The End of the Story

Case BackgroundPre-Trial: Updated: 12.04.09Trial Date: 10.18.2010SentencingSources

Melissa Huckaby, 28, of Tracy, California is charged with the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

Sandra Cantu was reported missing on March 27, 2009 from the Mobile Home Park where she lived with her mother, grandparents and siblings. Sandra had asked her mother if she could go out to play with her friend at approximately 3 p.m. When Sandra failed to return home for dinner her mother became concerned and walked around the mobile home park to search for her. After not being able to locate her daughter she phoned police at 8 p.m.

Police, community volunteers and FBI agents tirelessly search for Sandra Cantu. The break in the case came on April 6, when farm workers began emptying an irrigation pond located approximately two miles from Sandra’s home. As the water level lowered workers saw a large container. Being aware of the search for the missing girl, they called police. Police took the container to an undisclosed location later in the day and when it was opened Sandra’s clothed body was inside what was later identified as a suitcase.

During the course of the investigation several search warrants were served on various homes within the mobile home park. Three males living in the community were taken in for questioning but all were released without being charged in connection with Sandra’s disappearance.

The last person known to have seen Sandra was Melissa Huckaby. She told authorities that although Sandra had come to her door to ask her daughter to play, she turned Sandra away saying her daughter had to pick up her toys. She told police Sandra left her home. After the container was found in the irrigation pond, Melissa made statements to reporters claiming a suitcase she owned had been stolen the day of Sandra’s disappearance. She also claimed a note had been left in her mail box inscribed with three words: cantu, suitcase, water, and the names of two streets. The word ’suitcase’ was misspelled. Police did not release a description of the suitcase found in the irrigation pond, however, Melissa described the suitcase that had allegedly been stolen from her residence to the reporter.

When police heard the interviews conducted in the press with Huckaby, they asked her to come into headquarters for further questioning. Huckaby drove herself to the police station and after five hours of questioning her police had enough information to charge Huckaby with kidnapping and murder.

Huckaby is the mother of a 5-year-old daughter and a former Sunday School teacher at her grandfather’s Baptist church. Police believe Sandra was murdered on the church property and she was murdered even before her disappearance was reported to police.

Pre-Trial 

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April 14, 2009: Arraignment

Melissa Huckaby was arraigned on the following charges:

1. One count of murder

Special circumstances

1. Rape with a foreign object
2. Lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14
3. Murder in the course of a kidnapping

The Special Circumstances charges makes this case Death Penalty eligible. The prosecutor has not yet decided if he will seek the Death Penalty.

Melissa Huckaby did not enter a plea at this hearing. She was assigned a Public Defender and the case was carried for another arraignment hearing to April 24.

April 17, 2009

One day after Sandra Cantu was laid to rest Melissa Huckaby’s public defender, Sam Behar, petitioned the court asking for permission to exhume Cantu’s body so the defense can conduct it’s own autopsy. The reason given is that Melissa needs to defend herself properly against the rape charges. The coroner indicated Sandra suffered “genital trauma” and the defense wants an expert they have called to examine Sandra’s body. The judge presented with the motion could not rule on it because he is not the judge assigned to the case. According to the media account the judge assigned to the case is on vacation. The defense wants the decision quickly decided because as the attorney put it:

He called the autopsy “crucial and material” to his client’s defense and asked the court to move quickly, saying Cantu’s body was deteriorating. ¹

There may be another issue with this case. The judge assigned to the case, Judge Terrence Van Oss, may have to recuse himself from the case due to a conflict of interest. Judge Van Oss was a witness for the prosecution in a previous murder case prosecuted by Tom Testa, a San Joaquin County deputy district attorney.

April 21, 2009

Information is being reported in the media that Melissa Huckaby may be linked to another child abduction in January of this year.

The child in question, an unnamed 7-year-old neighbor of Huckaby’s was allegedly taken away from the mobile home park without parental permission. The police were notified and the search began for the girl. She was located at a local park with Melissa Huckaby. The parents were notified the child was found, Huckaby returned the child to the parents and the police left. No charges were filed.

Several hours later the girl’s parents took her to the emergency room. It was found the girl had benzodiazepines in her blood stream. Police were called again; however, again, no charges were filed because a five hours had elapsed between the time Huckaby relinqueshed the child to her family and the trip to the emergency room. Authorities said it would be hard to prove that Huckaby dosed the child – anyone could have given her the drugs in that span of time.

When asked about this other child prior to her arrest, Melissa Huckaby’s reply was that she had permission to take the child to the park. Huckaby kept the child away from home for four hours.

This new information does not bode well for Huckaby’s defense. If Sandra Cantu’s toxicology reports come back positive for benzodiazepines, the prosecution may be able to prove a pattern of behavior.

