Media Links Only - NO DISCUSSIONS

[i.b.nora]

Another good Tracy Press / Jennifer Wadsworth article:

Missing girl's mother pointed finger at Huckaby early

snip

"Soon after the family reported the missing girl that day, Huckaby drove back with Polk’s daughter about four hours after first taking her, according to Polk and police records. It was early evening at that point, and the little girl seemed fine, Polk said, just emotional because police cars were at her home and her mother was frantic.

It was around dinnertime that police left, so Polk headed out with her daughter for some fast food. But in the car, the little girl started to slump over as if she were falling asleep. She slurred her words.

“She was not acting right,” said Polk. “It was really scaring me.”

Polk went straight to the emergency room at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital. Hours passed, and at about 10 p.m. that night police showed up again. They started peppering Polk with questions and told her that the doctors had found muscle relaxers in her little girl’s body.

Police asked for permission to search Polk’s house.

“Of course, I let them,” said Polk, who lives with her grandparents in Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Sandra lived before she was murdered and where Huckaby lived with her grandparents before her arrest.

Child Protective Services then took Polk’s girl to the Mary Graham Children’s Shelter in French Camp, where they kept her overnight. Polk said she walked home from the hospital by herself at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 18.

Later that morning, they said Polk could have her back if the girl passed a complete physical exam. She did, and the girl was returned home that morning."

 

[desert]

Huckaby linked to SoCal arson case

 

[i.b.nora]

Seating for Huckaby hearing to be decided by lottery
By The Record
April 22, 2009

Community members who want to observe Friday’s court hearing for Melissa Huckaby of Tracy will have to win a seat through a lottery, San Joaquin County Superior Court’s executive officer Rosa Junqueiro said Wednesday.

Huckaby, 28, is expected to make her second court appearance for arraignment on charges she kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Sandra Cantu. Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus will hear the case for the first time.

Junqueiro asked members of the public who want into the courtroom to show up at 11 a.m. before Friday’s hearing to get a ticket. Court officials will give out the available seats in a noontime drawing. The hearing begins at 12:45 p.m. in Department 35.

The court is reserving seats for relatives of Sandra and Huckaby, Junqueiro said.

 

[Kat]

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/676458.html

The mother of a child who disappeared briefly in January said she asked police to talk to Huckaby as soon as she heard Sandra, a neighbor, was gone.

Lora Polk, 41, said she came back from work Jan. 17 to find her 7-year-old daughter gone. Huckaby took her -- and her own daughter -- without permission, Polk told the Tracy Press. Polk said she contacted police.

More at link

 

[i.b.nora]

Danny Cantu and friends form foundation

"The father of murdered 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, along with some friends, is creating a foundation to help other families whose children are abducted.

Daniel Cantu, who lives in Mexico but has been in Tracy often during the last month, said he wanted to do something charitable after his daughter’s death. With the help of some local friends, he’s taken steps to organize a Fathers Against Violent Child Tragedies foundation.

Gina Schnabel, Cantu’s friend, said the organizers hope to raise awareness of child abuse and give families a support system in case something similar happens to them.

“He wanted to come forward and do something good in her name,” Schnabel said of Cantu, who grew up in Tracy. “We really wanted to raise awareness and educate children and adults as well.”"

more

 

[i.b.nora]

Medical examiner in Huckaby case back in spotlight

by Marcus Wohlsen / Associated Press

"SAN FRANCISCO — Though Melissa Huckaby's attorneys plan to withdraw their motion to exhume Sandra Cantu's body, the prosecution and defense remain on a collision course over the forensic evidence from her autopsy.

The defense is attacking the credibility of the pathologist whose findings will be used to support charges that Melissa Huckaby raped the 8-year-old--an allegation that could bring the death penalty if the one-time Sunday school aide is convicted. Huckaby is scheduled to make her second court appearance Friday.

At the center of the conflict is San Joaquin County's chief medical examiner, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who has been in the spotlight before."

much more...

