Sandra Cantu -- Found Deceased 4/6/09 -- Melissa Huckaby Pleads Guilty To Murder

Melissa Huckaby, suspect in Sandra Cantu case, acted oddly and tried to harm herself in jail

STOCKTON — Melissa Huckaby acted strangely and apparently tried to harm herself in the days leading up to her last court appearance, San Joaquin County Court records show.
The 28-year-old Tracy woman is accused of kidnapping, killing and raping Sandra Cantu, her 8-year-old neighbor, and drugging two other people in cases unrelated to Sandra's. Huckaby, whose 5-year-old daughter was Sandra's playmate, is being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail.
Jail records in Huckaby's court file said that two days before her most recent court hearing on Aug. 17, Huckaby was found hiding behind the mattress in her cell with a blanket tied around her neck. She was taken to the safety cell, the records said, and later that day she refused to eat dinner.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13262753

She has tried to harm or kill herself more than once. It looks like she either wants to get out of paying for her crime by either having herself declared mentally incompetent or by suicide.

Sorry but I feel NO sympathy for her. Is she REALLY wants to kill herself, instead of putting her in a "safety cell", they should hand her some rope & a chair & let her go for it. Save taxpayers a shit load of money to support her sorry ass. (JMO)

Decision on death penalty looms
Word on fate of Huckaby may come next week

By Scott Smith
The Record
September 04, 2009 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Prosecutors could announce as early as next week if they plan to seek a death sentence against Melissa Huckaby, the Tracy woman charged with raping and murdering 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

Huckaby, 28, was arrested in April, days after she allegedly kidnapped Sandra and dumped her body in a dairy pond. Huckaby now faces trial on charges that also include drugging a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man.

An ever-growing file at the San Joaquin County Superior Court gives some insight into the case that continues to resonate with San Joaquin County residents.

Sixteen FBI agents and 20 Tracy police officers participated in the investigation of Sandra's March 27 disappearance from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park. About 75 witnesses testified before the grand jury that indicted Huckaby.

The file also gives some answers to two bright red scratches above Huckaby's right eye seen Aug. 17 in her last court appearance, the Contra Costa Times reported Thursday.

Records say that two days before the hearing, jailers found Huckaby hiding behind a mattress in her cell and she had tied a blanket around her neck. She also refused to eat dinner, the newspaper reported.

A nurse and psychiatrist checked her out Aug. 12. A jailer noticed Huckaby next to her bed with a trash can and asked what was wrong. Huckaby said, "I took pills." Huckaby told jailers she felt dizzy and passed out, the story says.

Huckaby has a history of hurting herself, her ex-husband, John Huckaby, has said in court documents filed to win custody of Madison, the couple's 6-year-old daughter. Melissa Huckaby was hospitalized days after Sandra disappeared for swallowing three razor blades, her ex-husband said.

In Huckaby's last court appearance, Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus told Huckaby that she had to be at all of her hearings. The judge and attorneys hinted at her misbehavior at the jail but gave no specifics in the hearing.

"Hopefully, that doesn't happen again," Lofthus said at the time.

Huckaby's attorney, San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar, is expected to enter a plea on his client's behalf in the hearing set for Thursday. The judge could set a date for Huckaby's trial then.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090904/A_NEWS/909040321

New Details Emerge About How Huckaby Injured Self

CBS13 has now learned how Melissa Huckaby, the woman accused of killing Sandra Cantu, tried to harm herself in her jail cell.

When Melissa Huckaby last appeared at the Stockton Courthouse she had a cut above her eyebrows which raised some questions.

Apparently, two days before Huckaby appeared in court on August 17, she was found hiding behind the mattress in her cell with a blanket tied around her neck. She was then taken to a safety cell, and later that day she refused to eat dinner.

A few days prior, a deputy found her sitting next to a bed with a trash can. When he asked her what was wrong, she said she had swallowed some pills. She was then rushed to a local hospital.

All of this is detailed in court records obtained by the Contra Costa Times and published on Thursday. CBS13 tried to obtain the court records, but due to budget cuts, the records office closed at 3 p.m. Thursday instead of 5 p.m.

Melissa Huckaby is being charged with kidnapping, raping and killing eight-year-old Sandra Cantu of Tracy, California.

Huckaby is due back in court a week from Thursday to enter a plea.

