SANDRA CANTU: MELISSA HUCKABY CHARGED - KIDNAP, RAPE, MURDER

FNC / April 14: Melissa Huckaby, a volunteer Sunday school teacher, cries as she hears the charges of murder against her in the death of little Sandra Cantu.

YOUTUBE.COM / Melissa Huckaby, 28, arrested in the murder of Sandra Cantu, age 8


Police search the shed at Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy, California

California Sunday School Teacher Charged With Murder, Rape, Kidnapping of Sandra Cantu, 8
FOX NEWS / Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A female Sunday school teacher kidnapped, raped and murdered an 8-year-old girl who was the close friend of her 5-year-old daughter, then stuffed her body in a suitcase and dumped it into a pond, prosecutors contended Tuesday.

Charges were filed against Melissa Huckaby, 28, in the killing of little Sandra Cantu ahead of her afternoon arraignment, which was held about 4 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. PDT).

Huckaby, led into the San Joaquin County courtroom in a red jumpsuit and shackles, did not enter a plea.

She 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.

Authorities have not said how or where Sandra was killed, nor discussed a possible motive.
They say they don't expect other arrests and believe she acted alone.

The gruesome crime has shocked and terrified residents in Tracy, a city of about 78,000 people, 60 miles east of San Francisco.

Huckaby, a volunteer Sunday school teacher at her grandfather's Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy, was arrested Friday after hours of interrogation by police after a 10-day-long search for Sandra and a suspect in her killing.

The special circumstances of rape with a foreign object, lewd acts with a child under 14 and a murder during a kidnapping mean that Huckaby, if convicted, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

WHAT OTHER SECRETS WILL WE HEAR?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515675,00.html

CAYLEE ANTHONY: GOTCHA! DEATH PENALTY FOR CASEY

CAYLEE ANTHONY (left) CASEY ANTHONY (right)

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony, shown in this July 22, 2008 file photo, right, a Florida woman accused of murdering her daughter, Caylee Anthony, shown in this file photo, left, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office said Monday. (Pool Photo/AP)

Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty in Casey Anthony Case
In Reversal, Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty for Death of Caylee Anthony
By SCOTT MICHELSApril 13, 2009

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Casesy Anthony, a Florida woman accused of murdering her daughter, a spokeswoman for the state attorney's office said today.

In December, the state's attorney's office filed court papers indicating that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty in connection with the first-degree murder case.

In a notice of intent filed today, prosecutors said additional information has become available. The filing says that "sufficient aggravating circumstances exist to justify the imposition of the death penalty," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

A spokeswoman for Jose Baez, Anthony's attorney, said in a statement, "This is not a death penalty case. We will do whatever is necessary to defend Casey Anthony from the state trying to take her life. We already have death-qualified defense lawyers on our team and are prepared for a vigorous defense."

Anthony, 22, has pleaded not guilty in the death of her daughter, Caylee. She is scheduled to go on trial in October.

Frustrating, Curious Investigation Into Caylee Anthony's Disappearance

The child's remains were found Dec. 11, less than a quarter-mile from the home she shared with her mother and grandparents.

START READING. THIS CASE WILL BE AROUND ALL SUMMER...
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=7328024&page=1

PHIL SPECTOR: JURY SAYS "GUILTY OF SHOOTING LANA CLARKSON"

Lana Clarkson

Over the course of the trial, which began in October, the prosecution portrayed Spector as a sadistic misogynist who had a three-decade "history of playing Russian roulette with the lives of women" when he was drunk. A prosecutor told jurors in her summation that "by the grace of God, five other women got the empty chamber and lived to tell. Lana just happened to be the sixth woman, who got the bullet."
By Harriet Ryan / LA TIMES /7:10 PM PDT, April 13, 2009

CITY OF ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA (EAST SIDE OF LOS ANGELES)
Phil Spector's Alhambra, California mansion

SEE THE DEATH SCENE LAYOUT AT
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-081207me-clue12-fl,0,7055058.flash

Source: Times reporting

Graphic by Matt Moody

Interactivity by Brady MacDonald

AP / Jurors found Phil Spector guilty of murder in the second-degree for the shooting death of 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson. His first trial ended with a deadlocked jury, although the majority was convinced he was guilty.

