Sandra Cantu Media Releases

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Melissa Huckaby Indicted in Cantu Murder

Former Sunday School Teacher Accused of Raping and Murdering 8-Year-Old Sandra Cantu

By SARAH NETTER and LINDSAY GOLDWERT
Aug. 17, 2009

Former Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby broke down in tears today when she was indicted in a Stockton, Calif., courtroom on charges of kidnapping, raping and murdering 8-year-old neighbor Sandra Cantu and drugging two others.

In June, Huckaby, 28, pleaded not guilty to the murder of a second-grader whose body was found April 6, stuffed in a suitcase in an irrigation pond 10 days after she disappeared from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy, Calif.

She did enter a plea to the charges announced today.

The drugging indictments stem from charges prosecutors filed in May, accusing Huckaby of trying to poison a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man. The girl recovered but authorities do not know what happened to the man.

At the hearing today, Huckaby had visible marks on her forehead, ABC News Sacramento affiliate KXTV reported. A prosecutor indicated Huckaby made the marks herself earlier in the day.

The murder charge includes the special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts with a child and rape with a foreign object , making her eligible for the death penalty if she is convicted.

Huckaby's trial date has not yet been set.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8348664

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Prosecutors seek death penalty against Melissa Huckaby

Sophia Kazmi
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 09/10/2009 10:55:03 AM PDT
Updated: 09/10/2009

STOCKTON — The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday it will seek the death penalty against Melissa Huckaby if she is convicted of raping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

"The people are seeking the death penalty in this case," Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa told San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus. The decision, he said, was made by District Attorney James Willett in consultation with the office's homicide unit and Sandra's family.

Testa's statement came shortly before Huckaby, 28, of Tracy, pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment against her. A criminal grand jury indicted Huckaby — whose daughter was a playmate of Sandra's — on a murder charge with three enhancements: kidnapping, rape with a foreign instrument, and lewd and lascivious acts on a child. A second count charges Huckaby with a sex crime with a child 10 years or younger.

The grand jury also indicted her for child endangerment and on charges of furnishing a harmful substance for a case involving another Tracy girl and furnishing a harmful substance to a 37-year-old Hayward man. Those cases are unrelated to Sandra's death.

Before entering her plea, Huckaby and her public defender, Sam Behar, entered a closed-door hearing with the judge. The meeting was requested by Huckaby to allow her to voice her reasons for wanting to drop the services of her public defender.
The meeting lasted about

20 minutes. Lofthus denied Huckaby's request and ordered the transcript of the meeting sealed.

During the hearing, Lofthus said she received a letter from Huckaby. She did not read it, but made copies for both attorneys. Lofthus also said she learned that the defense attorney had retained a change-of-venue expert, possibly meaning a change of venue motion may be forthcoming. A gag order prevents parties from commenting on the case.

Huckaby is expected to return to court Sept. 25, when Lofthus may set a trial date. The delay in picking a trial date frustrated Testa, who wanted a date to be set Thursday for a trial to begin sometime in January. Behar countered he was not ready, saying he expected he would be ready in about a year and a half, which he said is not an excessive amount of time.

"This is an extremely complicated case," Behar said. "It's complicated factually."

Behar's response caused some members in the audience representing Sandra's family to scoff.

Testa questioned the delay: "What have we been doing for the last five months?"

Testa said he wanted to move the trial along, citing the juvenile victim in the drugging case as well as other young witnesses who knew Sandra. Their memories fade with time, he said.

The judge said she thought a year and half was too long and January was too soon; she told the court she was looking for a trial date sometime in March.

Sandra was last seen March 27, and her body was found 10 days later in a suitcase in a pond not far from the mobile home park where Huckaby and Sandra lived.

Tracy police arrested Huckaby on April 10 in connection with the girl's death, four days after Sandra's body was found. Before her arrest, Huckaby told a Tracy newspaper that she owned a suitcase similar to the one Sandra was found in, but it disappeared the day Sandra went missing.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivall...ws/ci_13308078

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Huckaby Refused Food, 'Took Pills'

Woman Charged In Tracy Girl's Murder

Wed, Sep 9, 2009

A Tracy woman charged with murdering and raping an 8-year-old girl has been displaying strange behavior in jail, according to reports.

Melissa Huckaby, 28, has been charged in the death of Sandra Cantu, whose body was found in a suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond 10 days after she went missing.

Huckaby's behavior in August prompted four different jail incident reports.

On Aug. 12, a custody officer wrote at 2:30 p.m., "I found Huckaby laying on the floor next to her bed. [She] stated that she felt dizzy and passed out."

At 3 p.m. that day, an officer noted, "I saw Huckaby sitting next to her bed w/ trash can. When I asked her what wrong she replied, 'I took pills.'"