Click here to read the Indictment

Sandra Cantu playground dedicated in Tracy
A PLAYGROUND in memory of Sandra Cantu has been erected at Jacobson School in Tracy, where the 8-year-old was a student until her disappearance in March.

After an intense search, her body was found April 6 in a black suitcase in a dairy pond just outside Tracy.

Now Jacobson students have a place where they can at once play and remember their classmate.

The playground was constructed and inspected at no cost to the school, Jacobson Principal Cindy Sasser said.

"We were recently approached by a Minnesota-based company that also has an office in Modesto," she said. "After hearing the story, they offered to donate the playground in Sandra's memory. It wasn't long after that other companies stepped up and offered to help as well."

The result is a multilevel structure with a number of slides, poles and a climbing wall.

"And the kids are just thrilled," Sasser added. "It's so popular that my husband said we should treat it like Disneyland and start offering 'fast passes' to cut down the line."

Cantu's death marked the end of the last school year, and Sasser said the Jacobson community has not forgotten the tragedy as the new year gets under way.

"Sandra is still in our hearts and is mentioned on campus often," she said. "She will always be a part of this community and this school."

Tracy resident Melissa Huckaby was arrested a few days after Cantu was found, and is currently awaiting trial on murder charges.

Delta College's board responds to grand jury: During a special meeting of the Delta College board of trustees on Tuesday, the final response to last year's grand jury investigation was approved and will now be sent to the county.

"The problems have been addressed and we feel we are on the right track," Delta President Raul Rodriguez said of the response. "Now we can concentrate on having a great school year."

The grand jury recently released its final report on its 2007-08 investigation, which was launched amid public concerns over management of the college's $250 million Measure L facilities bond.

After significant changes to the board and the committee that oversees the bond, the grand jury determined the Delta board has "a renewed sense of ethics and responsibility, both to the community and the students, and has done much to restore the grand jury's confidence."

The report went on to state that "unlike the former board, the current board has demonstrated the ability to work together."

The grand jury applauded the board for adopting a "code of ethics" and "standards of good practice" as a means of "defining responsibility and conduct of individual board members."

The grand jury recommended that Delta College "amend the bylaws of the Citizen's Oversight Committee to require monthly meetings, timely review of Measure L expenditures and review projects before authorization by the board of trustees."

"We have addressed each of those concerns," Rodriguez said. "With our response now approved by the board, the matter should be closed and we can move forward."

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_13194496

Sandra Cantu's family finds support at Modesto vigil


When 9-year-old Sandra Cantu disappeared in March, Boni Driskill's voice cut through the fog of pain that surrounded the girl's family.

Driskill contacted Sandra's family shortly after the girl disappeared from her Tracy mobile home park. Driskill lost her daughter, Lacy Ferguson, in 2003, an innocent bystander in what authorities believe was a gang-related shooting at a south Modesto convenience store. Her killer has not been found.

Sandra's body was found in a suitcase in April. Melissa Huckaby, a neighbor of Sandra and her family, has been charged and is awaiting trial.



"Somebody understood, somebody knew what we were feeling," said Sandra's grandfather, Joe Chavez. Others wanted to help, he said, but they hadn't experienced the same soul-crushing grief.

"(Boni) gave us comfort," said Sandra's mother, Maria Chavez. "She was there to support us."

On Monday evening, in a shady corner of Paradise Park in west Modesto, the Chavezes joined Driskill and other crime victims for a candlelight vigil to mark the sixth anniversary of Ferguson's death.

Joe Chavez said he and his family attended to show support for other crime victims' families. Some at the vigil still don't know who killed their loved ones.

Chavez said he couldn't talk about Sandra's case. But the Chavezes spoke freely about Driskill and the bond they've formed with her and other members of Wings of Protection. Susan Levy, mother of 2001 murder victim Chandra Levy, helped start the support group. Driskill joined a few years ago.

Joe Chavez said Driskill offered something that other people couldn't: true understanding. "It's all about experiencing the death and grief that never ends," he said.

Now Driskill is a friend of the Chavez family, calling regularly to check in and going on family outings, said Sandra's 21-year-old sister, Simone Chavez.

At Monday's vigil, family members of murder victims stood up one by one to say aloud the names of their loved ones. A gallery of loss stood nearby. A poster-sized photo of Sandra Cantu was propped next to framed collages of Ferguson. The family of murder victim Nancy Arellano added a photo as well.

