Sandra Cantu #3 4/15/09 -4/27/09

[Catbert]

JOHNNY HUCKABY - I only pasted the first of 3 pages - looks like I'll be watching GMA in the morning

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7356264&page=1

Huckaby's Ex-Husband Says She Had Issues With 'Self-Persona'
Johnny Huckaby Talks Exclusively to 'GMA' About Accused Killer Ex-Wife

By JAY SHAYLOR and JONANN BRADY

April 16, 2009 

The ex-husband of Melissa Huckaby, the California woman accused of the gruesome assault and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, said his former wife suffered from depression and other mental health problems but he didn't believe she was capable of violence.

Johnny Huckaby, the ex-husband of accused killer Melissa Huckaby, told "GMA's" Chris Cuomo that his former wife struggled with depression but he did not believe her capable of violence. m
(ABC News)"I do believe the emotional issues came into play quite often in her lifetime," Johnny Huckaby told "Good Morning America's" Chris Cuomo in an exclusive interview.

"She did suffer from depression. She did have issues with ... her self-persona, who she saw herself as," Huckaby, 26, told "GMA."

Watch the full interview on "Good Morning America" Friday, April 17, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST.

The couple was married in August 2003, when Melissa was five months pregnant. They separated in August 2004 and divorced in September 2005. Melissa was given full custody of their daughter, now 5 years old.

A volunteer Sunday school teacher, Melissa Huckaby was charged Tuesday with 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. Prosecutors say Huckaby raped and murdered Sandra Cantu, a neighbor in her Tracy, Calif., trailer park, and then stuffed the girl's body in a suitcase and dropped it in an irrigation pond.

Related
What Motivates Some Women to Kill?WATCH: Tearful Mom Arraigned in Girl's DeathRape Allegations in Death of Sandra Cantu "My initial reaction was shock and complete disbelief," Johnny Huckaby said. "It's not something you want to think anyone possibly [is capable] of doing -- let alone somebody that you knew. And that's a mother of your child."

Despite her struggle with depression, Huckaby described his ex-wife as a generally "care-free person" not prone to violence.

Melissa Huckaby, if convicted, could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors have said they have not decided whether they will ask for the death penalty.

Johnny Huckaby, who said he had not talked to his ex-wife for more than three years, is seeking custody of their daughter. He is remarried and has two other children.


He said that when they separated, Melissa Huckaby moved in with her parents in Southern California, so he rarely saw his daughter.

During a custody battle several years ago, Melissa Huckaby accused Johnny Huckaby of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, allegations that he denies.


In the Courtroom
During her April 14 arraignment, Melissa Huckaby reacted most strongly when the rape allegation was read, closing her eyes and appearing to choke back a sob. After the brief hearing, Huckaby was taken back to the San Joaquin County Jail, where she remains on suicide watch.

She was scheduled to return to court April 24, when she is expected to enter a formal plea.

Huckaby's attorney requested a gag order in the case, which will be considered at the April 24 hearing.

After the hearing, Huckaby and Cantu's families were led out of the courtroom separately. When Huckaby's father, Brian Lawless, was asked if he thought his daughter was innocent, he replied, "yes" and said he was "shocked" at the charges.

[no rose colored glasses]

Thanks Catbert, that will be an interesting interview.

[fatcatlurker]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-huckaby13-2009apr13,0,6408687.story

This article has more info on Melissa.

The picture of Huckaby that emerged from her family was that of a "sweet" woman, raised in the Baptist Church, who did not drink or take drugs, and had no history of mental illness.

Her father, Brian Lawless, who lives in Cypress, said Huckaby's life revolved around her daughter, Madison, 5.

"She just always had an extreme patience with her, never raised her voice, never yelled, never struck her," he said Sunday. "She was that same way with other children. She loved, loved children."

However, her father acknowledged that Huckaby had struggled with depression, especially after she divorced her husband and had to raise her daughter alone. Court records show that when Huckaby filed for divorce from her husband, John Huckaby, in Orange County in January 2005, the couple had no children. The identity of Madison's father was not immediately clear.

