From this article, it looks like MH was working hard to get child support out of the father of her 5 year old. Had we heard about any ties MH might have had to Topkea?
"A Topeka man may be able to provide some answers for law enforcement investigating the California woman who was arrested Saturday for allegedly killing an 8-year-old girl and stuffing her into a suitcase."
http://www.cjonline.com/news/2009-04-12/accused_calif_mom_has_area_ties
(bold above by me)
I had begun to respond to this post by saying that I disagree, and I suppose that I still do, but not perhaps for the reasons one would expect.
As the details and history of this tragedy unfold it becomes more and more apparent to me that MH is a very ill individual. We now have evidence suggesting that her suicidal ideation goes back to childhood. (WS poster who was childhood companion, see earlier in this thread.) The arrest history and LE and media statements lend support to this image of true mental instability.
I hope I will be forgiven for seeming to perpetuate cultural stereotypes, but I feel that her background of a religious and likely fundamentalist family structure suggests (in my mind at least) that there is a great possibility that these problems have been suppressed and minimized for years. Regardless of the cause, suppression equals exacerbation. Her illness has been fermenting over these years.
I'm not going to indulge in a dreary diversion into the subject of legal versus medical concepts of mental illness, how valid either may be, or whether or not MH was 'in her right mind', 'capable of knowing right from wrong', or any other such distractions.
The woman is clearly very sick.
I'm uncertain if we can truly consider her to be "lying" at any given time. I'm going to complicate this by saying that it doesn't really matter whether she "knows" that she is telling the "truth" or not. None of these concepts are useful in this context.
So I question whether or not she can be considered a KC "clone". Sociopathy is a label that is tossed around with great abandon, and misused nearly as much. Most fundamentally it is a condition describing people who, in their ability to empathize with and consider the needs and welfare of others 'are not like us'. It is not necessarily a criminal or even socially debilitating condition. It has already begun to be applied to MH. I don't believe (yet) that this is appropriate.
I have mostly thought of KC as an example of a sociopath whose inability to constrain herself to socially acceptable behavior led to her downfall and the utterly pointless death of a beautiful child. At this time I see this final tragic ending as the only similarity between the two women. Perhaps I will change my beliefs as our knowledge of the facts progresses, but I think that it is premature to go beyond that now.
Fortytwo, I just wanted to say thanks for such a beautifully written, highly insightful post.
Possible myspace for Amanda Huckaby? http://www.myspace.com/amanda031880
That is an interesting theory. Does anyone recall a Munchausen case that involved the child of someone else? I know there have been nurses who seemed to have Munchausen because they would harm patients in their care, and then be perceived as a hero for "finding them" just in time. Many of these cases came to light because a few of the victims actually died. I don't recall a case of Munchausen by "neighbors", however. Anyone else?
I had not heard that MH's child was on vac. Could be they didn't want the child questioned, knew things etc., and got her out of town. Interesting.
Looks like Amanda has another child (with or without Johnny?) This link has a could pictures: http://www.peekyou.com/Amanda_Mays/586676
Since MH did this to a 7-8 year old child, wonder what was happening to her at that age. If she has had suicidal thoughts since around that age, maybe that is why she chose a child that age. Of course, we don't know if she has done similar things to another child in past and what age they were. Is there a way to get history on who she was living with a child, mom, dad, grandparents?
Looks like Amanda has another child (with or without Johnny?) This link has a could pictures: http://www.peekyou.com/Amanda_Mays/586676
The info regarding MH's suicidal ideation comes from Emmabella, a high school friend of MH's who was on WS last night. Emmabella found some notes that MH had written her in, one of which describes suicidal ideation. In post number 172 in this thread, Emmabella wrote:
Here are some quotes from the letter dated 5/20/99:
"All I know is that I've also come up with another solution that would solve all my problems and I have seriously been thinking about it.... I have been thinking about this for a very long time and I'm very serious about it."
"When I was little, like sixth grade I used to pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning. I just wasn't meant to live I guess. No on wants me or even cares if I live or not and I'm just in the way anyways."
