Wednesday

Sunday School Teacher Charged with Rape and Murder Of Sandra Cantu

Police ask for additional tips, information in 8 year-old's killing - CNN
Police are searching for any other alleged victims of a Sunday school teacher accused of raping and killing an 8-year-old girl from Tracy, California.

"We are asking the public if they have any indication that any of their children may have had inappropriate contact with [the suspect] to contact us," Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said Tuesday evening. "There has been no indication that this has happened. But she is a Sunday school teacher and did have contact with children, so that is why we are asking."

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, the performance of a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14 and rape by instrument.

23 comments:

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

I am so angry knowing the torture that this little girl went through that I really hope the other prisoners get a piece of Huckaby in Jail before this monster gets executed. Don't think for a minute that she will always be in protective custody. For something like this... the Prison Guards just may be looking the other way for a minute or two.

mom said...

Somehow I haven't run across the article that says exactly what she did to this child...but in any event, I second MPPs sentiments.

What really tugs at my heartstrings for some reason is the thought of this child putting on her Hello Kitty t-shirt that morning...probably excited to be wearing her pretty pink t-shirt...so innocent...and she was skipping down the street in the surveilance video...happy and care free...and then some f****** a hole just decides to take her whole life away...and for nothing but her own sick gratification. I am sitting here remembering all of the mornings I spent with my own young kids choosing what superhero shirt, or Pooh Bear or Lucky Puppy to wear for the boys...or whether my daughter wanted to wear her Simba the Lion dress, or her Minnie Mouse turtle neck or her Princess t-shirt...and what joy such a simple thing can bring to a little child...and to their mom just because she can be there to see their joy and be a part of such innocent wonderful times. And now this girl has no life left and her mom has no little girl to love, and no innocent precious moments to share together again... EVER.

I try to practice forgiveness...but in these cases I have such a hard time...OK mostly impossible really. I just am so filled with rage that people do this shit.

DenverNanny said...

MPP: I sure as hell hope so!!

Village said...

This type of thing doesn't happen in a vacuum. What happened to Huckaby in her childhood? I saw her in court, and I thought she was crying for what happened to her. I could see her pain. Can we bring her torturers to justice as well?

Don't misunderstand. I am for the death penalty for child abusers, whether the body of the child dies or not. But this perpetrator most likely learned this behavior because it happened to her.

seattle said...

it probably did happen to her.

but there are no excuses. she does not ever need to be around children, her own or anybody elses.

they did not release a motive yet though they do think the death was accidental. they do not yet know how she died. toxicology reports take up to 8 weeks.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

I'm sorry, but everyday there are people victimized by others, but they don't go out and rape and torture little girls for their own sexual gratification... I have ZERO sympathy for this monster.

No excuse said...

I honestly don't care what happened to this monster as a child. She wasn't killed. And whatever happened to her, this little girl did not do it!

My father was abused horribly by his father, until he moved out of the house. He watched his mother get beat at the hands of his father until he was big enough to defend her. He has never abused me or my brother, or beat my mother.

I don't care what happened, she knew it was wrong. She's a full grown damn adult.

just another mommy said...

The thing we have to remember is this lady has not been convicted yet. We do not know whether she did this, whether she is covering for the actual perpetrator or whether she is just totally innocent in this whole mess. Let's not jump on the "kill her" bandwagon until she is convicted or at least until there is some actual evidence linking her exclusively to the crime.

No excuse said...

If she is indeed "covering" for the real murderer, then I believe she should accept the same punishment.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department are stopping short of saying that they have a confession from Melissa Huckaby. She has been on "suicide watch" and is reported to appear "remorseful"... as far as I'm concerned, in this case, she is guilty until proven innocent.

Anonymous said...
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my moniker said...

at some point you have to take responsibility for your actions and stop blaming your past...abuse during childhood is no excuse for raping and murdering anyone! I'm so sick of people who try to rationalize things with psychology babble bullsh*t!

Jane Doe said...

I am disturbed by the fact that they are reporting her as being remorseful or talking about her quivering lip,her tears or possible mental issues. They don't go there with men who rape, torture and kill children. Should the media choose to continue to follow this case, I think they should stick to the investigation, the victim and the fmaily's pain.

mom said...

This is one of the big things wrong with our country, IMO. We have been taught that nobody is "really" responsible for what they do. When somebody does something really heinous, it seems so many times the first thing that is asked is, "What must have happened in the poor, poor perpetrator's life to make them unable to stop themselves from doing this? What unnamed person from how many generations back is the REAL responsible party for this? Isn't it so wonderful to know that now, finally, this perpetrator will receive the vindication and treatment he/she deserves for whatever terrible thing happened in their past that is making them so dysfunctional today?"

