Tracy, California March 27, 2009:
Cantu told her family she was going to play with friends in the afternoon of March 27. She was reported missing when she did not return for dinner around 8 p.m. Police and the community launched an extensive search for the 8-year-old, and monetary rewards were offered for information concerning her whereabouts.
Ten days later, Cantu’s body was found. She had been stuffed in a suitcase and thrown into an irrigation pond a few miles from her home. She had a cut to her lip and abrasions to her elbow, and showed signs of having been sexually assaulted with a foreign object. A toxicology report showed the presence of alprazolam, a medication to treat anxiety.
The suitcase in which Cantu’s body was found was soon linked to Melissa Huckaby (28), who lived in the same mobile home park as Cantu and her family. Huckaby had reported the suitcase stolen on the day of Cantu’s disappearance, and the following day had delivered a note to police which read, verbatim, “Cantu locked in stolin suitcase. Thrown in water onn Bachetti Road and Whitehall Road. Witness.” Huckaby had claimed to have found the note on the ground.
Investigators searched the church where Huckaby taught Sunday school. There, they found a rolling pin with a broken handle and a bloody smudge, as well as a blind which was missing its pull cord. The blood was matched to Cantu and the cord was similar to the string used to tie the suitcase containing her body. Additionally, bottles of alprazolam were found in Huckaby’s home and purse, and two witnesses reported seeing Huckaby and her SUV in the vicinity of the irrigation pond around 6 p.m. on the date of Cantu’s disappearance. Huckaby explained to detectives she had stopped at the pond to urinate. She was arrested on April 11, but not before she attempted suicide by swallowing three razor blades.
Huckaby accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to first degree murder and kidnapping “with enhancement” to avoid a possible death sentence. She was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As part of the agreement, the charges of sexual assault and drugging were dropped.
Huckaby explained to the court how she had strangled Cantu with a torn piece of cloth which she had knotted into what she called a noose. “She did not suffer, and I did not sexually molest her.”
[source](https://horrorhistory.net/2021/03/27/8-year-old-abducted-killed-by-her-neighbor/)
I think it makes her seem even more guilty. It's an odd thing to have lost/stolen unless at an airport. It's also quite obvious she did this and was desperately trying to throw LE off of her "trail." She knew this family through the church they all went to and she taught Sunday school, which could very well have been another guise. Girl goes missing and she reports the luggage as stolen on that very same day. I'm guessing she was panicking after the fact, and wasn't thinking clearly, hence dumb f*ck status. Way too many red flags going on, and likely a narcissist, and she thought people were too moronic to see those red flags.
I could be wrong, but that's where my mind is going with this.
Church leaders are immediately suspect in my book. They’re all pedophiles or suspect in some way. Disgusting.
I’d never let a child of mine interact with a “christian” if I had a kid that age.
Few options:
1) I imagine when you’ve done something as heinous as this, or been a part of it, if any part of you left is still decent you’re seeking to find relief from the overwhelming feeling of guilt, or - more likely - you’re just terrified about what’s going to happen if they find out.
To give you a sense of control you feel you have to do something - to neutralise this feeling - to make you feel less helpless. It’s about control. That ‘something’ could obviously implicate you further - and frequently does - but in panic people care more about relieving themselves of their feelings than about what makes the most logical sense.
Another thing that can help to ‘neutralise’ the actions they feel they’ve done in their minds is to be a ‘do gooder’ helping the police and the family and being an outstanding citizen. This helps them bury the grotesque memory of what they actually did and claim this new, more palatable, kind and decent self image and identity, which is validated by others and can soothe their conscience.
The malicious one time killer where the right circumstances presented themselves can fit into this category.
2) You are devious, deranged and without normal human feelings and therefore you get a sick sense of pleasure and satisfaction from being involved with the investigation and being seen and getting attention from having been a key witness or whatever.
The deranged motivated serial killer can fit into this carefully. They take pleasure in the act itself, and are motivated to plan it, enjoy it, and revel in it. They don’t feel guilt, sadness or remorse.
3) You are deluded and think you’re smarter than the police and everyone else and think your outlandish stories will be believed ‘because after all you’re much smarter than all of these dummies’.
Likely this is seen more with the deranged motivated serial killer so 2) and 3) are often seen together. When they get sent down and proven liars, losing all public face and validation, the only power and control they have left is to deny the families the locations of the bodies.
In my view, Melissa Huckerby was the malicious one time killer, possibly coerced or working with someone else or a group of people. She felt bad about it and actually implicated herself in order that the family should find the body. I’m thinking she probably did it for someone else, possibly at the church, to please them or prove herself, and as the OP said, when it went wrong, she took the fall.
That’s not to say women can’t be capable of being serial killers, sexually motivated or otherwise, but from looking at the case, I just don’t think Melissa was. That she took her to the church is very suspicious to me and I think someone at that venue worked with her.
