Huckaby on suicide watch
by TP staff and Associated Press
Apr 11, 2009 | 24611 views | 76 76 comments | 46 46 recommendations | email to a friend | print
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 today about the arrest. AP Photo/Bay Area News Group, Doug Duran
view slideshow (2 images)
Melissa Huckaby, 28, a local minister's granddaughter, is on suicide watch in an observation cell at the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp, sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said this afternoon.

Huckaby, arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, refuses to see visitors, Garcia said. Jail records did not indicate whether she had an attorney.

Huckaby graduated from West High School in 1998 and worked four four years as a checker at a Food for Less grocery store on Tracy Boulevard, just east of the mobile park, 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," he said. "I would've never suspected her to do something like this."

Huckaby was scheduled to appear in court next Friday to check in with a county mental health program as part of a three-year probation sentence for a petty theft to which she pleaded no contest. She told the Tracy Press on Friday that someone else by the same name was facing charges for the attempted theft in November from a Target store.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Huckaby has no state prison record.

Meanwhile, about 500 mourners stopped by Fry Memorial Chapel today to pay their respects to Sandra. Visitors are allowed to go in, sit and watch a slideshow with dozens of family photos of Sandra, leave gifts, pray and sign a guestbook.

Visiting hours will continue 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Sandra's memorial service at 1 p.m. Thursday is expected to draw thousands of people, with parking space for only 500. It will be at in the West High School gym and cafeteria, 1775 W. Lowell Road, in Tracy.
comments (76)
« tessa510 wrote on Thursday, Apr 16 at 06:48 AM »
Im so sick and tired of reading about this sick dirt bag,who she is, where she went to school,WE DONT CARE!!!! and no she did not do it alone!!sick freak,,,my heart goes to sandra cantu family.....a beatiful child who was taken form this world..gosh..im lost for words.i hope that sick BIT@H dies in hell.and yes they should keep there eyes on her from tryin to kill herself, cuz i would rather she go to prison and face the death penalty, so those women in jail can Fu*k her up........
« ConcernedNeighbor wrote on Tuesday, Apr 14 at 12:20 PM »
No, they do not want her to take her own life, she would have taken lot of information with her!

Keep your eyes on her!
« jjp009 wrote on Tuesday, Apr 14 at 06:06 AM »
listenupall: No! Huckaby can NOT be allowed to take her own life, otherwise the family and the rest of this heartbroken country watching this story will never know the truth. The family deserves to know what happened and this piece of sh*t committing suicide, although the admirable thing to do, would obstruct justice. Let her be tried and THEN little Sandra's family can watch her die in the death chamber.
« SwimMom wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:56 PM »
my apologies.. it's actually

http://crimesearchersonline.com/
« SwimMom wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:55 PM »
oh.. there's another cool site too...

crimesearchers.com
« SwimMom wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:48 PM »
ConcernedNeighbor & KRON4NewsIntern-

I have no firsthand knowledge of anything. I have been getting my information from other sites....

blinkoncrime.com has a lot of information that makes sense. Not many people attend that church and that Pastor Lawless does not interact with other clergy in our community the way most pastor's do. It only makes sense that she really was NOT a Sunday school teacher at that small church. There were no children really to teach...

The press and MSM keep reporting that she was a SS teacher because that's what Huckaby told them! That was her "excuse" for having the stolen suitcase out on the driveway.

I do think the police had her on their very "short list" of suspects from the beginning because they had police outside her hospital room after she swallowed the razor blades...

I completely agree with honestpolicy that Fred Williams should be investigated further.. he's fishy....
« SwimMom wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:46 PM »
ConcernedNeighbor & KRON4NewsIntern-

I have no firsthand knowledge of anything. I have been getting my information from other sites....

blinkoncrime.com has a lot of information that makes sense. Not many people attend that church and that Pastor Lawless does not interact with other clergy in our community the way most pastor's do. It only makes sense that she really was NOT a Sunday school teacher at that small church. There were no children really to teach...

The press and MSM keep reporting that she was a SS teacher because that's what Huckaby told them! That was her "excuse" for having the stolen suitcase out on the driveway.

I do think the police had her on their very "short list" of suspects from the beginning because they had police outside her hospital room after she swallowed the razor blades...
« ConcernedNeighbor wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 04:25 PM »
I honestly don't believe she acted alone. I cannot imagine a woman doing the atrocious acts as reported in TP on the "alleged rape""molesting"....I hope the Tracy Police Department keeps investigating, too... no more Kyle horror stories and no more poor sweet angelic Sandra who endeared herselves into our hearts that sent our hopes high after the police made the comment of believing her still alive causing the increase in determination in finding her.

Please, defendant, look at what you are doing to the society if you knew who you are presenting?

