her, just a sort of explanation. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 11, 2009 4:21 PM:
I still stand by my contention that when it's a female who commits such atrocities, any rush to judgment is normally in her defense; hardly ever the case with a male. And as we've witnessed over the course of the past few years, these crimes against children by mothers has either grown exponentially or they're finally being covered by an otherwise female-sympathetic press.
Nevertheless, we have a dead child and an apparent murderer garnering even a little sympathy from the public. This I find to be repulsive. "
SJUNE74 wrote on Apr 11, 2009 1:13 PM:
Mrs. S. wrote on Apr 11, 2009 12:19 PM:
Gender doesn't make a difference, but statistically, such crimes committed by women are rare. The article states that fact. It also states this woman had mental health issues. That doesn't excuse what she allegedly did, but it might provide a motive (i.e., she had delusions the girl was possessed by demons; she became enraged at the girl for some weird reason, etc.).
However, there's clearly no excuse for what she did if she's found guilty, and if she is, she needs to be put away permanently. The same is true for men who do this. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 11, 2009 12:14 PM:
Mrs. S. wrote on Apr 11, 2009 12:06 PM:
When my kids' friends come over, it's almost like they're my "adopted kids". My oldest is college age, and when his best friend comes over, I always include him when it's dinner time, etc.
It looks like this woman has mental health issues, which might explain part of the story, but really, there's no explanation for such a horrific crime. "
lodisafeway wrote on Apr 11, 2009 9:28 AM:
Sure, it's generally accepted that most crimes of this nature are committed by men. But as we've been witnessing over the years, the gender line is becoming blurred as it pertains to the murders and mayhem against our most innocent and precious victims.
I believe it's way past time to step up the outrage. Are we to now try and understand just why this woman did what she did (if she did it) rather than stand firm as a community to demand that justice be swift and severe to begin to send the message that we cannot tolerate these heinous crimes any longer?
Yes, cops make mistakes. But I'm going to side with them on this one. Clearly they have enough to charge her; only the jury has to remain impartial. I won't be serving on this one. "
carlos wrote on Apr 11, 2009 9:12 AM:
jramagic wrote on Apr 11, 2009 8:09 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.