Shortly after the public defender for murder suspect Melissa Huckaby announced that he’ll withdraw his request to exhume the remains of Sandra Cantu for a second autopsy, the judge shut down all communication involving the case.
Judge Linda Lofthus issued a gag order that directs all parties not to release “information or opinions concerning this case or any issue likely involved in this case.”
Lofthus has taken over from San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss, who recused himself this week.
Huckaby will appear at a second arraignment at 12:45 p.m. Friday in Stockton. She is charged with one count of murder with three special circumstances: kidnapping, rape with a foreign object and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14.
The defense had asked for a second autopsy of the slain 8-year-old on the day of her memorial service.
“I believe and allege such an examination is extremely crucial and material to Ms. Huckaby’s defense,” defense attorney Sam Behar said in his report last week.
Before Tuesday’s gag order, however, Public Defender Peter Fox told the San Francisco Chronicle that independent tests are not needed and that relevant samples were preserved.
“It will not be necessary to disturb the child’s remains,” Fox told the Chronicle. “From a human point of view, certainly, it’s nice not to have to do that.”
The county medical examiner has not released results of the autopsy, cause of death or toxicology tests.
Wha wha wha wha indeed!
You went up to a little boy in his driveway, asked why he was crying ( after you saw him getting beat up)and why his sister was hitting him. Why is that your business? you should have gone to the door and told the parents, If you was concerned why didn't you ask if he was ok? I'm sure the kid is going to tell a stranger rather his parents! SOUNDS SICK TO ME!!!
FutureSheriffsWife, you said it the best! I think you hit the nail right on the head. I also believe in Eye for an Eye!!!
Happy Thursday to you too!
Rest in peace Princess Sandra, and God Bless the cantu and Chavez Family,
I am not the crimminal here. I have never been in jail either.
Is that how you seriously want to solve problems by killing people?
Innocent people have been killed by your attittudes and belief systems.
Is this how you deal with problems including your own kids? You hit them as a way to solve problems?
Let the court system deal with crimminals. They have the evidence, we don't.
The court system isn't perfect either.
Just be prepared in case you don't get what you want.
I am really very sorry that you have way too much anger build up inside of you. I hope it isn't stemming from someong beating you up or raping you.
I'm not here wishing bad on you. I seriouisly am concerned about you. Please get some help with this.
Maybe you can talk to the Chaplin at the Police Department.
It saddens me that kids also deal with problems with violence. Last week, I saw a little boy lying on his driveway while his sister beat on him. This is what kids are learning to beat each other up. Later, I asked the little boy why he was crying and why his sister was hitting him. He told me that another kid blamed him for doing something he didn't do. His sister believed the other kid and starting beating him up while he was laying on the driveway.
Is this the kind of world you want to live in teaching kids to beat up on each other as a way to solve problems. They will grow up and start beating up on you also. This has happened. Kids don't stay little for ever.
One thing, you are right about, killing Melissa with the death penalty would not 'solve' anything... But if it does turn out that she is found guilty, convicted of this disgusting crime and gets the death penalty, AND the state actually fallows through with euthanizing this animal, her being dead wouldn’t necessarily 'solve' anything, but it would make a whole hell of allot of people feel allot better, justice was served, eye for an eye, and there would be one less sick waste of a human life on this planet!
Happy Thursday everyone, hope you all have a good day, and God bless Sandra Cantu.
I'm so very sorry that your children have been victims.
I assure you that most people who are here have been sexually abused as eithe children or adults or both. And we understand you.
Most women have been sexually abused.
I assure you that the aggressors you are describing here have family who know they are predetors but most likely don't turn them in to the police.
Even if they are reported, our society does not take crimes against children serious enough.
Children's rights are the most ignored.
Until we start caring not only about our own kids but other people's kids, we are never going to even start to get to the bottom of this problem.
I have had personal experience with sex preditors also.
Look at sex crimes against women. Women get raped everyday and the rapitst gets away with it because the cops don't take them seriously.
I have heard that police departments have tons of rape cases that have never been investigated. The excuse they use is that there isn't enough money.
Sexual harassment in the work place is also not taken seriously. Men are allowed to use women for sex. Some men think they have a right to sex. Employers don't take this problem seriuosly either.
We live in a society that doesn't take sex crimes against children and women seriously enough.
We live in a society where women and children are at the bottom of the totem pole.
The only good thing I know of with regards to pedephiles is the possiblity of having them wear tracking devices with GPS on them.
I look forward to GPS tracking devices that can monitor a crimminal's every step. It's better than nothing.
Until society starts valuing children and women and start taking crimes against them seriously things are not going to change.
One way is to start changing the law. More parents need to come together to change the law. The current supreme court ruling needs to be over turned if it hasn't already.
One thing we have control over is to make sure our kids don't feel neglected so that they don't end up being easy targets for predators.
When my daughter had to go to daycare at 16 months she went to one that my Aunt worked at, and i still looked at all their records and teachers, etc. back round checks.
WHen she went to kindergarden, i asked the same at the school, of the teacher, the janetor as well, etc.
I drop her off at school and pick her up.
when she has a play date, i'm there she is not left alone, she does not like it, but oh well. I've been called over protective but oh well, and you know what, she was almost abducted in Savanna Ga on our way to Disney, when we stopped at a rest stop last year , so it can happen to anyone,and believe me I'm an over protective mom.
