Thanks I can never remember what states you guys have it in and what ones dontCA does have the death penalty. Sometimes I wish they would not plea bargin these people out.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/wor...rdering-daughters-playmate-20100511-up5p.htmlTeacher pleads guilty to murdering daughter's playmate
A California Sunday school teacher accused of kidnapping, raping and killing an eight-year-old playmate of her daughter, then stuffing the body in a suitcase, pleaded guilty on Monday to murder.
Melissa Huckaby, 29, entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to a charge of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping. As part of a deal with US prosecutors, all other charges - including two involving rape and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 - were dropped, according to court spokeswoman Sharon Morris.The surprise plea came during what was scheduled to be a routine pretrial hearing on Monday morning. The initial charges in the grand jury indictment last year would have made her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
[...]
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...media_seek_to_lift_gag_order_in_huckaby_case/News media seek to lift gag order in Huckaby case
SAN FRANCISCO—Three news organizations are asking a California judge to lift a gag order and unseal court records involving a former Sunday school teacher who has admitted to killing an 8-year-old girl.The Associated Press, Bay Area News Group and the Record of Stockton, Calif., cited public interest in the filing Wednesday. They are challenging San Joaquin County Judge Linda Lofthus' decision to keep the orders in place after Melissa Huckaby on Monday pleaded guilty to murdering Sandru Cantu in March 2009 in Tracy, Calif.
The filing says Huckaby's admission removes the need for a gag order and that other court records may shed light on the plea agreement.
[...]
Huckaby faces 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced June 14.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100521/A_NEWS/5210325The mother of slain 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, in a written statement, exhorts a judge to spare her family from graphic details of her daughter's death and forever keep them sealed.
"We cannot carry any more weight in our lives," Maria Chavez says in a declaration. "And if the photographs and forensic examinations of my daughter are disclosed, I do not know how we would be able to cope."
Chavez, in four pages, explains her opposition to a request by The Record and two other media organizations to releasing the grand jury transcript and other key documents in the case of Sandra's confessed killer, Melissa Huckaby.
Huckaby, 29, pleaded guilty May 10 to Sandra's kidnapping and murder. San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus is set to sentence Huckaby on June 14.
Chavez explains why she doesn't want the documents released. She describes a pack of news cameras following her family from the San Joaquin County Courthouse in Stockton to their car after Huckaby pleaded guilty. They next met her at home in Tracy, forcing Chavez's family to call police.
Releasing disturbing details of Sandra's death would again stir up the "media sensationalism" surrounding this case, Chavez said. Seeing reports and photos through the media of Sandra's last living moments will give them nightmares, she said.
"I am tortured by it," she said. "I struggle not to let the anger and rage overwhelm me."
Chavez said she wants to protect herself, Sandra's unidentified brother, and her adult sister, Simone Chavez.
Maria Chavez said she is prepared to explain her feelings in court.
The family agrees with the plea deal that will put Huckaby in prison for the rest of her natural life, she said.
Chavez said that seeing photos and the reports from a sexual assault examination performed on Sandra will not bring her peace. Quite the opposite, she said.
"We have not seen or heard any specific information," she said, adding that they wish not to experience those details "either personally or through the media."
Lofthus will hold a hearing Monday on whether to lift the gag order
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/24/BAVU1DJMJB.DTLCourt documents in the investigation into the murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu of Tracy won't be released because the woman who admitted to killing and kidnapping her hasn't been sentenced yet, a judge ruled today.
But Judge Linda Lofthus of San Joaquin County Superior Court left open the possibility that she may allow the public access to the documents once Melissa Huckaby, 29, is sentenced June 14.
Lofthus said today that releasing the grand jury transcripts, the autopsy report and exhibits before Huckaby is sentenced would be premature, because the former Sunday school teacher could still ask to withdraw her guilty plea and go to trial. Releasing details in the case now could still taint the jury pool, she said.
"I don't want the cat already out of the bag," Lofthus said. The judge left in place a gag order that prohibits attorneys and police from commenting outside court.
http://cbs13.com/local/sandra.cantu.mother.2.1714960.htmlThe mother of Sandra Cantu wrote a letter to the judge presiding over the trial of the Melissa Huckaby, pleading for a permanent order to keep details about the young girl's murder sealed from the public.
Maria Chavez filed a four-page letter to the court in response to several media requests for court documents.
"As a mother, it falls on me to protect my family and not let them be hurt anymore. We have all been damaged enough and I don't know how we will ever heal," the letter said. "Any publication... will be morally traumatizing."
Judge Linda Loftus has already ruled in favor of Chavez, saying the details surrounding Sandra Cantu's kidnapping, rape and murder will not be made public until June at the earliest, when Melissa Huckaby will be sentenced to life in prison.
Huckaby entered a guilty plea on May 10, almost a year after she was first charged with the murder. Media outlets are expected to again ask for the judge to lift the gag order and unseal the grisly details in the case after she is sentenced.
Chavez asked the judge to deny those requests, saying the few details that have already been released have traumatized her family.
"We cannot carry any more weight in our lives, and if the photographs and forensic examinations of my daughter are disclosed I don't know how we would ever be able to cope," Chavez wrote.
"The thoughts that run through my head about my daughter's last moments are not something any parent should have to experience. I am tortured by it," the letter continues. "Every member of my family carries constant regrets and a sense of guilt over the things we could've done differently. Not one of us needs additional reminders of the horrible crimes Sandra's suffered."
Chavez wrote that she knows a sexual assault exam was performed on Sandra, but doesn't know and doesn't want to know what the results were.
A Northern California Sunday school teacher who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering a neighbor girl is headed to prison for the rest of her life.
Melissa Huckaby, 29, was sentenced by a judge Monday to life without parole as part of a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.
Last month, Huckaby entered her surprise plea to first-degree murder with the special circumstance of kidnapping in the death of Sandra Cantu of Tracy, whose body was found in a suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond.
Other charges, including allegations that she sexually abused the 8-year-old girl, were dropped.
Officials have not released a possible motive for Huckaby.
Sandra Cantu was a playmate of the defendant's daughter.
Huckaby apologized to Sandra's family during the sentencing, particularly addressing the girl's mother, Maria Chavez, but still offered no motive for the killing.
"She did not suffer, and I did not sexually molest her," Huckaby said. "I'm asking you, Maria, for your forgiveness. I can't imagine forgiving someone who harmed my daughter. I hope someday you can forgive me."
Prosecutors played a video depicting Sandra's short life during the hearing, bringing many in the courtroom including Huckaby to tears.
Authorities have released few details about the March 2009 killing.
Thanks for the update, akika.
Does anyone know if Huckaby will have ACTUAL LWOP, or the kind when she's able to get out after awhile?
Did I just read that correctly? She asked Sandra's mother for forgiveness?
Wow. How incredibly selfish.
it says she was sentenced to "life without parole..." how else would she be able to get out after awhile? unless the whole thing is successfully appealled...?
it says she was sentenced to "life without parole..." how else would she be able to get out after awhile? unless the whole thing is successfully appealled...?
I still want to know what Huckaby's motive was. I am thinking on the gag order and if the world doesn't know what Melissa did... and the other prison inmates do not know the forensic findings and details then the only story that would be known is that OK I plead guilty and Huckaby can say ANYTHING she wants about it and the other inmates may never know the truth and treat her accordingly. In other words, better than a child killer deserves.
If the details are known the world will know and so will her fellow inmates where justice sometimes can come from within.
If this was a plea deal that she took, I'm not sure she could appeal that, right? She took life without parole to avoid the death penalty if a jury convicted her.