Cindy Arriola, whose nephew Chris Sisk was murdered in 2007, pressed reward fliers into hands.

A heart-shaped "Happy Birthday" balloon bobbed in one corner. It was for Ferguson's daughter, Haleigh, who turned 3 the day her mother was murdered.

The Chavezes did not stand up to say Sandra's name; a friend spoke on the family's behalf.

"It's hard for us to say anything because we're still too much involved in this loss, but we wanted to be here to support the other victims," Joe Chavez said after the vigil. "It's a club nobody wants to belong to."

Bee staff writer Leslie Albrecht can be reached at lalbrecht@modbee.com or 578-2378.

http://www.modbee.com/crime/story/828755.html


Modesto Bee - Boni Driskill wears a piece of paper taped to the back of her T-shirt for her daughter that reads "In Loving Memory Lacy Marie Ferguson, 1978 - 2008 Always in our Hearts," while Ciara Sterans sings at the vigil honoring 2003 murder victim Lacy Ferguson at Paradise Park in Modesto, August. 24, 2009. (DEBBIE NODA/ dnoda@modbee.com)


Modesto Bee - At center, Susan Levy, mother of Chandra Levy aids Boni Driskill during the start of the ceremony where everyone gathers and holds hands at the vigil honoring 2003 murder victim Lacy Ferguson at Paradise Park in Modesto, August. 24, 2009. (DEBBIE NODA/ dnoda@modbee.com)


Modesto Bee - Lacy Ferguson's daughter, Haleigh, and Lacy's mom, Boni Driskill, talk about Ferguson at the vigil honoring Ferguson at Paradise Park in Modesto, August. 24, 2009. (DEBBIE NODA/ dnoda@modbee.com)

The San Joaquin County District Attorney announced today that they are seeking the death penalty for Melissa Huckaby. Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to murdering Sandra Cantu. Huckaby asked the judge for a new attorney at today's hearing.

http://www.ksbw.com/news/20838400/detail.html

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

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was indicted in July on charges that she murdered Sandra during commission of rape, and drugged two other people. She pleaded not guilty today to the charges after a hearing where she tried to fire her attorney, public defender Sam Behar. Her request — made in private while the prosecutor, the public and reporters waited outside — was denied and her reasons for wanting another attorney were undisclosed.
http://www.tracypress.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Prosecutors+to+seek+death-+Huckaby+fails+to+fire+her+attorney%20&id=3570187-Prosecutors+to+seek+death-+Huckaby+fails+to+fire+her+attorney&instance=home_most_popular

Could gender spare Huckaby?
Death penalty seldom meted out to women
STOCKTON - California's death row for women holds 16 inmates at a remote prison in Chowchilla. They're convicted of murdering other women, their husbands, their children and other people's children.

Prosecutors in Stockton believe one more woman belongs among their ranks - 28-year-old Melissa Chantel Huckaby of Tracy.

Before they can lock her away, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa must convince a jury that Huckaby, who once taught Sunday school at her grandfather's church, committed the most heinous of crimes.

The facts alleged in the case - the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu - make his job sound easy. But asking jurors to send a woman to her death could come with bigger obstacles than trying a man.

"It's going to be much harder," said noted Bay Area defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, commenting on the case.

Stereotypically, women are the victims and not the perpetrators. Men commit sadistic and brutal crimes against children or multiple murders, which are the hallmark of death penalty cases, Horowitz said.

Horowitz said San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar, who represents Huckaby, will almost certainly put the focus on her mental illness bolstered by possible childhood abuse that Huckaby may have suffered.

"Any good defense attorney has to think there's a reasonable chance that happened," he said. "If that is the case, she's not going to be executed."

Huckaby also is charged with poisoning a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man. Both survived. She then allegedly kidnapped Sandra, a neighbor girl who was raped, killed and dumped at a dairy's drainage pond in a black suitcase.

Not everybody agrees that Huckaby can beat a death sentence if prosecutors prove she committed these crimes.

Steven Clark, a San Jose attorney who has closely watched the case unfold, said jurors may learn that Huckaby taught Sunday school and therefore held a position of trust.

"A jury isn't going to be very sympathetic to her situation," Clark said. "I don't see it's an advantage for her being a woman."