On Aug. 16 at 4:45 p.m., a report said, "Inmate Huckaby was hiding behind mattress w/ blanket around her neck. To safety cell per psych."

At 5:15 p.m. that day, the report said that Huckaby had refused dinner.

Because there is a gag order in place, no one is commenting on the incidents.

That same gag order has kept Cantu's autopsy report sealed.

During the past eight months, the San Joaquin County district attorney has already indicated that it is trying to speed the case along and will seek a trial date.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local...-58146752.html

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Prosecutors To Seek Death Sentence In Cantu Murder

September 10, 2009

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The former Tracy Sunday schoolteacher charged with kidnapping, raping and killing her daughter’s 8-year-old playmate will face the death penalty when she goes to trial, prosecutors announced Thursday.

San Joaquin County deputy district attorney Thomas Testa announced the decision during a court hearing in the case. At that same brief hearing, Huckaby once again pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment against her.

Former San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Jim Hammer said the death penalty decision means the prosecution has a strong case against the 28-year-old.

“Death cases are different,” Hammer said. “ In normal cases you have to be beyond a reasonable doubt, in a death case, if you even have a shadow of a doubt, jurors can vote not guilty.”

Hammer also predicted the upcoming trial would be full of strange twists and turns.

“This crime seems so strange,” Hammer told KTVU. “As a prosecutor for 25 years, I have never heard of anything like this -- a rape or the sexual assault of a kid -- then the murder of your kid’s playmate -- it just sounds so bizarre. I’ve got to ask – Was there someone else? I think there are going to be a lot of surprises at the trial.”

Huckaby is accused of kidnapping, raping, and murdering Sandra Cantu, whose body was discovered in stuffed a suitcase in a drained irrigation canal near her Tracy home.

In July, a grand jury indicted Huckaby on the Cantu charges and also for allegedly drugging a 7-year-old girl and 37-year-old man in unrelated cases.

Recently, reports have surfaced that Huckaby may have tried to harm herself in her jail cell. Authorities said she has been discovered with a blanket wrapped around her neck and on another occasion had told jail officials she had “taken pills” and was taken for a medical examination.

“If there is overwhelming evidence against someone what do you have left – the insanity defense,” Hammer said. “When someone starts acting crazy that plays into it. It raises the question of what frame of mind was she in when she committed the crime…And did she do it alone?”

Hammer also said the publicity surrounding the Dugard’s reappearance in the Bay Area city of Antioch will have an impact on the upcoming Huckaby trial.

“They do have an effect on each other in this sense – every juror walks in with his or her life experiences,” Hammer said. “When you get cases this outrageous and frightening to people, people get whipped into frenzy… It’s a tough climate to go to trial in.”

Dugard was kidnapped as an 11-year-old from a South Lake Tahoe bus stop in 1991. For the next 18 years, she was allegedly held prisoner in a hidden compound in Bay Area backyard by Philip Garrido and his wife, Nancy.

She reemerged late last month when Garrido allegedly confessed to the kidnapping to his parole officer. The Garridos were currently being held in the El Dorado County jail on kidnapping and rape charges.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/20834789/detail.html

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By Sophia Kazmi
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 09/25/2009 02:08:18 PM PDT
Updated: 09/25/2009 02:08:36 PM PDT

STOCKTON — A trial date for the Tracy woman accused of killing and raping 8-year-old Sandra Cantu won't be set for at least a few more months.

"It's premature to set a trial date today," San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus said Friday at Melissa Huckaby's hearing.

Parties will return to court Oct. 30 for a status report from the defense attorney, as well as another hearing Dec. 4, when a trial date may be set.

Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa is anxious to set a date, saying some of the witnesses are children whose memories fade over time and the defense had ample time to prepare for trial. However, Huckaby's attorney, Sam Behar, had previously asked for more time, saying the capital murder case is complex.

To prove his point, Behar entered court Friday carting a dolly with six large boxes he said contained discovery materials — all the notes, police reports and other paperwork associated with the case that he has received so far.

Behar and Huckaby met privately with Lofthus for about an hour Friday, where Behar made his case against setting a trial date. Lofthus said she originally had hoped to set a trial date for March, but agreed to hold off.

Lofthus did not disclose Behar's arguments, but said, "I do not think they were unreasonable in any way."

Testa still insisted, however, that the a trial date be set, or at least a time frame outlined so he could line up witnesses and experts, many who are booked months in advanced. He also must plan the trial around his other homicide cases.

He asked Lofthus "if we can pick a season" for the trial, drawing laughter from spectators in the courtroom and even a smile from Huckaby.

Lofthus said she didn't feel comfortable in setting a time frame yet. She said she wanted to make sure that both parties had a fair trial.

