Melissa Huckaby, 28, a Sunday school teacher at Clover Road Baptist Church, has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sandra Cantu. The police took her into custody after she voluntarily went to them for questioning, which reportedly lasted nearly five hours. She is being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail, with an arraignment set for Tuesday. If you ask me, she should certainly be denied bond because of what she did to this poor child. As sad as this is, it is very rare for a woman to kill a child, so I would like to know the motive for this senseless killing.
Huckaby had previously told the Tracy Press that Sandra visited her home to play with her daughter March 27, the day she disappeared. She also said she had left her suitcase in the driveway that day, and that it was missing. Police said that large, dark-colored suitcase was the one in which Sandra's body was found April 8, submerged in an irrigation pond in Tracy. This woman was obviously misguided into thinking the cops would not have made a connection between the suitcase and her.
She brought untold attention to the church and her grandfather Pastor Clifford Lane Lawless, which was the subject of a police search. Huckaby taught Sunday school at the church and lived with Lawless in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park that also was Sandra's home. Of course, I won't be surprised if an insanity plea is brought in this case. This was reprehensible and I am glad that the accused killer was found alive and not dead. If she is proven guilty, she ought to meet the same fate as this little girl. Sandra Cantu has gone too soon. The church is supposed to be a refuge, not a trap for this little girl. The last person you would expect to kidnap and murder someone is a Sunday school teacher. But, the Bible did talk about wolves in sheep's clothing.