 

[i.b.nora]

Cops Search Tracy Church Again in Cantu Case

"TRACY, CA - Police investigators were again searching the Tracy church Thursday of a Sunday School teacher charged with the kidnapping and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

Officers were at the Clover Road Baptist Church for the third time Thursday, spending about 30 minutes collecting more evidence in the case of the girl found murdered April 6.

A Tracy police spokesman had no comment on what led to Thursday's search. All search warrants connected to the investigation remain sealed under a court order."

 

[i.b.nora]

Huckaby's SoCal Neighbors Speak Out About Fires

7:25 pm PDT April 23, 2009 KTVU

"LA PALMA, Calif. -- Former neighbors who lived near Melissa Huckaby in Southern California spoke with reporters Thursday about two suspicious fires that damaged the La Palma home where Huckaby rented a room during the summer of 2007."

"One neighbor told a reporter from KTVU's sister station KTTV in Los Angeles he grew suspicious of Huckaby after two fires were set inside this home shortly after she moved in."

"Another neighbor named Wanda who declined to give her last name also saw that fire burning from her home."

"Wanda called 911 when the second fire broke out and says emergency crews found Huckaby and her daughter inside.

"He knocked on the door ... I don't know how many times," remembered Wanda. "Eventually she came to the door. She just came to the door looking as if 'What?'""

more

 

[Francine]

Several Tracy pastors said they don’t know that much about Lawless; he doesn’t join the 15 or 20 other pastors in town for Thursday prayer breakfasts.

Tim Heinrich of the Crossroads Baptist Church said Lawless declines to network with fellow pastors in town. Other pastors said the church has few events and focuses on church history because it disagrees with some of the tenets of others churches.

No one in the neighborhood surrounding Orchard Estates said they attend the Baptist church — surrounded now by yellow crime-scene tape. About a dozen neighbors said they don’t know anyone who does and that it has a tiny congregation.

Folks from a Jehovah’s Witness church across the street from Clover Road Baptist said they've never talked to anyone from the congregation. Pastors, members and elders of a handful of other churches in northern Tracy said the same thing.

http://www.tracypress.com/pages/full_story?page_label=results_content&id=2261962-Town+mourns+its+lost+child+as+police+look+for+clues&article-Town%20mourns%20its%20lost%20child%20as%20police%20look%20for%20clues%20=&widget=push&open=&

 

[LinasK]

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Posted: 04/24/2009 11:09:47 AM PDT
Updated: 04/24/2009 12:23:24 PM PDT

STOCKTON — Members of the media are gathering at the San Joaquin County courthouse this morning awaiting the second court appearance of Melissa Huckaby, who is charged with kidnapping, raping and killing an 8-year-old Tracy girl.
About a dozen TV trucks are parked outside, although cameras are not being allowed inside the courtroom.
<snip>
Today's court proceedings could involve a number of actions: Huckaby could enter a plea; the results of her mental health evaluation could be released; and there could be a debate over the validity of the forensic examination of Cantu's body, which the defense has suggested is questionable.There is a gag order on the case, prohibiting lawyers and police from commenting on it, and the court has banned cameras from the courtroom and limited the number of media seats. more at link: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12218843

 

[SeriouslySearching]

#cantu Melissa Huckaby arraignment delayed to May 22.. Autopsy records to remain sealed to protect Cantu family. http://tinyurl.com/cfk83p

 

[arielilane]

No bail status remains.
People v. Melissa Huckaby Court Minute Order from Friday, April 24, 2009

http://www.stocktoncourt.org/courts/media_notice.htm

 

[arielilane]

http://tracypress.com/pages/full_sto...ead_story&open=&

Slideshow: Murder suspect Melissa Huckaby arraigned in Stockton Friday.

 

[arielilane]

http://www.kcra.com/video/19111954/index.html

Link to video of the suitcase in the pond before it was removed by LE.