Huckaby, 28, has been charged with murder with three enhancements — kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 and rape by instrument — in connection with Sandra's death. A second count charges Huckaby with a sex crime with a child 10 years or younger.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if she is convicted.

Huckaby, in a red prison jumpsuit and shackled at the waist, wrist and feet, sat quietly throughout the proceedings. She laughed and smiled with Behar at one point, when court was not yet in session.

Representatives from Huckaby's and Cantu's families sat quietly throughout the proceedings; some of Huckaby's family members cried. The families left the courtroom quickly after the hearing.

Sandra, who lived in the same mobile park as Huckaby and played with Huckaby's daughter, disappeared March 27. Her body was found April 6 inside a suitcase submerged in an irrigation pond not far from where they lived. Tracy police arrested Huckaby, a former Sunday school teacher, four days later.

A grand jury also indicted Huckaby on unrelated cases with a count of a child endangerment and furnishing a harmful substance to another Tracy girl and an additional count of furnishing a harmful substance to a 37-year-old Hayward man.

To help address Testa's concern about young witnesses not being able to recall events, Behar earlier in the hearing asked the judge to allow conditional exams in the case, which would allow witness testimony to be taped and replayed at trial, if necessary.

Testa called the conditional exam a ploy by the defense to delay the picking of trial date.

Behar became animated, raising his voice while he accused the prosecution of hurrying to pick a date without regards to his client's right to a fair trial.

Lofthus denied the request. Such exams are typically used when witnesses are elderly or ill, or cannot physically attend a trial.

At her last hearing, Huckaby tried to dump Behar as her attorney, but the judge denied her request. Lofthus ordered the transcript of that hearing sealed. Also sealed are the grand jury transcripts. In July, more than 70 witnesses testified in the secret proceedings, where the defendant does not attend. The grand jury handed down its five-count indictment July 31. Huckaby was arraigned on the indictment Aug. 17.

Huckaby is being held without bail San Joaquin County Jail.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstorie...nclick_check=1

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Huckaby trial date delayed as she awaits second attorney

by Justin Lafferty
Oct 30, 2009

STOCKTON — The woman accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering an 8-year-old Tracy girl appeared in court this afternoon, but no trial date has been set as her defense awaits a second defense attorney with a wealth of experience in death penalty cases.

Melissa Chantel Huckaby, 28, was led into the courtroom at 12:45 p.m. today, the first of two hearings where San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus planned to set a trial date.

Huckaby is charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, who was found in a suitcase in a dairy lagoon north of Tracy in April.

District attorney spokesman Robert Himelblau said that because this is a death penalty case, Huckaby is allowed two defense attorneys.

Her second attorney — Michael Burt — was unavailable today and Huckaby’s public defender, Sam Behar, said he wouldn’t feel comfortable going forward without him.

Behar said Burt would be present for the Dec. 4 hearing and will “be able to provide enough information” to choose a trial date.

Himelblau said after the hearing that Burt, a San Francisco attorney, has participated in several of death penalty cases, including the defenses of Lyle Menendez and serial killers Richard Ramirez and Charles Ng.

Prosecutor Thomas Testa has previously said that he wants to move the case along quickly as possible because there are children involved whose memories might fade as time goes on. He said he was hoping to nail down a date today, since he has other cases going on with “special circumstances.”

“I don’t think the case is going any slower because of the media attention,” Himelblau said afterward.

Lofthus, after praising the work that Behar has done, also ruled to seal the grand jury transcripts involved with the case. She said the decision has been informal until now, but both sides agreed that sealing the documents would be the best choice. The information in the transcripts would endanger privacy rights of children involved, she said.

“I believe strongly in public access, but I have to ensure there’s a fair trial to both sides in this case,” Lofthus said.

Behar’s motions to appeal the decision by the grand jury to indict her and to determine the validity of some search warrants have also been sealed, Lofthus ruled. Himelblau said that these documents likely contain info from the grand jury transcript.

Testa also filed orders for return of property, regarding a computer from Conrad Sinclair, who lived in the same mobile home park as Huckaby, and items from Connie and Lane Lawless, Huckaby’s grandparents. Behar had no objection.

Lofthus said that there have been three incident reports at San Joaquin County Jail since her last appearance in court, but none of them interfered with her ability to show up. Huckaby had allegedly tried to kill herself earlier this year while in custody. Himelblau said that the incidents could’ve been something as harmless as not showering at the correct time.

Huckaby did not speak throughout the hearing. After Lofthus said that Behar has been working “more than 24/7,” on this case, Huckaby looked at her public defender and smiled.