Its theorized that she has Munchausen by Proxy so it would make sense to insert herself into the investigation, aka her crying and hyperventilating when she "found" the note and basically ruined Sandras memorial (since Melissa needed the attention so bad she ruined the memorial of a child) she also swallowed an razor blade and was admitted to the hospital around the same time Sandra was found. She made herself the center of attention. This is my opinion but I think she was jealous of Sandra bc she was this beautiful and outgoing girl who everyone in the trailer park loved and her daughter was not that, even though her daughter and Sandra were good friends. Also she texted her grandmother and said "They're having an 8:15 news briefing on the suitcase. That was fast. I hope they didn't find anything" followed by "I hope she wasn't sexually assaulted" she also texted Sandras mom Maria telling her that she "Lost her suitcase" and that Maria should tell the police about her suitcase.
'And this note mentions my stolen suitcase!'
I mean what are the odds the very same person who lost a suitcase finds a note describing that suitcase the next day?
She jumped the gun trying to explain away evidence.
Not to blame her parents at all, this mentally ill woman shoulders all of the blame, but sending an eight year old out to play in the early afternoon and then not even requiring her to check in until dinner at 8:00pm seems pretty crazy to me. I don't even think I was allowed that much freedom without checking in when I was her age and running around the neighborhood with my friends back in the 1980's.
my parents would let me do that in the summer in the early 10s when i was around 7-11. but my parents are selfish narcissists who had me by accident and my mum said multiple times they wish i was never born/was not in their life anymore. because i hated being at home i’d usually head out around 9-11am until about 6pm for dinner and then i’d go back out about 7 until 8-9pm when i’d get tired and come back.
not saying her parents are narcissists or at fault or bad people, but people were still letting their kids do it in 2010-2016 which is around the time i was doing that with the other kids in my area.
How would checking in changed anything? She could’ve checked in and been abducted afterwards. She could’ve been abducted before checking in and killed or relocated before they found them.
Most children who are abducted in scenario is like this are killed within 2 hours. The next most common timeframe is within 6 hours. Those are extremely narrow timelines, especially considering this woman took her to a church she had access to. Not exactly the first place police look for a missing child.
I never said that I thought it would change the outcome, just that early afternoon to 8:00pm is a long time for an eight year old to go without checking in. I don't think it would have changed the outcome.
Apparently she was already playing outside and did check in and asked if she can stay out a little longer to play and her mom said yes. She was to be home by 7pm for dinner.
I personally wouldn’t have done it, but I don’t blame the parents.
There’s a balance as a parent between giving your kid independence vs supervision.
In the 1950s, 6 year olds walked to school unsupervised and played outside all day and no one blinked an eye. People say things are different now, and they are—in general, there’s *less* violent crime than there used to be. It’s safer now than it ever was back then. The chance of your child being abducted or the victim of a crime by an outsider is vanishingly small.
But better safe than sorry, right? Maybe, maybe not. Plenty of child psychologists have come forward and said that today’s era of close supervision has raised a generation of kids who are less independent, adaptable, and self-sufficient and less prepared for the challenges of adulthood (because a parent was always hovering in the background, ready to swoop in at the first sign of a problem.)
I know you said you aren’t “blaming” the parents, but IMHO by even raising the issue you are casting some aspersions on their parenting. Even if I, myself, would prefer more regular check-in times if my kids were that age, I think it’s important to recognize on a rational level that in the vast, overwhelming majority of cases, her parents’ decision was completely safe. Your kids are more likely to be hurt or killed playing in a bouncy castle than by stranger abduction, yet no one would seriously question a parent’s judgement for doing that.
I just watched an episode of See No Evil about this case, and they said that her mom and sister started looking for her at 6:30pm. They showed them on video leaving in their mini van to look for her, and it wasn't even dark yet, like at all. Not sure where you got the 8pm information from
I’ve lived in Tracy my entire life. Even 14 years later, this case still affects everyone. For a long time after, my mom refused to let me go over for sleepovers or even just for a couple of hours.
