AP: Crying Calif mom arraigned on murder, rape charges

Crying Calif mom arraigned on murder, rape charges
By TERRY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer Terry Collins, Associated Press Writer 2 mins ago
STOCKTON, Calif. – A woman kidnapped, raped and murdered an 8-year-old girl and stuffed her body in a suitcase that was dumped in a pond just a few miles from home, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was charged with murdering her daughter's playmate, Sandra Cantu, in a gruesome crime that has shocked and terrified residents of Tracy, a Northern California city of about 78,000, 60 miles east of San Francisco.

Huckaby, who volunteered as a Sunday school teacher at her grandfather's Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy, appeared in a San Joaquin County courtroom for her arraignment in a red jumpsuit and shackles. She trembled and cried as a judge read the charge: one count of murder with the special circumstances of rape with a foreign object, lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 and murder in the course of a kidnapping.

The special circumstances mean Huckaby, if convicted, could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. District Attorney James Willett said Tuesday he has not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

During Tuesday's hearing, which lasted several minutes, public defender Ellen Schwarzenberg asked Judge Richard A. Vlavianos for a gag order in the case. Vlavianos said that question would be answered by his colleague, Judge Terrence Van Oss, who would be presiding over future hearings.

Vlavianos ordered Huckaby to return to court April 24, when she's expected to enter a plea.

Family members of the defendant and victim filed quietly into and out of the courtroom Tuesday, declining to speak with reporters. Many cried softly during the hearing and became especially emotional when the rape allegation was read.
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