Sandra Cantu

I was watching Discover on ID this morning when the story of 8 year old Sandra Cantu came on. It is such a sad story as all of these stories are. This is a story about a little girl who trusted everyone and who was loved by all she knew. She will be missed.

This sweet faced little girl is Sandra Cantu. She was just 8 years old when a neighbor she trusted ended her life. What started out as a normal day on March 27, 2009 would end like no other.  Sandra trusted everyone, she always talked to people, always wanted to help someone. All the kids knew that they were not to leave of out the mobile home park where Sandra lived, so when she didn't make it home in time for dinner, her mom knew something was wrong. After searching and calling for Sandra, her mom called the police and reported her missing at 8:00 pm. She was last seen wearing a pink Hello Kitty top and black leggings as seen here in the surveillance tape.

The video camera was installed by Sandra's grandfather to warned off vandalism and instead capture what maybe his granddaughter's last few moments. A search was on. Shortly after Sandra's mom received a text message from neighbor Melissa Huckaby, informing her that someone had stolen her black suitcase out of the garage, she wasn't sure if it was connected to Sandra's disappearance or not. After searching and searching for Sandra, on April 6th 2009, police reported that some farmers preparing for irrigation discovered a black suit case that had floated to the top. The suitcase was removed and transported to the morgue and after examination of the contains, it was determined that the body found in the suitcase that of Sandra Cantu. Upon further examination of Sandra's body, it was also determined that she was sexual assaulted with an object, toxicology reports showed that Sandra had been drugged.

When the medical examiner opened the suitcase Sandra was in the perfect fetal position, she had been redressed, her sandals were placed in the bottom of the suitcase. She had been strangled with a cloth, her genitalia was bruised, her clothing smelled of rubbing alcohol used to smother her.

Tracing back from the text message from Melissa to Sandra's mom, Melissa's past history and her attempt at suicide by swallowing 3 blades, police were able to gather evidence against her. The cord that was found on the outside of the suitcase matched the same cord on a blind inside the Church belonging to her grandfather. In the kitchen of the Church they found a rolling pin with a smudge on it, DNA proved it to be the DNA from Sandra. It was used to sexual assault her.  On April 10th 2009, police arrested Melissa Huckaby and charged her with the murder, kidnap, and rape of Sandra Cantu. 

Melissa Huckaby accepted a plea bargain, spearing her the death penalty. She would not be convicted of rape or kidnapping. She would be charged with the first degree murder of Sandra Cantu. She received life without the possibility of parole. A sentence still more merciful then the sentence she handed down to Sandra. I can only hope that her dreams are nightmares. And that she suffers everyday for the rest of her life.