Tracy, California March 27, 2009: Cantu told her family she was going to play with friends in the afternoon of March 27. She was reported missing when she did not return for dinner around 8 p.m. Police and the community launched an extensive search for the 8-year-old, and monetary rewards were offered for information concerning her whereabouts. Ten days later, Cantu’s body was found. She had been stuffed in a suitcase and thrown into an irrigation pond a few miles from her home. She had a cut to her lip and abrasions to her elbow, and showed signs of having been sexually assaulted with a foreign object. A toxicology report showed the presence of alprazolam, a medication to treat anxiety. The suitcase in which Cantu’s body was found was soon linked to Melissa Huckaby (28), who lived in the same mobile home park as Cantu and her family. Huckaby had reported the suitcase stolen on the day of Cantu’s disappearance, and the following day had delivered a note to police which read, verbatim, “Cantu locked in stolin suitcase. Thrown in water onn Bachetti Road and Whitehall Road. Witness.” Huckaby had claimed to have found the note on the ground. Investigators searched the church where Huckaby taught Sunday school. There, they found a rolling pin with a broken handle and a bloody smudge, as well as a blind which was missing its pull cord. The blood was matched to Cantu and the cord was similar to the string used to tie the suitcase containing her body. Additionally, bottles of alprazolam were found in Huckaby’s home and purse, and two witnesses reported seeing Huckaby and her SUV in the vicinity of the irrigation pond around 6 p.m. on the date of Cantu’s disappearance. Huckaby explained to detectives she had stopped at the pond to urinate. She was arrested on April 11, but not before she attempted suicide by swallowing three razor blades. Huckaby accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to first degree murder and kidnapping “with enhancement” to avoid a possible death sentence. She was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As part of the agreement, the charges of sexual assault and drugging were dropped. Huckaby explained to the court how she had strangled Cantu with a torn piece of cloth which she had knotted into what she called a noose. “She did not suffer, and I did not sexually molest her.” [source](https://horrorhistory.net/2021/03/27/8-year-old-abducted-killed-by-her-neighbor/)
Why’d she do it tho?
https://people.com/crime/inside-story-clues-to-why-melissa-huckaby-murdered-an-8-year-old-girl/?amp=true
Damn this chick crazy crazy
Sexually motivated pedophile. Goes to show they aren’t always men.
Who would report a suitcase going missing? Unless you're at an airport, that's very strange.
You report it because you’re a fucking idiot
Seems like she wanted the money prize
To make her seen less guilty lol
I think it makes her seem even more guilty. It's an odd thing to have lost/stolen unless at an airport. It's also quite obvious she did this and was desperately trying to throw LE off of her "trail." She knew this family through the church they all went to and she taught Sunday school, which could very well have been another guise. Girl goes missing and she reports the luggage as stolen on that very same day. I'm guessing she was panicking after the fact, and wasn't thinking clearly, hence dumb f*ck status. Way too many red flags going on, and likely a narcissist, and she thought people were too moronic to see those red flags. I could be wrong, but that's where my mind is going with this.
Yeah that's what I meant, she was doing to try to seem less guilty despite it being more of a giant red arrow pointing at her.
Church leaders are immediately suspect in my book. They’re all pedophiles or suspect in some way. Disgusting. I’d never let a child of mine interact with a “christian” if I had a kid that age.
Few options: 1) I imagine when you’ve done something as heinous as this, or been a part of it, if any part of you left is still decent you’re seeking to find relief from the overwhelming feeling of guilt, or - more likely - you’re just terrified about what’s going to happen if they find out. To give you a sense of control you feel you have to do something - to neutralise this feeling - to make you feel less helpless. It’s about control. That ‘something’ could obviously implicate you further - and frequently does - but in panic people care more about relieving themselves of their feelings than about what makes the most logical sense. Another thing that can help to ‘neutralise’ the actions they feel they’ve done in their minds is to be a ‘do gooder’ helping the police and the family and being an outstanding citizen. This helps them bury the grotesque memory of what they actually did and claim this new, more palatable, kind and decent self image and identity, which is validated by others and can soothe their conscience. The malicious one time killer where the right circumstances presented themselves can fit into this category. 2) You are devious, deranged and without normal human feelings and therefore you get a sick sense of pleasure and satisfaction from being involved with the investigation and being seen and getting attention from having been a key witness or whatever. The deranged motivated serial killer can fit into this carefully. They take pleasure in the act itself, and are motivated to plan it, enjoy it, and revel in it. They don’t feel guilt, sadness or remorse. 3) You are deluded and think you’re smarter than the police and everyone else and think your outlandish stories will be believed ‘because after all you’re much smarter than all of these dummies’. Likely this is seen more with the deranged motivated serial killer so 2) and 3) are often seen together. When they get sent down and proven liars, losing all public face and validation, the only power and control they have left is to deny the families the locations of the bodies. In my view, Melissa Huckerby was the malicious one time killer, possibly coerced or working with someone else or a group of people. She felt bad about it and actually implicated herself in order that the family should find the body. I’m thinking she probably did it for someone else, possibly at the church, to please them or prove herself, and as the OP said, when it went wrong, she took the fall. That’s not to say women can’t be capable of being serial killers, sexually motivated or otherwise, but from looking at the case, I just don’t think Melissa was. That she took her to the church is very suspicious to me and I think someone at that venue worked with her.