Lack of correct justice seems to be killing our society?
« honestpolicy wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 03:38 PM »
The Tracy Police Dept. should keep investigating the total scenario...

(Church caretaker) FRED WILLIAMS should be investigated more thoroughly, in terms of his role & possible collusion --

Fred Williams deliberately LIED ABOUT THE SUITCASE last week,

saying that it was being moved for a (bogus B.S.) church 'rummage sale'.

There are other anomalies involving FRED WILLIAMS, and he should be brought to the Tracy police station for questioning about his connections with Melissa Huckaby & with the church.

Also, how does Fred Williams earn money and afford a large home in Lathrop -- where does his money come from ?

« KRON4NewsIntern wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 03:01 PM »
We're not asking for a bunch of information. Just whether or not there is any information you have regarding Huckaby's status as the sunday school teacher. We're not trying to trick anyone, just get as much credible information out to the public as possible. As well, the phone number given is to the news desk, not my personal number.
« ConcernedNeighbor wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 02:53 PM »
SwimMom,

Call the police first with this e-message from this lower box KRON4NewsIntern,

call them if you have the information first, and might need a lawyer to protect yourself?

Then the Police could call the "intern"?
« KRON4NewsIntern wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 01:48 PM »
SwimMom, we would like to talk to you about any further information you may have. Please call our news desk at (415) 561-8905.
« bzztheone wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:58 AM »
Things like this unfortunately happen all over. The Tracy PD did a great job jumping on it quickly. Please teach your children that it ok to say no to people that they know and to tell a parent or another adult right away of something happens.

If this is the real perpetrator, the I hope the family and Sandra receive the justice that they deserve. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
« soblessed wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 11:33 AM »
I am still in disbelief with this woman! Her not wanting to see visitors tells you she is guilty. How easy it is to say to just let her kill herself, but she needs to suffer! Killing herself will be the easy, cowardly way out! This woman needs to suffer! We can not continue to let people like this get away with hurting our chidren!

To Sandra's family, please know that so many people are praying for all of you. I know this revelation has not made it any easier for any of you! RIP Sandra!
« TracyMom11 wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 08:49 AM »
So she refuses to see visitors...of course...any guilty person would right! I am sure it would be easy for her to take her own life - she had no problem taking little Sandra's. I have no compassion for people who harm children!
« jaysondecambra wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 07:22 AM »
KNUCKLEHEADS MC wants to reach out to the public and the motorcycle community. we are going to host a support ride AT

10am APRIL 16th

Tracy Sports Complex

955 Crossroads Drive

Tracy, CA 95376

we will be collecting donations for sandra and the family for more info contact KNUCKLEHEADS MC 209.221.9268

« TygrLili wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 06:03 AM »
I think the most likely scenario is this:

Sandra goes over to play with Huckaby's daughter and the two play together for a considerable amount of time. Somewhere amidst the play the two girls have a disagreement about something and they begin arguing with each other. The mother becomes agitated first with the noise they are making, and then with Sandra in particular because she is saying insulting things to her daughter.

With Huckaby's mental health history, she might have blown an argument between two little girls who are best friends completely out of proportion. If she was also using meth or cocaine, severe paranoia could have added to the delusional thinking. I believe in her twisted mind she may have thought she was defending her daughter and she likely struck Sandra very violently, and maybe more than one time.
« CuriousWine wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 05:59 AM »
Well, no matter how or why this happened, it's very disturbing. If I remember correctly, in the piece of video, Sandra turned from her destination. As though someone called out to her, and she went in their direction. M.H. claims she turned Sandra away that very day, but she (or her 5 yr old daughter) may have very well called out to her after that. To know M.H. could do such a thing to Sandra, I have to wonder what her 5 yr old may have had to endure also. Just to look at M.H. you can see "the crazy" in her eyes. First glimpse I had of her picture, my first thought was OMG...she isn't right !!

Now, if this happepned IN the Lawless home where M.H. lived, where were they ?? You can't tell me they know nothing !!!
« jjp009 wrote on Monday, Apr 13 at 04:47 AM »
The worst thing here regarding this animal, Huckaby, is that she will never see one day in prison. She will be declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and spend the rest of her life in a nice, cushy mental institution with three meals a day, a soft place to sleep, arts and crafts and other warm, fuzzy activities, and the best psychiatrists the State of California's money can buy to counsel her. It's just insult added to injury.
« hs2009 wrote on Sunday, Apr 12 at 07:33 PM »
Look in her eyes. She is telling her family "yes, I did it." Of course she is refusing visitors - as soon as a loved one looks her in her eyes they will know. How could this happen, some say? Well, it's a kid with just a high school education who worked at a grocery store until she was fired. Then what happened? This is a human who fell off the radar. A human that allowed itself to be consumed with bloodlust. And who knows what else. Good Lord.


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