Murder, Rape Charges in Sandra Cantu Case

According to prosecutors, Melissa Huckaby kidnapped, raped and murdered Sandra Cantu and then stuffed her body in a suitcase.

I knew about the murder charges but somehow missed the accusation of rape!

Thoughts?

From the Associated Press:

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was charged with murdering her daughter’s playmate, Sandra Cantu, in a gruesome crime that has shocked and terrified residents of Tracy, a Northern California city of about 78,000, 60 miles east of San Francisco.

Huckaby, who volunteered as a Sunday school teacher at her grandfather’s Clover Road Baptist Church in Tracy, appeared in a San Joaquin County courtroom for her arraignment in a red jumpsuit and shackles. She trembled and 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.

The special circumstances mean Huckaby, if convicted, could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. District Attorney James Willett said Tuesday he has not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

During Tuesday’s hearing, which lasted several minutes, public defender Ellen Schwarzenberg asked Judge Richard A. Vlavianos for a gag order in the case. Vlavianos said that question would be answered by his colleague, Judge Terrence Van Oss, who would be presiding over future hearings.

Vlavianos ordered Huckaby to return to court April 24, when she’s expected to enter a plea.