STOCKTON — A newly released court document shows that Melissa Huckaby drugged her 8-year-old neighbor, Sandra Cantu, and beat her with a rolling pin before stuffing her body into a suitcase and throwing it into a Tracy irrigation pond last year.
Sandra's body was found with a blood-soaked cloth knotted into a noose, and her official cause of death was listed as "homicidal asphyxiation," according to court records that had previously been under gag order.
Facing a sentence of life in prison without parole, Melissa Huckaby apologized Monday morning for kidnapping and killing Sandra.
Wads of used tissue gathered on the table in front of her as she spoke to Sandra's mother in court and asked for forgiveness. A weeping Huckaby said she still cannot understand why she committed the crime, but that Sandra did not suffer and, contrary to reports, was not sexually molested.
"I wish I can bring Sandra back, but I can't," said Huckaby, who was shackled at the feet and dressed in a red jail jumpsuit.
She told her family — whom she thanked for their support and unconditional love — that she was sorry. She apologized to her own daughter, of whom she no longer has custody, and said she hoped that one day she will forgive her.
And she apologized to the people of Tracy and the Police Department who tirelessly worked to find the Tracy girl alive.
For her crimes, Huckaby, a 29-year-old former Sunday school teacher, will spend of the rest of her natural life in prison without the possibility of parole. In a surprise move, she pleaded guilty last month to murdering and kidnapping Sandra. In exchange, prosecutors took the death penalty off the table and dropped sexual abuse charges. Also dropped were charges in two unrelated drugging cases involving another Tracy girl and a Hayward man. A theft case she was facing from Tracy was terminated.
Huckaby sobbed when a video about Sandra was played Monday in the San Joaquin Superior Court in Stockton. She didn't look away, but covered her face with her hands.
Sandra's family members also had the opportunity to speak to Huckaby before she was sentenced.
"You took the life of an innocent girl ... she's not old enough to decide to eat ice cream yet," said Sandra's father, Daniel Cantu, who paused during his statement, overcome with emotion.
Judy Lawless, Huckaby's mother, apologized to the family and addressed Sandra's mother, Maria Chavez.
"If I could give you justice, the justice you deserve, that would be for you to have your baby girl in your arms right now. ... From mother to mother, I'm sorry," Lawless said.