Phil Spector Convicted of Second-Degree Murder
By JONATHAN LLOYD
Updated 6:07 PM PDT, Monday, Apr 13, 2009

Music producer Phil Spector was found guilty Monday of second-degree murder in the February 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

Jurors also found Spector personally used the firearm while committing the crime at his Alhambra mansion. Sentencing has been set for May 29.

Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. The firearm enhancement adds three, four or 10 years in prison, according to the district attorney's office.

The judge denied bail and Spector, wearing a fire-engine red tie and pocket square, was taken into custody after the verdict was announced. He also wore a "Barack Obama Rocks" button on his left suit lapel.

Spector and his wife entered the courtroom at about 2 p.m., and the verdict was read at about 15 minutes later. His son and daughter were seated next to him at the counsel's table.

Spector's wife, Rachelle, cried as the decision was announced. Spector showed no reaction as his attorney rubbed his client's left shoulder.

Members of the Clarkson family, including her mother and sister, also were in the courtroom.

"This is why we do this job," said prosecutor Alan Jackson. "If there's a wrong, we can attempt to try to right it. Today is when the Clarkson family gets their justice."

As of Monday morning, the jury had spent about 30 hours discussing the case over eight days since March 26.

Spector, 69, was charged with murder in the Feb. 3, 2003, shooting death of the 40-year-old actress and House of Blues VIP hostess at his mansion in Alhambra. He claims she shot herself with his gun.

IT'S BEEN A LONG WAIT FOR THIS VERDICT...

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Jury-Reaches-Verdict-in-Spector-Case.html

SANDRA CANTU: MELISSA HUCKABY, IS LIFE A LIE?

Connie Lawless, from Tracy, hugs her grandson Phillip Hughes, from Whittier, after speaking to the media about her granddaughter Melissa Huckaby after church services at Clover Road Baptist Church on Sunday.(Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff)

Sunday services are held at Clover Road Baptist Church on Sunday, April 12, 2009 in Tracy, Calif. Police believe that Melissa Huckaby, from Tracy, killed Sandra Cantu at the church. Huckaby is arrested in suspicion of kidnapping and killing of 8-year old Sandra Cantu. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff)

Huckaby's family: 28-year-old's arrest for killing Sandra Cantu is 'surreal'
By Malaika Fraley and Matthias Gafni / Contra Costa Times / 04/12/2009

TRACY — The family of Melissa Huckaby preached of strength during adversity as they led an Easter service in their tiny Tracy church Sunday, speaking for the first time about the 28-year-old murder suspect and the death of Sandra Cantu.

"People think we're going on business as usual," said Brett Lawless, Huckaby's uncle who delivered the sermon. "Nothing will be as usual after the events of the last 10 days. Not for the community, not for the church, not for our immediate family and certainly not for the family of Sandra Cantu."

After the services, Huckaby's grandmother, the wife of the church pastor, spoke to reporters.

"We're just as shocked," Connie Lawless said. "This is completely outside of what we know of Melissa.

"It's been difficult for all of us. It's surreal," she said.

A congregation of about 20, along with a throng of media, sat in Clover Baptist Church, a half-block from Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Huckaby was arrested Friday night on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sandra — a playmate of Huckaby's 5-year-old daughter.

(snip)

Huckaby was raised in Orange County and graduated from Brea Olinda High School in 1999. She moved to Tracy seven or eight months ago to help her grandparents, then decided to stay and enroll her daughter in kindergarten, family members said.

Her father said Huckaby's only known emotional issues stem from a divorce.

READ MORE...THERE WILL BE STUNNING UPDATES LATER THIS WEEK!

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12128530?source=most_viewed