The paper trail of her problems begins in 2002, when Melissa Lawless was single and working as a cashier at a Food 4 Less store in Tracy.
By spring 2003 she had gone on maternity leave and was earning $600 a month in disability when she filed for bankruptcy, court records show. Deep in debt from unspecified medical bills and charge cards, she owed more than $26,000 to 23 creditors. She claimed $5,200 in assets, including $3,000 in jewelry, and had just $200 in a checking account, the records show.
Among her largest debts was to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, which sued her in 2002 for more than $10,000.
She owed another $5,000 from ambulance rides, the court records show, and more than $3,000 to J.C. Penney Co. and Sears.
Amid the financial chaos, Melissa married Johnny Huckaby on May 10, 2003, four months before giving birth to M Huckaby in San Joaquin County, according to court documents.
The pair moved south to Fontana, but the marriage quickly soured, with Melissa and her daughter moving out of their apartment by May 2004. Melissa took her daughter to mother Judy Lawless' Cypress home and separated from Johnny Huckaby in August 2004, according to the divorce file.
On Jan. 19, 2005, after almost a year living with her mother, Melissa Huckaby filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, court records show.
By May 2005, Melissa found a full-time job at Associated Therapists, a Huntington Beach firm that provides administrative assistance to Southern California mental health practitioners. Melissa — who attended Bryman College, a Southern California vocational college — made $1,430 a month working in the medical billing division, while taking in $237 in food stamps.
Huckaby struggled financially with just $200 in savings and a 1991 Chevy Blazer to her name, according to divorce papers.
On Sept. 9, 2005, an Orange County family court judge dissolved the couple's marriage, giving legal and physical custody to 24-year-old Melissa.
Her ex-husband received supervised visits once a month for a half-hour, according to court papers.
The judge ruled there was evidence that Johnny Huckaby's visits be supervised on allegations of: "abduction of child(ren)," domestic violence and alcohol abuse. The judge ordered Johnny Huckaby, who was unemployed, to pay $422 a month in child support.
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