Statistics point in a different direction. For every California woman condemned to die, there are nearly 43 men.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090920/A_NEWS/909200310/-1/NEWSMAP#STS=fzuq6zpd.21rd

Trial date on hold
After hour-long meeting with judge, Huckaby defense team gets more time

STOCKTON - The attorney for Tracy's Melissa Huckaby made an impassioned plea in court Friday, scoring a minor victory by persuading a judge to give him more time before setting the date for his client's death-penalty trial.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar's face flushed and his voice rose as he told the judge that he could not begin the trial as quickly as the prosecution wanted in a motion filed with the court.

"That motion is frivolous, preposterous and I think an affront to due process," Behar said. "I don't know how the court can regard that in any other way."

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus admonished Behar's for what she called his tirade. Nonetheless, the judge later agreed that setting the date was premature. The judge had been expected to announce the start of Huckaby's trial. She hoped to begin in March.

Instead, it could be December before Lofthus again considers the question.

Huckaby, 28, awaits trial on charges she kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, a playmate of her daughter and neighbor of the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy. Sandra disappeared March 27.

Days later, farm workers found Sandra's body in a black suitcase and dumped in a dairy's drainage pond a couple miles north of town. Huckaby also is accused of drugging a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man.

The urgency for prosecutors lies with three girls who are expected to testify in Huckaby's trial. One is the girl Huckaby allegedly drugged and the second is an 11-year-old who last saw Sandra before she vanished.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa fears the memories of the children could fade. That's why he wants to hold Huckaby's trial sooner rather than later.

As a remedy, Behar asked the judge to hold so-called conditional hearings, where the young witnesses would give their testimony before a video camera, thus preserving their statements on tape to be played later for jurors.

Testa opposed the move, saying the law only allows for conditional hearings in the case of a witness who is near death or expected to leave the country - like a soldier being deployed to Iraq. Lofthus sided with Testa, denying Behar's request.

Behar, who came to court with a large pull cart stacked with boxes of evidence binders, next asked Lofthus for a private hearing to explain why he needed more time to prepare his defense.

Lofthus cleared the courtroom of everybody except Behar, Huckaby and bailiffs. Lofthus met with the defense for about an hour before allowing the prosecutor and the public back inside.

Lofthus said she could not discuss what happened in the closed-door hearing, but she said Behar's request for time was founded. She also said she feels Behar has been working diligently on the case.

Testa again pushed for an earlier trial date. He said Behar's move was a "ploy to delay" the trial. Still, Lofthus agreed to wait, saying she wanted to ensure a fair trial for both prosecutors and the defense.

"If we picked a trial date now, it would be meaningless," she said. "I can tell you that there are critical issues concerning the case."

Lofthus set a hearing for Oct. 30 and a second on Dec. 4 when Behar will report back on his progress of his defense. At the December hearing, Lofthus said she hopes Behar will be ready to propose a trial date.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090926/A_NEWS/909260329#STS=g06ndark.1ty9

Melissa Huckaby expected back in court today

TRACY, CA (KGO) -- The Tracy woman accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu returns to a Stockton courtroom for another hearing on Friday.

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The attorney for Melissa Huckaby is expected to ask a judge to throw out the indictment that charges his client with Cantu's kidnapping, rape and murder.
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A trial date could also be set. Police have not talked about a motive in the case.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to the charges. She lived in the same trailer park as Cantu.

The girl's body was found in a suitcase in a canal last April, after she was reported missing.

LINK: Read the indictments against Huckaby

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7091178

I don't understand why these defense lawyers always waste time trying to get the charges dropped. If they can't produce evidence that their client didn't commit the crime, then they shouldn't bother wasting the court's time.

Prominent attorney joins Huckaby defense team

STOCKTON, Calif.—A prominent criminal defense attorney will help defend the Tracy woman accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu and stuffing the girl's body into a suitcase.

San Francisco attorney Michael Burt, who has represented the "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez and Lyle Menendez among others, will work on Melissa Huckaby's case alongside public defender Sam Behar.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the 28-year-old former Sunday school teacher, who is charged with murdering, raping and kidnapping Cantu. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Officials say the money to pay Burt will come from a special fund in the public defender's office for death penalty cases.

Meanwhile, Behar Friday filed motions to suppress evidence and dismiss the indictment against Huckaby.

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13680231

Isn't it sad that people who kill children are treated with such consideration by the Justice System? What about the rights of the murdered children? They are being thrown away like trash, as if they don't matter!!!!

