Sandra Cantu

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Girl's Murderer: Cold, Calculating

Melissa Huckaby stuck to claim of innocence as evidence mounted

(Newser) - Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby placed the lifeless body of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu into a suitcase with a care that investigators say indicated a "calm, calculating mind at work." This and other macabre pieces of information were revealed in more than 1,800 pages released yesterday, shedding new...

8-Year-Old's Killer Gets Life
 8-Year-Old's Killer Gets Life 
TELLS MOM 'SHE DID NOT SUFFER'
Jun 14, 2010 1:59 PM CDT

8-Year-Old's Killer Gets Life

Melissa Huckaby denies sexually abusing Sandra Cantu

(Newser) - A California Sunday school teacher who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering an 8-year-old neighbor made a tearful apology to the victim's family today as she was sentenced to life in prison. "She did not suffer, and I did not sexually molest her," said Melissa Huckaby, who avoided...

Sunday School Teacher Pleads Guilty in Girl's Murder

Melissa Huckaby admits killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu

(Newser) - A California Sunday school teacher accused of kidnapping, raping, and killing an 8-year-old playmate of her daughter, then stuffing the body in a suitcase, pleaded guilty today to murder. Melissa Huckaby, 29, entered the guilty plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to a charge of first-degree murder with a...

Huckaby Pleads Not Guilty in Murder of 8-Year-Old Girl

(Newser) - Melissa Huckaby, the Sunday school teacher accused of kidnapping, raping, and murdering an 8-year-old girl in California, pleaded not guilty today, KPIX-TV reports. Sandra Cantu, a playmate of 28-year-old Huckaby’s daughter, was found in a suitcase in a nearby pond in April. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September....

Huckaby Linked to Earlier Kidnapping

(Newser) - The accused killer of an 8-year-old California girl has been linked to an earlier abduction of a child in the same community, reports the Tracy Press. A 7-year-old girl was led from her neighborhood in January by a woman driving the same kind of car belonging to Sunday school teacher...

Friends, Experts Skeptical of Huckaby Guilt

(Newser) - Family and friends of Melissa Huckaby can’t believe the Sunday school teacher might have killed and raped 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "She was actually really mellow and a good friend, and she loved her daughter so much,” a college friend says. And with...

Calif. Child Murder Suspect Tried to Kill Herself

Huckaby swallowed three knife blades before arrest

(Newser) - Days before she was arrested for the rape and murder of Sandra Cantu, California Sunday-school teacher Melissa Huckaby attempted suicide by swallowing three razor blades, CBS reports. She was hospitalized and remained under suicide watch until yesterday’s hearing, where a sobbing Huckaby learned she could face the death penalty...

Sunday School Teacher Faces Death Penalty

Prosecutors file charges of murder, kidnapping, and rape

(Newser) - A California Sunday school teacher arrested for the murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu is now eligible for the death penalty after prosecutors added three “special circumstances,” to her charges today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The San Joaquin County DA alleges that Melissa Huckaby killed the girl after...

Calif. Sunday School Teacher May Also Face Rape Charge

Will be charged today; may face death penalty

(Newser) - The California Sunday school teacher set to be accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu may also face rape and child molestation charges, qualifying her for the death penalty, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Melissa Huckaby will be arraigned this afternoon; prosecutors will charge her with murder but are debating whether...

Calif. Sunday School Teacher Held in Child's Death

(Newser) - A Tracy, Calif., Sunday school teacher was arrested last last night on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body was found in a suitcase in an irrigation pond Monday. Melissa Huckaby, 28, was arrested about 5 hours after she drove herself to the local police station at...

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