Benzodiazepines are used for anxiety disorders, prior to dental procedures to produce a feeling of calm, and to produce a type of amnesia for the procedure much like noxious oxide. That drug class has also been used as a date rape drug:

Benzodiazepines have also been used as a “date rape” drug because they can markedly impair and even abolish functions that normally allow a person to resist or even want to resist sexual aggression or assault. In recent years, the detection and conviction of people involved in this has increased dramatically. The drug is usually added to alcohol-containing drinks or even soft drinks in powder or liquid forms and can be hard to taste. ²

A boost for the defense is if Melissa Huckaby was prescribed benzodiazepines and was abusing them, she could have experienced what is known as disinihibition. Sometimes people experiencing disinihibition will act out sexually as well as not make socially acceptable behavioral choices. There is evidence in her recent past of not being able to control her impulses, i.e., two shoplifting charges. She also has a history of having to file bankruptcy which could indicate an inability to control her impulse to spend. Also, Huckaby could claim no memory of the rape due to the intoxication from the benzodiazepines.

I am not looking for an excuse for the crimes she is accused of committing; I am just thinking about what the line of defense might be.

Judge Terrence Van Oss, originally assigned to hear this case, recused himself today. He did not give a reason for stepping down from the case. Judge Linda Lofthus will be presiding over the case on Friday when Huckaby is expected to enter a plea. Her attorney is also expected to ask the judge for a ruling on his request to exhume Sandra’s body in order to have an independent autopsy performed.

September 10, 2009

Melissa Huckaby had a brief court appearance today. San Joaquin County deputy district attorney Thomas Testa announced the people will seek the death penalty in the penalty phase of their case against Huckaby. Judge Lofthus read the criminal grand jury indictment against Huckaby that included charges of murder with three enhancements: kidnapping, rape with a foreign instrument and lewd and lascivious acts on a child. A second count charges Huckaby with a sex crime with a child 10 years or younger. Huckaby entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. She then asked to meet with the judge in a closed door meeting to discuss firing her assigned counsel, Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar. The judge declined the request. The defense has hired a change-of-venue expert from Chico State University. The next court date is scheduled for September 25. A trial date could be scheduled at that time, perhaps for March 2010.

December 4, 2009

Melissa Huckaby made an appearance in San Joaquin County Superior Court in Stockton this afternoon where the judge set her trial date as October 18, 2010. So far there has been no change of venue. Death penalty expert, Michael Burt, is requested a February hearing to suppress evidence and testimony before the case goes to trial.

Trial 

October 18, 2010

Sentence 

Source 

CA Endangered Missing: Sandra Cantu, Missing & Murdered Children, April 17, 2009.

Associated Press, Judge May not Hear Huckaby’s Arraignment, KSBW.com, April 17, 2009.

Sarah Netter, Was Alleged Drugging of 7-Year-Old a Precursor to Sandra Cantu’s Murder?, ABC.com, April 21, 2009.

Huckaby Linked to Earlier Drugging of Child, KTVU.com, April 21, 2009.

Trial Date Set in Cantu Slaying, KCRA, Last Accessed: December 4, 2009.

Date Set for Melissa Huckaby’s Murder Trial, CBS13.com, Last Accessed: December 4, 2009.

1. Judge May Not Hear Huckaby’s Arraignment, KSBW.com, Last Accessed: September 10, 2009. [↩]
2. Benzodiazepine Abuse, EMedicine Health.com, Last Accessed: September 10, 2009. [↩]

Case BackgroundPre-TrialSentencing (Update: 11.03.09)Sources

Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, 44, of Manassas, Virginia is charged with the January 2009 murder of her adopted daughter Alexis ‘Lexie’ Glover, 13.

On the afternoon of January 7, 2009 Gregg-Glover called police to report that her daughter Alexis had run away from her at the Manassas Public Library. A massive search was launched of the area. Two days later Alexis’ body was found face-down in a creek approximately three miles from the library. Due to some inconsistencies in televised interviews that Gregg-Glover had with the media police began to focus on her as a person of interest. She was taken into custody soon after the discovery of Alexis’ body. A grand jury handed down a murder indictment in March 2009 charging Gregg-Glover with felony murder, first-degree murder, felony child abuse and filing a false police report. Prosecutors allege that Gregg-Glover dumped Alexis’ body in the creek while she was still alive and then made up the story about Alexis running away from her. The coroner ruled Alexis died from drowning and exposure to the elements.

Pre-Trial 

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June 19, 2009

In March of this year a judge ordered that Alfreedia Gregg-Glover undergo psychological testing. The results of those tests determined that Gregg-Glover is competent to stand trial for the murder of her adopted daughter, Alexis, in January 2009. Gregg-Glover is charged with felony murder, first-degree murder, felony child abuse and filing a false police report. The judge set Gregg-Glover’s jury trial date for July 7, 2009. Her trial is expected to last two days.

The Virginia Department of Social Services and Prince William County Social Services launched an investigation into Alexis’ death. Apparently there were several calls to the department with concerns about Gregg-Glover abusing Alexis but she was never removed from the home. As a result of the investigation one senior social worker was fired and two social worker managers were suspended for five days without pay. John P. Ledden Jr., director of social services admitted that several errors were made regarding the handling of the Glover case including several employees not following proper procedures in response to the abuse and neglect reports.