Melissa Huckaby’s Trial Almost a Year Away

STOCKTON, Calif. (KCBS) -- The trial of the woman accused of kidnapping, raping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu is scheduled to start on October 18, 2010, more than a year and a half after her arrest.

The 28-year-old was indicted in July after being taken into custody in April. The judge set the trial date on Friday.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to Cantu’s murder, and not guilty to charges she drugged two other people.

San Joaquin County prosecutors had been pushing for a speedy trial because they say younger witnesses who may testify could have a difficult time recalling specifics in the case.

They are seeking the death penalty.

http://www.kcbs.com/Melissa-Huckaby-s-Trial-Almost-a-Year-Away/5822935

Judge grants request by Huckaby's attorney for evidenciary hearing delay



By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
February 13, 2010 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - A Tuesday court hearing for Melissa Huckaby, a Tracy woman charged with the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, has been delayed at the defense attorney's request, a prosecutor said Friday.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar wanted more time to prepare for a hearing on his motion to suppress evidence to be used against his client, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa said.

The suppression hearing in Huckaby's case was rescheduled for April 12 and it could last up to one week. Huckaby is next due back in court on March 29 for a readiness conference, Testa said.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus granted Behar's request. Testa said he did not oppose the time extension because he is busy in another murder trial, also being heard in Lofthus' courtroom.

Behar asked for more time so he could acquire information, but Testa said he could not further explain Behar's written motion because of the judge's gag order preventing involved parties from discussing details of the case.

Behar declined to comment on the delay when contacted Friday.

Despite the delay, Huckaby's trial date remains set for Oct. 18. The 28-year-old faces a death sentence if she is convicted on all charges. Tracy police arrested her days after Sandra vanished from her mobile home park on March 27.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100213/A_NEWS/2130327

Memorial planned for Sandra Cantu's birthday
Feb 14, 2010



A little girl who relatives say was happy every day of her life would want everyone else to be happy on what would’ve been her ninth birthday.

So on March 8, the family of Sandra Cantu will celebrate her memory at Robert Kenner Park next to Jacobson Elementary School, where she was a student.

Janet Anderson, a cousin of Maria Chavez, Sandra’s mother, said she’s spearheading the small public get-together so her family has something to look forward to.

She said as the anniversary of the little girl’s death approaches, Sandra’s family wants to focus on their love for her.

“This is something simple that might be a good way of not concentrating on such a horrible time, but what she represents,” she said.

Anderson said the celebration is also a way to thank countless volunteers.

Hundreds of locals helped the police and the FBI search for Sandra in the more than a week she was missing, and so many more supported the family through a trying year, she said.

“I personally think the family would’ve never made it without the community support,” she said. “They stepped up to the plate, from the littlest things to the biggest things. I’ve never seen a community come together so much, and I’ve lived here 17 years.”

Tracy police chaplain Don Higgins will speak, and cupcakes, donated by a local business, will be served.

Higgins said the “phenomenal” way people came together shows Tracy’s community-oriented spirit.

“Sandra was the epitome, in a lot of people’s minds, of innocence, and that which we need to protect,” he said. “I think it really speaks to how this community views children and that we’re willing to go to great extremes to take care of them, protect them and watch out for them.”

Sandra disappeared last March from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where she lived. Ten days later, her body was found inside a suitcase floating in an irrigation pond north of town.

Melissa Huckaby, a neighbor whose daughter used to play with Sandra, is awaiting trial on homicide, rape and kidnapping charges, and could face the death penalty if convicted.

At a glance

• WHAT: Remembrance Ceremony for Sandra Cantu

• WHEN: 7 p.m. March 8

• WHERE: Robert Kenner Park, 1850 Kavanaugh Ave.

• INFO: 321-5981

http://www.tracypress.com/view/full_story/6184306/article-Memorial-planned-for-Sandra-Cantu-s-birthday?instance=home_news_lead_story

I'm glad they are doing this.... I hope the family can have just a moment of happiness as they remember their beautiful little Sandra.

I just can't imagine being in their shoes.

Thanks for posting, J4A....

Sandra Cantu investigator named 'Officer of the Year'

By Sophia Kazmi
Contra Costa Times
Updated: 02/17/2010 01:33:59 PM PST

TRACY — The lead investigator of the Sandra Cantu homicide case has been honored as "Officer of the Year" by the local American Legion post.

Detective Timothy Bauer was recognized Saturday by Post 172 in Tracy.