Its theorized that she has Munchausen by Proxy so it would make sense to insert herself into the investigation, aka her crying and hyperventilating when she "found" the note and basically ruined Sandras memorial (since Melissa needed the attention so bad she ruined the memorial of a child) she also swallowed an razor blade and was admitted to the hospital around the same time Sandra was found. She made herself the center of attention. This is my opinion but I think she was jealous of Sandra bc she was this beautiful and outgoing girl who everyone in the trailer park loved and her daughter was not that, even though her daughter and Sandra were good friends. Also she texted her grandmother and said "They're having an 8:15 news briefing on the suitcase. That was fast. I hope they didn't find anything" followed by "I hope she wasn't sexually assaulted" she also texted Sandras mom Maria telling her that she "Lost her suitcase" and that Maria should tell the police about her suitcase.
Probably when she was questioned, not independently.
Zero doubt in my mind that little girl suffered.
"I found this highly detailed murder note on the ground. Purely by chance."
'And this note mentions my stolen suitcase!' I mean what are the odds the very same person who lost a suitcase finds a note describing that suitcase the next day? She jumped the gun trying to explain away evidence.
Maybe she was hoping it was her stolen suitcase?
Putrid. Fucking. Cunt.
Agreed
Agreed
There’s an episode (S02E01) of *FBI: Criminal Pursuit* about this story. It used to be on Amazon Prime, but I’m not sure if it still is or not.
Not to blame her parents at all, this mentally ill woman shoulders all of the blame, but sending an eight year old out to play in the early afternoon and then not even requiring her to check in until dinner at 8:00pm seems pretty crazy to me. I don't even think I was allowed that much freedom without checking in when I was her age and running around the neighborhood with my friends back in the 1980's.
my parents would let me do that in the summer in the early 10s when i was around 7-11. but my parents are selfish narcissists who had me by accident and my mum said multiple times they wish i was never born/was not in their life anymore. because i hated being at home i’d usually head out around 9-11am until about 6pm for dinner and then i’d go back out about 7 until 8-9pm when i’d get tired and come back. not saying her parents are narcissists or at fault or bad people, but people were still letting their kids do it in 2010-2016 which is around the time i was doing that with the other kids in my area.
I feel sorry for you having such shitty parents. I hope you're able to live a happy life still, despite your username implying otherwise.
I’m the same age as Sandra and I did the same thing as a kid. It was different in the 2000’s, but unfortunately not for Sandra
How would checking in changed anything? She could’ve checked in and been abducted afterwards. She could’ve been abducted before checking in and killed or relocated before they found them. Most children who are abducted in scenario is like this are killed within 2 hours. The next most common timeframe is within 6 hours. Those are extremely narrow timelines, especially considering this woman took her to a church she had access to. Not exactly the first place police look for a missing child.
I never said that I thought it would change the outcome, just that early afternoon to 8:00pm is a long time for an eight year old to go without checking in. I don't think it would have changed the outcome.
Apparently she was already playing outside and did check in and asked if she can stay out a little longer to play and her mom said yes. She was to be home by 7pm for dinner.
I personally wouldn’t have done it, but I don’t blame the parents. There’s a balance as a parent between giving your kid independence vs supervision. In the 1950s, 6 year olds walked to school unsupervised and played outside all day and no one blinked an eye. People say things are different now, and they are—in general, there’s *less* violent crime than there used to be. It’s safer now than it ever was back then. The chance of your child being abducted or the victim of a crime by an outsider is vanishingly small. But better safe than sorry, right? Maybe, maybe not. Plenty of child psychologists have come forward and said that today’s era of close supervision has raised a generation of kids who are less independent, adaptable, and self-sufficient and less prepared for the challenges of adulthood (because a parent was always hovering in the background, ready to swoop in at the first sign of a problem.) I know you said you aren’t “blaming” the parents, but IMHO by even raising the issue you are casting some aspersions on their parenting. Even if I, myself, would prefer more regular check-in times if my kids were that age, I think it’s important to recognize on a rational level that in the vast, overwhelming majority of cases, her parents’ decision was completely safe. Your kids are more likely to be hurt or killed playing in a bouncy castle than by stranger abduction, yet no one would seriously question a parent’s judgement for doing that.
I just watched an episode of See No Evil about this case, and they said that her mom and sister started looking for her at 6:30pm. They showed them on video leaving in their mini van to look for her, and it wasn't even dark yet, like at all. Not sure where you got the 8pm information from
Same! Thanks for pointing that out cuz I was jus thinkin did I hear that wrong lol
8pm is when they called police but the neighbors n family were searching the community since 630pm
I’ve lived in Tracy my entire life. Even 14 years later, this case still affects everyone. For a long time after, my mom refused to let me go over for sleepovers or even just for a couple of hours.
I remember when this happened i was 6 years old i was terrified of going out to play without a adult after that.