Before she left, Behar said something to Huckaby, who quietly giggled. She turned and waved to two people in the crowd before she was led out of the courtroom at about 1:05 p.m.

http://www.tracypress.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Huckaby+trial+date+delayed+as+she+awaits+second+at torney%20&id=4224557-Huckaby+trial+date+delayed+as+she+awaits+second+at torney&instance=home_news_bullets

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Legal Star Joins Huckaby's Team

Woman Accused Of Killing Girl

October 30, 2009

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A high-profile attorney is joining the defense team of a former Sunday school teacher accused of raping and killing Tracy resident Sandra Cantu.

Michael Burt will be working on behalf of Melissa Huckaby.

Burt has worked on big serial-killer cases, including those involving so-called Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, Charles Ng and Cary Stayner.

"He is the attorney's attorney -- an expert in the area -- and I and Miss Huckaby are lucky to have him," defense attorney Sam Behar said.

Cantu's abduction and the discovery of her body earlier attracted national attention.

Huckaby was back in court Friday as a judge guaged progress in the case against her. She was handcuffed and shackled at the hearing, and she was considerably heavier than when she was arrested seven months ago.

The defense filed motions to dismiss the grand jury charges and suppress evidence, but those motions and arguments remain sealed, along with the grand jury transcript.

Judge Linda Lofthus said public access must give way to the right to a fair trial.

"It is possible some of this evidence will be excluded because there was not a search warrant or there was a flaw in the search warrant," legal analyst Steven Clark said.

Last month, a judge opted to delay a trial after Huckaby's defense needed more time to comb through boxes of evidence. Lofthus praised the defense Friday for making significant progress in the case: It's expected a trial date will be set at next month's hearing.

However, it will be more than a year since Huckaby's arrest before the case goes to trial.

"I think it's typical even in a non-death penalty case, even in a high profile case. I don't think it's going any slower because of the media attention," Deputy District Attorney Robert Himelblau said.

http://www.kcra.com/news/21474443/detail.html

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By The Record
October 30, 2009 4:19 PM

The public won't get even a glimpse into the arguments that Melissa Huckaby's attorneys make to undercut the case against her on charges she kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus in a Friday hearing ordered pretrial motions that Huckaby's defense team has filed to be sealed. Lofthus said she wanted to protect the trial's integrity. Lofthus also officially stated her reason for sealing more than 1,000 pages of the grand jury transcripts that resulted with Huckaby's indictment. The charges make Huckaby eligible for a death sentence.

“I do not take that decision lightly,” Lofthus said, adding that she has to balance the public's right to know details of the case with Huckaby's right to a fair trial and the privacy rights of Sandra's family.

Read Saturday's Record for more on this story by staff writer Scott Smith

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.d...S=g1fyffn8.nmz

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By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
October 31, 2009 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - The public won't get a glimpse into the arguments that attorneys for Melissa Huckaby make to undercut the case against her on charges she kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus in a Friday hearing ordered pretrial motions for Huckaby's defense team to be sealed. Lofthus said she wanted to protect the trial's integrity.

Lofthus also officially stated her reason for sealing more than 1,000 pages of grand jury transcripts of a hearing that ended with Huckaby's indictment. The charges make Huckaby eligible for a death sentence.

"I do not take that decision lightly," Lofthus said, adding that she has to balance the public's right to know details of the case with Huckaby's right to a fair trial and the privacy rights of Sandra's family.

Lofthus said she considered releasing part of the transcripts, but later decided that everything is "inextricably intertwined." It remains a mystery to the public how Sandra died and what instrument Huckaby allegedly used to rape the girl.

Huckaby, 28, looked at ease in the hearing, resting both of her elbows on the table. She once yawned and at another time smiled and quietly laughed along with light banter between attorneys and the judge.

Lofthus said she checked jail records and found three incident reports. Huckaby had a puzzled look on her face as if to say she didn't know what the judge was talking about.

Lofthus gave no details but said the incidents did not appear to be anything Huckaby did in an attempt to avoid coming to court.

Before the open hearing, Huckaby appeared in court with San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar for a closed-door meeting with the judge. Lofthus wanted a progress report on Huckaby's defense before setting a trial date.

Lofthus then - in open court - complimented both the defense and prosecution for moving things along and predicted she would set the trial date at Huckaby's next hearing in early December.

Lofthus and the attorneys also set hearing dates to argue Behar's motion seeking to suppress evidence investigators collected and dismiss parts or all of the grand jury's findings.

Attorney Michael Burt was not in court Friday, but Behar announced that Burt, a star death penalty defense attorney from San Francisco, would be assisting in Huckaby's defense.

Burt would play a large role in arguing the pretrial motions, Behar said. Burt brings dedication, experience in death-penalty cases and access to experts in psychology, forensic evidence and other critical aspects of the case.

"He's the attorney's attorney," Behar said outside of court. "I and Ms. Huckaby are lucky to have him as a member of the team."

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.d...S=g1gzyiyk.xii