As the lead detective, Bauer coordinated the efforts of hundreds of people from state and federal agencies that led to the April 10 arrest of suspect Melissa Huckaby, Sandra's neighbor. The 8-year-old disappeared March 27. Her body was found April 6 after an intense search that captured national media attention.

Huckaby, 28, who has pleaded not guilty to raping and murdering Sandra, is being held without bail at San Joaquin County Jail. Her trial has been set for Oct. 18.

In addition to Sandra's case, Bauer was the lead detective on multiple robbery and other criminal cases. He is one of the founders of the department's Shop with a Cop winter holiday program and a supporter of the Special Olympics of Northern California.

Bauer is also the department's Officer of the Year.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14419528?nclick_check=1

Huckaby investigators being investigated

By The Record
March 02, 2010 4:24 PM

STOCKTON — Several Tracy police detectives investigating Melissa Huckaby's alleged murder and rape of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu have fallen under an internal probe themselves, court papers say.

Huckaby's public defender appears ready to argue that a Tracy detective violated his client's constitutional rights — triggering the internal investigation — by making an undisclosed comment to her the day she was arrested.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar is expected to ask a judge to toss evidence out of Huckaby's upcoming death penalty trial based on the officer's alleged violation.

Behar's arguments are scheduled for a week-long hearing next month.

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

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100302/A_NEWS/100309954

Huckaby's public defender appears ready to argue that a Tracy detective violated his client's constitutional rights — triggering the internal investigation — by making an undisclosed comment to her the day she was arrested.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar is expected to ask a judge to toss evidence out of Huckaby's upcoming death penalty trial based on the officer's alleged violation.

Please don't tell me that they can toss evidence out of Huckaby's trial just because of a comment an officer made to her. I guess it's a good thing I'm not an officer because I'd have plenty of not so nice things to say to people who murdered innocent children.

It will be interesting to see what the comment was... I'm going to reserve judgment until we find out what it was. But I'm with you, J4A... I'd have plenty of not so nice things to say, too!

Extended family celebrates Sandra Cantu's life in Tracy

By Jennie Rodriguez
Record Staff Writer
March 09, 2010 12:00 AM

TRACY - Cupcakes, music, balloons and plenty of people celebrating. It's the way Sandra Cantu would have wanted her birthday observed, her family said.

So on the day she would have turned 9 years old, they did just that. The public came, not to mourn a loss but to celebrate a vibrant little girl's life.

"Every moment is now a celebration in heaven," Tracy police Chaplain Don Higgins said. Hundreds of people gathered for the birthday party Monday night at Jacobson Elementary School, which Sandra attended.

"Only joy will bring tears to Sandra's eyes now," Higgins said.

About a year ago, Sandra was reported missing, and days later her body was found in an irrigation pond just north of the mobile home park where she lived with her mother and siblings. It had only been about a month after her eighth birthday.

Her neighbor, Melissa Huckaby, is charged with the murder and rape of Sandra.

A year later, memories of the search and the loss of "Tracy's angel" are still fresh in the minds of community members. Monday's birthday observance was bittersweet for many.

"It's a little emotional in two ways," said Tracy resident Leigh-Ann Thompson, 42. "You have to stop and think it's a celebration, but at the same time, things go on in your head about what happened."

The birthday memorial included musical performances by 12-year-old local folk singer AJ Lee and the Tracy Community Choir.

Angie Chavez, Sandra's second cousin, talked about her memories of Sandra, a little girl full of happiness and gumption.

"One day, she told me she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up," Chavez recalled. "She had a lot of questions, and she wouldn't hesitate to ask them."

Sandra was a friendly girl. "Sandra was full of love. ... Sandra would be the first to greet you. ... She would ask if you needed help in the kitchen," Chavez said. "She also had an infectious laugh."

Sandra's relatives also shared a photo slide show with the community, whom they say has become somewhat of an extended family.

Tears were shed among the crowd, as they were captivated by images that captured Sandra's smiles on Halloween, Christmas and other birthdays.

"You just feel for the family and their sweet little girl," said Jana Pace, a 44-year-old Tracy resident who attended the event Monday.

Sandra may no longer be physically here, but her grandfather Joe Chavez Sr. said her memory remains strong in the community.

"I thank everybody for showing up," he told those gathered. "Thank you. Thank you."

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100309/A_NEWS/3090332