Sunday school teacher arrested in killing of 8-year-old

Last update: April 11, 2009 - 5:35 PM

Police have arrested a Sunday school teacher in the killing of an 8-year-old Tracy, Calif., girl whose body was found in a suitcase dumped in an irrigation pond, but they say they still don't know the motive.

Melissa Huckaby, 28, a local minister's granddaughter, was arrested late Friday, said police Sgt. Tony Sheneman. She was being held without bail in connection with the death of Sandra Cantu, who disappeared on March 27. Last week farmworkers draining an irrigation pond found her body.

Huckaby walked into the police station Friday and started a conversation with officers, Sheneman said. "She was calm, cool and collected, then she became very emotional. ... She went back and forth from being calm to emotional." Eventually, she became "resigned," he said.

Police said the woman's daughter was a close friend of the dead girl.

Sandra's aunt, Angie Chavez, said the girl's mother, Maria Chavez, was devastated.

"It's not over. This is just the beginning of a horrible nightmare," Angie Chavez said of the arrest as she stood at the entrance to the mobile home park where Sandra lived with her mother.

Recent Nation stories

Officials still searching for cause of RI house fire that killed 5, including baby - April 11, 2009

Officials still searching for cause of RI house fire that killed 5, including baby - The Rhode Island Fire Marshal says officials have pinpointed the origins of a house fire that killed five people, including a 7-month-old baby, but still haven't figured out the cause. More