Chilling Note, Stolen Suitcase: How Melissa Huckaby Was Caught in Sandra Cantu Murder

An eight-year-old girl vanished after leaving home to play at a friend’s house, and ten days later, her body was found stuffed inside a suitcase in a local irrigation pond.

The case, which baffled even seasoned investigators, began on March 27, 2009. Days later, authorities arrested Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby, the mother of one of Sandra Cantu’s friends, and charged her with kidnapping, r---, and murder in the death of Cantu.

Huckaby later pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering Cantu. In 2010, she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to investigators, Cantu and her family lived at Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park. She was a second-grade student at Melville S. Jacobson Elementary School.

On the day she disappeared, Sandra played at a friend’s house after school and returned home shortly after 4 p.m. She later left again to visit another friend’s home, but never returned for dinner.

Her family filed a missing-person report that same evening.

“We’re looking for evidence that will lead to the discovery of Sandra’s whereabouts,” Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman told reporters at the time. “We operate on the assumption she is alive and well,” according to CNN.

During the early stages of the investigation, authorities questioned a local man who had reportedly been seen kissing Cantu on the lips at a public swimming pool two years earlier, but he was later cleared of any involvement in the case.

On April 6, 2009, Sandra’s body was discovered inside a suitcase in an irrigation pond. An autopsy revealed a laceration on her lower lip, an abrasion on her left elbow, and injuries to her genital area that investigators said were consistent with the diameter of a rolling pin handle.

Investigators also found a bloodstained cloth tied tightly around Sandra’s head in a manner consistent with homicidal asphyxiation. Toxicology tests detected alprazolam, a benzodiazepine commonly prescribed for anxiety, in her system. The same drug was later found in the home and purse of Huckaby.

Authorities concluded that Sandra had been sedated before she was killed.

Investigators grew suspicious of Melissa Huckaby after a series of incidents appeared to connect her to the disappearance of Sandra Cantu.

On the day Sandra vanished, Huckaby allegedly sent a text message to the girl’s mother saying, “Tell the police that I had something stolen today around 4 p.m. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.”

The following day, Huckaby told investigators she had discovered a handwritten note on the ground. The note read: “Cantu locked in stolin [sic] suitcase. Thrown in water onn [sic] Bacchetti Road and Whitehall Road. Witness.”

Suspicion intensified after Sandra’s body was found inside the same suitcase Huckaby had previously reported stolen. Investigators later pointed to what they described as the “unusual fact” that the woman who claimed her suitcase was missing was also the person who allegedly discovered a note stating the suitcase had been used to conceal the child’s body.

Authorities uncovered additional evidence linking Huckaby to the crime. Witnesses reported seeing her near the irrigation pond where Sandra’s body was discovered. Security footage also showed Sandra walking toward Huckaby’s residence before she disappeared. Investigators later found DNA matching Sandra on a rolling pin recovered from Huckaby’s home.

Huckaby was subsequently arrested and charged with kidnapping, r---, and murder. During her sentencing, Huckaby said, “I still cannot understand why I did what I did. This is a question I will struggle with for the rest of my life.”