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her. Police continued to review the footage from the surveillance camera installed outside Cantu's home, which showed Cantu walking in the direction of
Huckaby's residence at 3:54 p.m. on March 27. The camera had captured Huckaby's SUV driving in the opposite direction eight minutes later. At approximately the same time, Huckaby called the trailer park manager to report that a suitcase made by the manufacturer
388:
243:. On Friday, March 27, 2009, Cantu played at a friend's house after school until approximately 4:00 p.m., when she returned home. She later left home saying that she was going to play at another friend's house. When she did not return for dinner, she was reported missing to the local police at 7:53 p.m.
345:
After the body was found in the suitcase
Huckaby had reported stolen, investigators began taking a closer look at Huckaby's behavior. They took notice of "the unusual fact that a woman who reported losing a suitcase should be the one woman out of everyone in this complex who should happen to find a
376:. Huckaby was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. At her sentencing, Huckaby said, "I still cannot understand why I did what I did. This is a question I will struggle with for the rest of my life." The prosecutor in the case speculated that she killed Cantu for attention.
354:
at the irrigation pond on their property at
Bacchetti Road and Whitehall Road between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on March 27. They reportedly recognized Huckaby on television. The witness described her as "distracted and hurried", and she told him, "I just had to pee real quick" when he saw
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had been stolen from her trailer. Eighty-five minutes later, a surveillance camera located outside the parking lot of the church at which
Huckaby taught Sunday school captured her driving away from the church. Thirty minutes after that, she was captured returning to the church. It was during this
313:
teacher who also lived in the
Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park and whose daughter was a friend of Cantu. On the day Cantu disappeared, Huckaby sent a text to Cantu's mother that said "tell the police that I had something stolen today around 4 p.m. I don't know if that makes a difference or not".
227:. On April 10, police arrested a local woman, 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby (born February 23, 1981), and charged her with the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Cantu. Huckaby pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Cantu and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2010.
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30-minute time frame that she was spotted at the irrigation pond. FBI agents searched the church and collected a rolling pin from the kitchen which reportedly had a "bloody smudge" on it as well as a bent handle, authorities said. The rolling pin tested positive for Cantu's DNA.
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near the family home. The footage, which showed Cantu crossing the street in front of her home before moving out of frame, was played on national news stations. A search of the mobile home complex was conducted without results and the
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The next day, during a vigil for Cantu, Huckaby approached police and FBI agents to report that she had found a note on the ground. They reported she was "very agitated, crying, hyperventilating". The note read: "Cantu locked in
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On April 10, 2009, Huckaby was arrested and charged with the murder of Cantu. She received further charges regarding the druggings of a 7-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man; these charges were dropped as part of a
342:. Prior to the discovery of the body, Huckaby was not a prime suspect. She was interviewed on multiple occasions, but her behavior was assumed to be attention-seeking, rather than evidence of involvement.
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One early suspect was a local man who was witnessed kissing Cantu on the lips two years earlier at a local swimming pool, when she was six. He was interviewed and cleared of any involvement.
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285:. An autopsy established that Cantu had been beaten and sexually abused with a foreign object before being smothered, while toxicology results showed that she had ingested
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309:. Upon finding Cantu's body, police became suspicious of a number of coincidences regarding Melissa Huckaby, a 28-year-old
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note that reports that the stolen suitcase was used to hide the child's body". The police got another lead when a retired
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219:(March 8, 2001 – March 27, 2009) was an American girl who gained national attention after she disappeared from
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330:] Bacchetti Road and Whitehall Road. Witness." Huckaby had a history of mental health problems, including
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that FBI experts assigned to the case was a white male aged between 25 and 40 with a criminal history of
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Sandra Renee Cantu, eight at the time of her death, lived at
Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in
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were brought in to search for Cantu. A $ 22,000 reward was offered for information in the case.
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239:, with her mother, grandparents and three older siblings. She was a second grade student at
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255:(FBI) was called in to assist on the case. Over the course of the weekend of March 28–29,
223:, on March 27, 2009. Her body was discovered ten days later inside a suitcase in a local
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On April 6, a suitcase containing Cantu's body was found during routine draining of an
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580:"FBI re-questions man they say admits to kissing missing California girl"
706:"INSIDE STORY: Clues to Why Melissa Huckaby Murdered an 8-Year-Old Girl"
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and his wife notified police that they had spotted
Huckaby and her
599:"Sandra Cantu found in a suitcase; police closing in on a suspect"
813:"Teacher guilty of murdering 8-year-old; other charges dropped"
326:
320:
647:"Melissa Huckaby Used Noose to Kill 8-Year-old Sandra Cantu"
898:
896:
Transcripts: HLN Series "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell"
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America's Most Wanted | Sandra Cantu - Missing Child File
673:"A calculated killing: The case against Melissa Huckaby"
478:"Melissa Huckaby Pleads Guilty to Sandra Cantu's Murder"
753:"Sunday School teacher charged with kidnapping, murder"
549:"California woman pleads guilty in Sandra Cantu murder"
727:"New Documents Give Gruesome Details on Cantu's Death"
499:"New Documents Give Gruesome Details on Cantu's Death"
426:"Crying mom charged with cantu murder, rape :/"
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838:"Update: Huckaby's plea brings sudden end to case"
751:Vives, Ruben; Rong-Gong II, Lin (April 12, 2009).