Haunting.
The part about MH's daughter being this is from this:
Huckaby lives with her grandparents because she suffers from severe allergies and wanted relatives' help to be able to have more time "to take better care of her daughter, who is super-thin and gets sick a lot," Browning said. She was named "class mother" of her daughter's preschool, friends said.
from this article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/12/MNJQ17163H.DTL&tsp=1
Regarding the survivors that you mentioned, I know the church that you are talking about. A representative of that organization posted the church they are speaking of is not the one led by Pastor Lawless, MH's grandfather. I'm sorry, I can't find that post though.
Possible myspace for Amanda Huckaby? http://www.myspace.com/amanda031880
I am not sure that is the same Amanda Mays Huckaby because she is using her maiden name, and she doesn't have Johnny listed as a relative. It can sometimes be amazing how many people have the same names. I also don't think MH's ex-husband is in anyway involved with this case. It will be interesting to hear his perspective on it, but I bet he is going to be just as surprised as everyone else seems to be.
Maybe. It would back up what I recall hearing that her child was not home the day Sandra went missing, too. If she was picked up the same day Sandra went missing to go on vacation with her grandmother...it would make sense. Perhaps she went to spend the night with her so they could leave early the next morning.I find it interesting that MH's mother and her 5-year-old daughter were scheduled to go on a planned vacation since the day after Sandra went missing. I wonder if that factored into Sandra's death? Was MH angry that her own mother was taking her 5-year old daughter on a trip and somehow felt neglected and left out - much as she did when she was 6 years old?
"Huckaby's father, Brian Lawless, said he was at a preacher's conference in Salinas when he heard news of his daughter's arrest. He informed his wife, Judy, who has been on a planned vacation in Northern California with Huckaby's 5-year-old daughter, Ma****n, since the day after Sandra went missing."
http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_12128530
Maybe the reason for the bed being there was because she was staying nights at the church?Just back from a day away with family and catching up. Looks like I have some interesting reading ahead. Something I caught in several articles that I just wanted to throw out there, Sheneman stated that Melissa spent an extrordinary amount of time at the church. I wonder why and what he meant by that statement?
Back to catching up.......
Thanks! I have already started out checking in Arkansas and Oklahoma for Johnny and his wife. No luck yet.From this article, it looks like MH was working hard to get child support out of the father of her 5 year old. Had we heard about any ties MH might have had to Topkea?
"A Topeka man may be able to provide some answers for law enforcement investigating the California woman who was arrested Saturday for allegedly killing an 8-year-old girl and stuffing her into a suitcase."
http://www.cjonline.com/news/2009-04-12/accused_calif_mom_has_area_ties
Looks like Amanda has another child (with or without Johnny?) This link has a couple pictures: http://www.peekyou.com/Amanda_Mays/586676
The info regarding MH's suicidal ideation comes from Emmabella, a high school friend of MH's who was on WS last night. Emmabella found some notes that MH had written her in, one of which describes suicidal ideation. In post number 172 in this thread, Emmabella wrote:
Here are some quotes from the letter dated 5/20/99:
"All I know is that I've also come up with another solution that would solve all my problems and I have seriously been thinking about it.... I have been thinking about this for a very long time and I'm very serious about it."
"When I was little, like sixth grade I used to pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning. I just wasn't meant to live I guess. No on wants me or even cares if I live or not and I'm just in the way anyways."
Haunting.
The part about MH's daughter being this is from this:
Huckaby lives with her grandparents because she suffers from severe allergies and wanted relatives' help to be able to have more time "to take better care of her daughter, who is super-thin and gets sick a lot," Browning said. She was named "class mother" of her daughter's preschool, friends said.
from this article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/12/MNJQ17163H.DTL&tsp=1
Regarding the survivors that you mentioned, I know the church that you are talking about. A representative of that organization posted the church they are speaking of is not the one led by Pastor Lawless, MH's grandfather. I'm sorry, I can't find that post though.
Maybe the reason for the bed being there was because she was staying nights at the church?