She went in to the restroom with my cousin who is 45, she is 7, i told my cousin to make sure she does not come out of the stall until she is told to, well, that did not happen, my cousin was stil in the stall, and she heard a woman say , come on little girl come with me, well she ran out of the stall and grabbed my daughter and said she is with me, and said it looked as though my daughter was walking toward her, and the woman ran, she came out and told me, so we called the cops, they came, we did not see the car but gave a description of the woman, we went to the next stop Jacksonville Fl, i went to the rest room, and i saw her and she was there, outside the restroom with a young man, she noticed me with my daughter, she noticed my daughter and ran, I ran after them and got the description of the car and called the cops, not sure if they got them. Praying they did. I made it very clear at the rest stops they were child abductors!!! BUt it was Scary, SO IT HAPPENS even if you are careful but i was lucky, and thank my stars every day, and even though i could not sleep well for 2 weeks, just stayed awake watching my daughter sleep. SO THESE PEDOPHILES NEED TO BE PUT AWAY FOR LIFE OR DEATH, EITHER WAY, JUSTICE FOR SANDRA AND EVERY OTHER CHILD THAT SUFFERS AT THE HAND OF THESE sickos. BECAUSE BELIEVE ME, I PITY THE SICKO THAT EVER LAYS A HAND ON MY CHILD. Believe me, My ex Husband and I talk to my daughter all the time about stranger, so it can happen to anyone, even if you are careful, and i protect my child.
Rest in peace Sandra , From New Hampshire
Jennifer from the Tracy Press is one of the guest! Congratulations Jennifer!
Dr. Phil offers one important message and that is that preditors prey on children who are neglected. Preditors give children the attention they need (that they don't get from their parents) and then take advantage of them.
Children of all people need more rights.
I have had some kids express how they feel. They feel like they are the least important people on earth.
I'm sorry to say that I have to agree with them.
We had a little girl in my town go missing last summer and one little boy said to me, "why do people go looking for a lost kid, when no one cares." This is an example of how kids feel.
If we all take the time to listen, we will understand how unimportant they feel.
We all need to start paying closer attention to our children and fight stronger for their rights.
WE all need to find a way to change the law so that sex offenders get a death penalty if that is how we want to solve this problem. Obviously, a slap in the hand is not solving anything.
If all they get is a slap in the hand, they will just keep doing it.
What are we going to do so that all sex offenders get the death penalty as well?
Just because someone is a lawyer does not mean he/she is a reliable source of information.
If we want the law to change, then we need to find out how to change it.
The biggest problem is that children are not protected enough at the family level and that attittude filters down.
It is up to us to change our culture.
Like I said before it is a serious crime, but they get away with it, a slap on the hand, they get out do it again, then they MURDER them. Why don't you just go talk to a Lawyer or something and get all your answers they do give a free consultation. I don't care about the Death Penalty Law, JUSTICE WILL BE BE SERVED, I hope she gets the Death Penalty, if not I hope she gets life w/o parole with the other inmates , cause boy do they hate child rapist and killers!
REST IN PEACE SANDRA
GOD BLESS CANTU AND CHAVEZ FAMILY
Start by reporting your own family members.
If there is no problem, the government can't do anything about it.
Why do we sit around and wait until a child gets killed before we want the law to go into affect?
What steps are we going to take to prevent this from happening again?
Please, calm down. All of your anger is doing nothing but raising your blood pressure.
I'm asking some very serious questions here and all you want to do is kill someone and attack me.
Killing is not the answer either.
There are many Melissa's in the world. Killing her is not going to solve the problems.
Maybe we all need to sit down in person and talk about this in a serious manner without wanting to solve the problem by killing only one person.
We need to kill all of those preditors out there that are doing the same thing.
Another child is being raped this very second and no one is protecting that child. When that child ends up dead, then we want the authorities to take action.
I would appreciate hearing from you.
Tracy Press, if you are reading this. Please write something up on the death penalty law.
I am also interested in getting some idea on how many people have received the death penalty for raping and killing a child?
Do American's generally sentence child rapist/murders?
How often is child molestation reported,( in particular by family members) and if the authorities take these sort of reports seriously.
If child molestation is such a serious crime, why are so many of them out running around loose?
Thank you Tracy Press. I'm sure other readers have the same questions I do.
You go girl. I could not have said it better!!!!I'm with you !!!
Illegal to executice a child rapist, IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL TO RAPE A CHILD. WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK ANYMORE, send your letters to MH she probably needs to hear your letters of support. as i don't want to hear your smut. Let it happen to your child and lets see if your researching it then. BUT IF YOU WERE LISTENING TO THE WHOLE CASE SHERLOCK HOLMES , IT WAS NOT JUST RAPE, IT WAS KIDNAPPING,RAPE WITH A FOREIGN OBJECT AND MURDER SO THAT'S, MUCH DIFFERENT THAN JUST CHILD RAPE. GET REAL AND GET A LIFE.
Rest in Peace Sandra, Justice will be served.
God Bless Cantu and Chavez Family
There is a possibility she may not get the death sentence.
If the law says that a child rapist qualifies for the death pentalty if the child dies,then she faces the death penalty, but I'm not clear on "accidental."
The defense attornies may end up using the other little girl's medical records to prove "accidental death."
I also wonder if Melissa didn't attempt to commit suicide by starting those two fires.
Sounds like she has a wish death.
I have been doing some research trying to understand why Melissa faces the death penalty for rape when too many child rapist are running loose.
If we are going to get to the buttom of this problem and death is the only solution, we need to start turning in all the offenders including our own families.
I found several webpages indicating that in June 2008 the supreme court ruled it illegal to execute child rapist.
I have not found anything saying that this was appealed. If anyone know if there is indeed a law that says to kill child rapist, please let me know what that is.
In the meantime, here is one of several that indicate that the supreme court ruled it illegal:
website:http://inkslwc.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/supreme-court-bans-dealth-penalty-for-child-rape/