Ledden indicated that changes are being implemented to improve the way cases are handled in the future. According to Ledden:

“We’re not interested in meeting standards, we want to exceed them,” Ledden said.¹

July 7, 2009

The much-anticipated trial of Alfreedia Gregg-Glover was not to be – she entered a plea of guilty to felony murder, child abuse and filing a false report in connection with her adopted daughter’s murder.

During court proceedings Gregg-Glover’s account of events that led up to Lexie’s murder were finally revealed by the Prosecutor.

Prosecutors say Lexie woke Alfreedia Glover twice the morning of Jan. 7 saying she was sick. The first time, Glover told the girl to go back to sleep. The second time, she got up and took a shower, but couldn’t find Lexie afterward.
She eventually found the girl unconscious in the back yard, according to testimony. Prosecutors said she drove Lexie to Prince William Hospital, but didn’t go in.
Instead, she drove down the Prince William Parkway to the McCoart Administration Center, where she dumped her body in a freezing creek.
She then reported the girl missing.²

Everyone’s life would have been much simpler, Lexie would still be alive, and Gregg-Glover would not be going to prison had she just taken Lexie into the hospital for treatment. Only Gregg-Glover really knows what led up to Lexie’s “not feeling well” that morning. Since Lexie’s murder it has been revealed there were numerous reports made to Social Services and to the Police about possible abuse of Lexie at the hands of Gregg-Glover. All of those warnings went unheeded and it ended with a little girl being dumped, still alive, in a creek in the dead of winter.

Prince William County Police released a statement after the plea was entered regarding steps they have taken to safeguard other children in the community. Police Chief Charlie T. Deane told the media that a three-month investigation of his department revealed deficiencies in how allegations of child abuse had been handled in the past. He said he has implemented immediate changes to how future investigations of child abuse are to be handled. Those changes involve training, communication, policy implementation, and inter agency cooperation. In addition to the changes three sworn employees of the department were reprimanded for failure to following departmental policies in relation to Lexie’s case.

In conclusion, it appears Chief Deane accepted full responsibility for the inaction of his department:

“Part of our responsibility is to safeguard children from harm, and it is deeply disturbing to me that we failed to do so in Lexie Glover’s case,” Deane said. “While there is only one person who caused her death, and that is her mother, Alfreedia Glover, I would be remiss in not stating that there are some things we could have, and should have, done differently in prior investigations with this family.”³

Gregg-Glover is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2009. She could face up to fifty-one years in prison.

Sentencing 

Prince William County Courthouse
9311 Lee Avenue Room 2
Manassas, VA 20110
Case Number: CR05073874-00

November 3, 2009

Alfreedia Gregg-Glover was to have been sentenced on October 30. However, her defense attorney asked for and was granted another mental health evaluation for his client. He claims his client is “too emotionally fragile” to face her fate. What is that all about! I am guessing most people being faced with the possibility of receiving a sentence behind bars of 51 years may be feeling a bit “emotionally fragile”. I am sure Lexie felt “emotionally fragile” when she was being constantly abused by Gregg-Glover. In my opinion, Gregg-Glover just needs to suck it up and take the punishment she deserves for what she did to Lexie.

Even Gregg-Glover’s family members told reporters they are surprised at the request. They have never known her to be fragile. Most likely she knew what was going to come out at the sentencing hearing and she does not want it made public what she did to Lexie. According to Paul Ebert, Prince William County’s attorney:

“We were prepared to present basically what happened, her background, the horror what happened to the victim and ask for a very harsh sentence”. ⁴

There is no information available about when another sentencing hearing will happen. I am guessing the defense is hoping for a recommendation that Gregg-Glover serve at least part of her sentence in a state mental hospital. I am surprised the judge allowed a second mental health evaluation. The first one, conducted just a few months ago determined she was fit to stand trial. That would mean she could understand the charges against her, the possible outcome if found guilty, and she was able to aid her attorney in her defense.

Sources 

VA Endangered Missing Teen: Alexis Glover, Missing and Murdered Children, Last Accessed: June 19, 2009.

Amanda Stewart, Gregg-Glover Competent to Stand Trial, InsideNova.com, Last Accessed: June 19, 2009.

Kipp Hanley, Social Worker Fired in Aftermath of Lexie Glover Case, InsideNova.com, Last Accessed: June 19, 2009.

Social Worker Fired After VA. Girl’s Death, Star Exponent.com, Last Accessed: June 19, 2009.

Virginia Court Case Information

1. Social Worker Fired in Aftermath of Lexie Glover Case, InsideNova.com, Last Accessed: June 19, 2009. [↩]
2. Gregg-Glover Guilty in Lexie’s Death, InsideNova.com, Last Accessed: July 7, 2009. [↩]
3. Ibid. [↩]
4. Glover to Undergo Mental Evaluation Before Sentencing, WJLA.com, Last Accessed: November 3, 2009. [↩]