Tulsa World: Families try to cope after arrest in California girl's death

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Families try to cope after arrest in California girl's death

By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press
Published: 4/13/2009 7:47 AM
Last Modified: 4/13/2009 10:25 AM

TRACY, Calif. — The woman suspected of killing an 8-year-old girl found stuffed into a suitcase is being held in an observation cell where jail staff monitor her mental health, officials said.

Meanwhile, the families of the suspect and the slain girl attended Easter services Sunday at separate churches, struggling to cope.

Melissa Huckaby, a 28-year-old Sunday school teacher, is in custody at the San Joaquin County Jail, held without bail on suspicion of murder and kidnapping of Sandra Cantu. The girl was a playmate of her 5-year-old daughter, Madison.

Huckaby's father, 48-year-old Brian Lawless of Cypress, said he did not believe his daughter was capable of what police accuse her of doing.

"I just can't comprehend. There are no words," he told reporters outside Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy, just down the road from the mobile home park where Cantu was last seen alive.

Sandra Cantu disappeared on March 27, and her body was found by farmworkers, stuffed in a suitcase in an irrigation pond on April 6. Huckaby was arrested early Saturday.

Lawless said Huckaby lived for her daughter Madison.

"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."

Madison played often with Sandra, who lived down the street from where Huckaby lived with her grandfather, Clifford Lawless, the church's pastor.

On Sunday, citizens in this city of 78,000 people about 60 miles east of San Francisco were still coming to grips with Huckaby's arrest and Cantu's death.

About 400 parishioners, including members of the Cantu family, packed into the cafeteria of a local high school to hear Journey Christian Church Pastor Scott McFarland's Easter sermon.

Journey was one of more than a dozen local churches that mobilized its members on Sunday to pray and fast for the Cantu family. McFarland sent a special message to the Cantu family that, like Christ, Sandra's spirit had risen to heaven.

"Jesus is out of the tomb and Sandra is too," McFarland told The Associated Press after the sermon. "She's not in a grave, she's not in a suitcase. She's in heaven and celebrating the best Easter ever."

About 20 parishioners and an equal number of reporters filled the Lawless' church on Sunday. Huckaby's grandfather, the church's pastor Clifford Lawless, and others offered prayers for Sandra's family.

The family said jail officials had denied their repeated requests to visit Huckaby, and that they have not spoken to her since the arrest.

San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said the mental health staff has not cleared Huckaby to have visitors at the jail and she is still in an observation cell. Huckaby has also turned down media requests for interviews, Garcia said.

It was not immediately clear if Huckaby had hired an attorney.

Police said inconsistencies in Huckaby's story led to her arrest about five hours after she drove to the police station at the request of investigators late Friday. They said they have no motive for the slaying and declined to say where or how the girl was allegedly killed.

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 about a year ago 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.

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.

After graduating from high school, Huckaby's path appears to have become rockier. She married, had her 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.

Sandra's uncle, Joe Chavez, said he found it difficult to contain his rage toward Huckaby's family.

"I want to go over there and beat the crap out of those people, but I'm not going to do that," he said as he stood at the entrance to the mobile home park where the little girl lived with her mother. "I just want to vent my anger but it's not in me." By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press

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	Report Comment Mistic_wolf, Tahlequah (4/13/2009 8:02:51 AM) This is such a sad story. My heart goes out to all the family members. I hope they find out what really happened to the little girl so the family can find some peace.
	Report Comment God Bless our Troops, Small town (4/13/2009 8:23:52 AM) I just have NO idea what in the world could have possibly been the motive for this. I hope this little girl is served justice and that Sandra's family can some how find peace.
	Report Comment T.B'Ville, Bartlesville (4/13/2009 8:24:12 AM) TW please check the headline, I dont understand it. Girl Stuffed In Suitcase Dies? She was in the suitcase in a drainage pond.
	Report Comment Doug, (4/13/2009 8:34:37 AM) Whoever wrote this headline obviously has not followed the story. The little girl was found dead stuffed in the suitcase over a week ago. The headline is misleading and confusing.
	Report Comment Hijinx, (4/13/2009 8:36:23 AM) Tragic, just tragic.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, small town (4/13/2009 8:38:12 AM) Very sad story.both familys need prayer.
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (4/13/2009 8:41:04 AM) Let's pray justice will be served. This is really horrible.
	Report Comment Mistic_wolf, Tahlequah (4/13/2009 8:46:03 AM) I see they changed the headline. Much better. I hope she doesn't get a easy sentence by tring to say she was crazy when she did it.
	Report Comment sivart, bixby (4/13/2009 9:50:28 AM) I agree Mistic wolf, but someone would have to be crazy to kill a child and stuff them in a suitcase. Maybe they will label her as "crazy", but go ahead and give her the stiffest penalty possible for 1st degree murder. She obviously deserves it.
	Report Comment somewear, Yale (4/13/2009 10:37:55 AM) I agree fully with sivart. My both families involved find some sort of peace with this.
	Report Comment H_Harl, (4/13/2009 1:56:24 PM) this makes my heart sick. stories like this one are why i think humans are the most dispicable animal on the planet.
	Report Comment Serenity, Tulsa (4/13/2009 5:29:36 PM) This woman instead of been filled with the holy spirit like many christians are, she must have been filled with an evil spirit or she has serious mental issues. It is hard to comprehend why she killed that beautiful little girl.
	Report Comment jestergrl1, Mannford (4/13/2009 9:34:07 PM) All you have to do is to look in this womans eyes and see there is something abnormal about her. Her eyes look evil.
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (4/13/2009 9:43:47 PM) I'm not sure there's anything wrong with her other than just being mean. She taught Sunday School for goodness sake. She can't be completely insane. [Lawless said Huckaby lived for her daughter Madison] Remember the mother who killed the cheerleader girl because she was jealous that this cheerleader was better at it than her own daughter? The only thing I see in Huckeby's eyes is jealous hate over something.
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (4/13/2009 9:47:00 PM) T.V. just said that the charges could also include rape. This is sickening. Sounds like she could be bipolar at the most. No mercy.
	Report Comment Midtown Res, Tulsa (4/14/2009 8:14:55 AM) Thanks Vern....Nancy certainly has turned in the the Caylee Anthony show;now Nancy Grace can segue in to the Sandra Cantu series.
	Report Comment Twilight in Paris, near the water in SE OK (4/14/2009 9:30:11 AM) This whole thing is tragic, but what is worse is that she is in the Mental Health Ward, which is code for 'going for the insane defense'. She is not crazy, not inhabited by the devil, not hearing voices, not bi-polar, not schzephranic, doesn't have multiple personalities. She is just a sick person, the people who are TRULY crazy are the ones who don't hurt others, just themselves. Don't play crazy lady, stand up and take your lumps. You are going to get what you deserve for this horrible crime. RIP Sandra Cantu!
	Report Comment Esther, (4/14/2009 8:35:07 PM) I don't believe in mental illness. If you break the law, you pay the price.

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