Yo, Tired Of Excuses........Perhaps you should read better, listen better. No one said, that Sandra might have been curious......what was said, was that if Madison, the 5 year old daughter of Melissa, WAS HOME, when Sandra came to play, then, what the heck happened? Could TWO little kids,,,,,,,,,,have accidentally done something,,,,,,,that then turned worst. Meaning, everyone knows that children explore each other, that's textbook. If Madison was not home when Sandra came to play, AND NO ANCHORS, NEWSPEOPLE OR NEWSPAPERS, WILL STATE WHERE MADISON WAS AT THE MOMENT SANDRA CAME OVER,,,,,,,,,,,,so, if Madison was NOT there, then we know that something horrible went down,,,,,,,,,but we don't know if the Grandpa lovely Pastor was there, the Pastor who has a history on him previously. If anyone had abuse done to them, it was Melissa as a child,,,,,,,,,,,,,and no, that does not excuse whatever she has done, but it does mean that her entire family needs to be looked into, and charged for whatever they have done to her in her childhood past. Curiosity between kids is NORMAL, Ms. Tired of Excuses.

ConcernedNeighbor. Well said.

For those of us who are parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc...we think of our own children and can only imagine what suffering and horror Sandra experienced in the last moments of her life. It's difficult to ignore a crime of this nature against an innocent child, particularly when you see the video tape that shows her skipping down the street with such joy and innocence, just moments before she is killed.

We teach our children what a stranger is and how to avoid being a victim of a crime and then we see cases like this where the accused is someone that the family knows.

In the end our opinions won't change what happens to MH...the evidence and courts will determine her faith. As parent, aunt, uncles and grandparents, etc....we now have one more thing to worry about. The face of danger has changed. Now we must rethink how to educate our children about strangers. In hopes that no child endures what Sandra did.

ConcernedNeighbor,

I agree and see your point. Problem is; the overwhelming voice in these comments is not one of intellect. (by these, I mean pretty much every Sandra related article)

This is a sick woman. I hope she gets the death penalty.

Darn, used the word, "always", well, I ain't perfect, durn it all!

NickD

I try to stay away from words, like everyone, everybody, never, always, since it does not apply to each person commenting on the blogs. There are intelligent commentors who want to make Tracy better.

Granted there were some who want to crucify just about anyone, but this is pretty serious case and they are frightened it may happen to their families, too. Look at this like a "therapy board". We can learn alot from each commentors? Lots of differing points of view. We look for the best ones, don't we, always?

mind boggling, not ming boggling..bing moggling?

Oh well, Mood Gorning to all of you.

Book her in the psychiatric ward, she would make a good case study! Rare crime case if she did act alone.

Just too ming boggling at the depravity of human being, especially a woman, taking advantage of innocent children.

Been reported to have started fires, one to "frame" a person... as reported in "BlinkonCrime".

Just wondering how well she will fool the defendant?

llm,

I understand she'll get a fair trail. I was referring to the people here. I understand everyone can have an opinion, and I wasn't trying to say they couldn't. I hope that Melissa is punished for her crimes as well.

The point I was trying to make is that everyone in the comments here is acting no better then the ruthless killer they believe she is.

I understand what she did (if she did it) was horrible. But that doesn't mean we have to stoop to her level, at least verbally.

All of you people talking about Sandra being curious or maybe previously abuse are dumb. MH is the only one involved, even if it's hard to believe a woman could have done this. Get a grip on reality she's a weird sick pig. She's into pretending to be a Sunday school teacher so she can get close to little girls and do unspeakable things with them. A lot of perverts like to play up the church part get you all comfortable with them to get close to your kid. Then after your kids been molested you're like OMG I can't believe it, he/she how, why. Man or Woman sex predators are'nt easy to pick out. Unless one takes off with YOUR kid in their purple kia.

for 2tear.

I believe what was said is that children explore, and what feels good, they do, and sometimes they do explore together, each other, and its done all over the world, and considered normal, if its just curiosity, so get a grip in the world, if you are a Mom. Abuse was referred to I believe, as "What if there was possible physical touching, physical molestation, previously by a family member of Sandra's,,,,,,,,,,,,that would also be why a lawyer would need to do a thorough autopsy. in just trying to uncover every stone for their client. It turns out today, that request was taken back. The spin is that unless someone else is going to be named along with Melissa, or Melissa had to cover up for someone,,,,,,,,,,,yes, including her own child if there was an accident, that there will be a plea of insanity. Read your info correctly.

truthteller.... I know for a fact kids in elementary school know about sex, unfortunately. Some more than others, due to watching or hearing mom and dad, peers and mainly TV. It is no secret, it is human nature. Even in the play ground some kids acted it out..ACT IT OUT. Behind close doors they might go a little further. BUT to say a 5-8yr olds abuse themselves is very very rare, to the point of mental issues in a child. Normal 5-8yr olds are very very innocent in nature. Even with music now a days so explicit they still think the words are innocent. 9-12yr olds are more prone to sexuality...and 12yr the sex hormones kick in...So don't tell me 5-8yr olds think about poking themselves rather than play barbie. Touching themselves is much different, babies touch themselves, but not for satisfaction. Human nature.

This was a comment for those who post sickening ideals about Sandra and her truama. You people need counseling and do some research on sexual exploitation.

rla's suggestion of PE classes is right on. I sent my daughters to karate lessons for 4 years. They are brown belts now. The 2-3 times per week practice has given them muscle memory for the moves. I don't worry about them walking outside. They can defend themselves. The style of Karate is Japanese Okinawan Shuri Ryu if anyone is interested. I'm sure other karate styles can be as effective. Females should not have to stay cooped up in houses out of fear. We can fight off these predators.

Very sorry for what happened to Sandra.

Doh!

City council members, for example, recuse themselves on neighborhood plans (re-zoning, evaluating enivornmental impact, etc...) when they own property in the neighborhood.

A judge might recuse his/herself because they are friends of the defendant or DA in the case. If they lost a child to murder. If they are involved in an investment with one of the defense or prosecution team. Anything that would give the appearance of impropriety, and taint the case.

An official recuses themselves when they have a potential conflict of interest (that could, or appear to, influence their opinion/judgement/ideas).

City counc

Safety should start in every home at an early age. It would be great if we could have mandatory self defense classes in girls PE classes. Just a thought!

shelly13,

You mean this?

« ConcernedNeighbor wrote on Tuesday, Apr 21 at 02:12 PM »

I suggest an "Amber Alert" sign for within the city of Tracy, when a child goes missing for unreasonable length of time according to the parent/parents. For more urgent case requiring state attention, formal amber alert would have been issued?

just thinking of ways to protect the child within the city during early stage of disappearance...

definitely not bashing the PD, just hoping for better response and rescue time in the search within the city...

If, so, I sure hope the city can work with that idea?

Someone somewhere brought up the thought of a sign system set up in the city - similar to that of the amber alert, but only for the city. If a child goes missing for whatever reason, the info goes up immediatley.

I like it!

Was thinking, no amount of reasoning, speculation, analyzing, and so on will bring Sandra back into her mother's arms.

Would love to see some ideas on how to make Tracy safer for children in memory of Sandra Cantu/Chavez?

I am sure the judge is following the letter of the law in recusing himself, otherwise the case would be null and void?

Has anyone heard how Sandra's family is doing lately? I am hoping the readers will not forget the family's suffering for as long as this case last.