 

[arielilane]

Medical examiner in Huckaby case back in spotlight
SAN FRANCISCO — Though Melissa Huckaby's attorneys plan to withdraw their motion to exhume Sandra Cantu's body, the prosecution and defense remain on a collision course over the forensic evidence from her autopsy.

The defense is attacking the credibility of the pathologist whose findings will be used to support charges that Melissa Huckaby raped the 8-year-old--an allegation that could bring the death penalty if the one-time Sunday school aide is convicted. Huckaby is scheduled to make her second court appearance Friday.
http://www.tracypress.com/pages/ful...t&widget=push&instance=home_news_bullets&open=&

 

[arielilane]

Plea Delayed In Tracy Murder Trial; Autopsy Results Sealed

Posted: 7:10 am PDT April 24, 2009Updated: 7:32 pm PDT April 24, 2009
STOCKTON, Calif. -- A Sunday school teacher charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering an 8-year-old Tracy girl had her plea delayed a second time Friday to give her attorney more time to prepare her defense.

Dressed in a red jail jumpsuit, Melissa Huckaby, 28, showed little emotion as she appeared before San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus.

Public Defender Sam Behar, who has complained he hasn't received any evidence from prosecutors, asked for a delay in entering a plea. It was granted and a new date of May 22 set.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/19270435/detail.html

 

[arielilane]

Huckaby theories multiply
At times, it seems like everyone has a take on suspect in Cantu case



By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
April 26, 2009 6:00 AM
As each fact surfaces from Melissa Huckaby's past, so does a new question.
Police accuse her of raping and murdering Sandra Cantu, 8, last month in a crime that in itself that defies logic. Statistically, women don't do that. Men do.
Add to that court files that tell of shoplifting, out of control hospital bills and a restraining order she took out against a man. Old friends from Southern California reportedly accuse her of starting fires, threatening suicide and cutting herself.http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090426/A_NEWS/904260324

 

[Winnow]

Fox40 Video on the subject of the "Tracy 60"

http://www.fox40.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3645770

 

[i.b.nora]

Two new articles today, Thursday April 30, 2009

Melissa Huckaby's grandmother stands by her granddaughter, her faith and her church
By Paula King
San Joaquin Herald

"TRACY — While her granddaughter is jailed on murder charges, Connie Lawless is staying strong in her Baptist faith and stands firmly by the character of her church and family.

The Lawless family and the Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy have faced dark times during the investigation into the kidnapping, rape and slaying of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu — from news reports that the girl was killed at the church to suspicions cast on pastor Lane Lawless and the April 10 arrest of his granddaughter, Melissa Huckaby.

Connie Lawless, in a telephone interview, denied all accusations.

"There is no pattern of anything like that," she said. "There has never been a hint of any kind of scandal," she said. "We are open people. Our church is open and friendly and lively. We don't have anything to hide.""

much more...

AND, this article:

Psychic makes claim to reward money in Cantu case
By Mike Martinez
San Joaquin Herald

"TRACY —A Southern California woman is in a dispute with Tracy police over whether her psychic predictions helped them solve the Sandra Cantu murder case.

She thinks she's entitled to at least a portion of the reward money, totaling more than $30,000, but Tracy police say they never used any information provided by any psychics during the investigation."

more... link might change

 

[roller26]

http://www.tracypress.com/pages/full_story?article-The%20man%20who%20found%20Sandra%20=&page_label=home&id=2487077-The+man+who+found+Sandra&widget=push&instance=home_news_bullets&open=&

Thousands of volunteers, Tracy police officers and FBI agents searched around the clock earlier this month for Sandra Cantu.

But it was a dairy farmworker just going about his job who led to the discovery of the 8-year-old girl’s body.

Jose Luis Franco, 40, found a suitcase in a dairy lagoon on April 6 containing what was later found to be Sandra’s body and alerted the police. Later this month, the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation will reward him with a little more than $20,000 for his discovery, according to Tracy police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sheneman.

Franco, who speaks only Spanish, said Friday night through translator Laura Flores that the reward is “like a blessing.”