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? What ever happened to having sympathy for the victim instead of the perpetrator?

We have taken this "Innocent until guilty" principle WAAAAY too far. I think we're very far beyond the original intention of that principle was meant to do. And don't forget, innocent until proven guilty in the law is completely different from innocent or guilty in reality. Just because our government tells us somebody is innocent until our government has determined their guilt or innocence has no bearing on the reality of guilt or innocence. Nobody will be punished in our country until they have had a trial, that's for sure. But, unfortunately, the trial results are not always reflective of innocence or guilt in reality. Does the fact that a jury erred make OJ innocent in reality? No. When DNA evidence proves a convicted person was actually innocent, does it mean they were guilty in reality during the time they were incarcerated? No.

If the evidence is there that this woman did this, and she is expressing remorse, I think it's probably fairly safe to assume she did this. She also tried to kill herself in advance of even being arrested. If the slow speed car chase is there....what are we to think? We can be mad now if we want to.

All that SHOULD matter to us is that a little girl is dead...and who knows what she suffered at the hands of somebody she should have been able to trust. My husband says that this child was the playmate of the daughter of the probable killer. It's beyond despicable. We should have sympathy for the child and her family and disdain for the killer...PERIOD. There is NO EXCUSE GOOD ENOUGH to excuse the killing or molestation of a child. NONE.

mom said...

You know, this also reminds me of the case of Carly Faye Tucker, who hacked two sleeping people to death with an axe. In prison, on death row, she claimed to have found God, had a couple of videos made of herself singing religious songs, got them play time on the national news, and got the whole country riled up in an effort to have her death sentence reversed...because she was a woman and now, suddenly, a sympathetic person.

I'm not saying she deserved to die (I have mixed feelings on the death penalty to begin with)...but good grief the whole spectacle made me sick. Nobody cared about the victims at all. It was all about sweet, loving, victimized Carla by the time it was over. The scene outside the prison when she was executed cast the family of the people Carla murdered as the villains and Carla as the innocent victim. It was sickening to see.

chick said...

There is, apparently, another woman named Rebecca Huckaby living in the same town, who also has a 5 yo daughter and teaches Sunday School.

She has been getting death threats.

It was suggested this morning that the reason male murderers are often referred to by their full three names (John Wayne Gacy, etc.) is so that people with the same first and last names don't experience what the other Rebecca Huckaby is experiencing.

So I wonder if the media will start referring to the (alleged) killer by her full name...I guess female killers in cases like this are rare enough that they didn't think to do that from the start.

Yes, that was meandering. Sorry.

Ultimately, what may or may not have happened to RH in the past does not excuse her from responsibility for her actions against Sandra. I have to admit though, that I do wonder if there may have been a 2nd party involved (perhaps RH's grandfather?) and for whatever reason RH is taking the fall.

Regardless, I hope that if RH is guilty she gets her due punishment, and if she needs mental health services that she is allowed to have them while in prison.

Nanny Taxi said...

Only The Lord can judge. But I think he'll turn his head for this one.

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Jane, I agree 100%. The same thought came to my mind when I read that she was remorseful. And to Mom, thank you, because that's the reason I posted it... why would an innocent person try to commit suicide or be remorseful?

HQ said...

Hi chick :)
Just wanted to say that the killers name is Melissa Huckaby, not Rebecca.

chick said...

Oy...I knew I was guessing wrong! I should have gone back to check!

Tucker said...

Just because our government tells us somebody is innocent until our government has determined their guilt or innocence has no bearing on the reality of guilt or innocence.That's why a defendant is declared guilty or not guilty rather than guilty or innocent. It's not just semantics; a verdict of not guilty just means that the person's guilt was unable to be proven within the parameters of the law... it does not mean that the law has proven them innocent.

mom said...

Fair enough Tucker. That actually makes me happy. But that's not, I'm afraid, the way our society percieves a "not guilty" verdict.

My point was that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's almost certainly a duck.

I get tired of people touting "innocent until proven guilty" when it's pretty darn evident that somebody has committed a horrible crime.

If I want to be mad at somebody for hurting a child...I want to be mad without somebody reprimanding with "remember, she's guilty until proven innocent." To them I say...unless she's actually GUILTY. I don't need to wait for the government to confirm for me what is plainly obvious.

ericsmom said...

I want to know if this woman abused her own daughter. I wouldn't be surprised if she has.

I agree with MPP on letting the prisoners get to her.

And Mom I was reading what you wrote about helping to pick shirts out for your kids. It reminded me of today. I had to get my son some clothes (spring). And I was showing him in the store the different ones. He told me what ones he liked. With a big Yes. It was really cute to see.