497:Hernandez, Jodi; Preuitt • •, Lori (2010-06-14).
623:"Tracy girl's killer apologizes, gets life term"
725:Hernandez, Jodi; Preuitt, Lori (14 June 2010).
671:Simerman, John; Casmi, Sophia (June 19, 2010).
451:"Former Teacher Confesses to Murder of Girl, 8"
372:and kidnapping of Cantu in order to avoid the
324:] suitcase. Thrown in water onn [
8:
780:Fagan, Kevin; Allday, Erin (12 April 2009).
782:"Woman, 28, jailed in Sandra Cantu slaying"
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476:Ferran, Lee; Netter, Sarah (May 10, 2010).
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972:Child sexual abuse in the United States
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368:in which Huckaby pleaded guilty to the
246:Police collected footage recorded by a
937:March 2009 crimes in the United States
241:Melville S. Jacobson Elementary School
531:"The Frantic Search for Sandra Cantu"
7:
957:Sexual assaults in the United States
846:. Tracy, California: Tank Town Media
932:Incidents of violence against girls
942:Missing person cases in California
645:Goldman, Russell (June 14, 2010).
432:. Associated Press. April 14, 2009
402:List of murdered American children
25:
967:Child murder in the United States
922:2009 murders in the United States
836:Justin, Lafferty (10 May 2010).
704:Breuer, Howard (June 27, 2010).
529:Netter, Sarah (March 31, 2009).
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231:Disappearance and body discovery
206:Life imprisonment without parole
621:Lee, Henry K. (June 15, 2010).
597:Netter, Sarah (April 7, 2009).
332:borderline personality disorder
253:Federal Bureau of Investigation
927:Deaths by person in California
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790:. San Francisco, California:
27:Murder of young American girl
557:. 2010-05-10. Archived from
792:Hearst Communications, Inc.
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952:Rapes in the United States
912:2000s missing person cases
977:Rape with foreign objects
761:. Los Angeles, California
273:California Highway Patrol
210:
186:
39:
878:retrieved April 7, 2009.
787:San Francisco Chronicle
113:Tracy, California, U.S.
85:Tracy, California, U.S.
407:Killing of Lola Daviet
94:Homicidal asphyxiation
887:Sandra Cantu articles
678:San Jose Mercury News
198:Kidnapping and murder
131:Daniel Cantu (father)
129:Maria Chavez (mother)
947:Murder in California
265:all-terrain vehicles
370:first-degree murder
248:surveillance camera
91:Cause of death
917:2009 in California
627:San Francisco Gate
217:Sandra Renee Cantu
105:, California, U.S.
103:San Joaquin County
53:Sandra Renee Cantu
962:Tracy, California
758:Los Angeles Times
394:California portal
307:child pornography
237:Tracy, California
221:Tracy, California
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161:February 23, 1981
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67:Tracy, California
16:(Redirected from
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848:. Retrieved
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683:the original
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80:(2009-03-27)
34:Sandra Cantu
843:Tracy Press
357:Eddie Bauer
348:U.S. Marine
257:police dogs
906:Categories
891:SFGate.com
876:Legacy.com
795:Retrieved
565:2021-06-14
508:2023-12-19
436:2014-03-04
413:References
287:Alprazolam
269:helicopter
172:California
157:1981-02-23
59:2001-03-08
850:1 October
797:1 October
765:1 October
736:March 21,
461:August 2,
271:from the
182:In prison
126:Parent(s)
868:Obituary
689:March 3,
651:ABC News
603:ABC News
584:Fox News
535:ABC News
483:ABC News
455:ABC News
430:Fox News
380:See also
870:by the
299:profile
711:People
338:, and
267:and a
69:, U.S.
889:from
852:2017
799:2017
767:2017
738:2019
691:2014
463:2017
297:The
147:Born
75:Died
49:Born
874:on
352:SUV
327:sic
321:sic
305:or
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