According to her family, Huckaby has been hospitalized several times with stomach problems and struggled to hold a job after graduating from Brea Olinda High School in 1999. She worked for a time at a Food 4 Less supermarket in Tracy, but later returned to Southern California.

Federal court records show that Melissa Chantel Lawless of Tracy filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003. Her debts totaled $26,300, which included thousands of dollars in medical and credit card bills.

Public records also show that Huckaby was convicted of felony theft in Los Angeles County in November 2006.

Last summer, the family said, she moved in with her grandparents and began teaching Sunday school to the children of their congregation.

-----Interesting about Madison's dad/paternity.

[cookie]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

[lady]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

O my I cant believe I just read that right...Hes seeking custody??? Oh man another case headed the same way as Haleighs...

[fatcatlurker]

Very good question Cookie.  Looks like she was pregnant when they got married.  So who knows?

[cookie]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

O my I cant believe I just read that right...Hes seeking custody??? Oh man another case headed the same way as Haleighs...

a few posts back it said that he is going to be on GMA tomorrow....I watch that every morning...should be interesting huh?

[lady]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

O my I cant believe I just read that right...Hes seeking custody??? Oh man another case headed the same way as Haleighs...

a few posts back it said that he is going to be on GMA tomorrow....I watch that every morning...should be interesting huh?

Ill be at work 

[cookie]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

O my I cant believe I just read that right...Hes seeking custody??? Oh man another case headed the same way as Haleighs...

a few posts back it said that he is going to be on GMA tomorrow....I watch that every morning...should be interesting huh?

Ill be at work 

drat!

[Catbert]

  I will DVR this one!

[lady]

Is this guy that she was married to the little girls bio dad?
wasn't there a question about that?
what do we know about him except that he has not kept in contact with his child? now because of this mother doing this evil crime, this little child may have to go live with a man and a woman with 2 other children that she doesn't even know? will this be a good thing or a bad thing? so many children suffer because of their parents' actions...so sad...

O my I cant believe I just read that right...Hes seeking custody??? Oh man another case headed the same way as Haleighs...

a few posts back it said that he is going to be on GMA tomorrow....I watch that every morning...should be interesting huh?

Ill be at work 

I pray this doesnt turn into the circus like HLs case..Im sure Melissas parents or grand parents will not like that one bit..How can he do that if he never really spent time with her much?? I dont know about all this...

[AZSunny]

Hummmmmmm, 


I have heard the term, and used the term "self image", I have never heard the term "self persona"???

[Catbert]

Hummmmmmm, 


I have heard the term, and used the term "self image", I have never heard the term "self persona"???

He's trying to sound  ::MonkeyCool::cool; and we already know NO ONE on the scary side of this case is 

[Kat_Gram]

I took that quote as meaning she didn't know who she was.
Probably was defined by other people. What they mirrored back to her was what she was.
The type that could be used.   

[Izzy58]

So they finally found him huh!  You he's doing this interview because he's going to get paid for it and he needs the money to pay off his debt!

[no rose colored glasses]

I took that quote as meaning she didn't know who she was.
Probably was defined by other people. What they mirrored back to her was what she was.
The type that could be used.   

Interesting, will be waiting to her what her ex all has to say.

[Izzy58]

So they finally found him huh!  You he's doing this interview because he's going to get paid for it and he needs the money to pay off his debt!

I meant ...(you know)...forgot a word lol! Isn't there an edit function on here? Anyway they found him or he went looking for them!

[Catbert]

So they finally found him huh!  You he's doing this interview because he's going to get paid for it and he needs the money to pay off his debt!

I meant ...(you know)...forgot a word lol! Isn't there an edit function on here? Anyway they found him or he went looking for them!

Oh don't you think when he heard about it he went looking for his 15 minutes of fame? I mean GMA?

[Izzy58]

So they finally found him huh!  You he's doing this interview because he's going to get paid for it and he needs the money to pay off his debt!

I meant ...(you know)...forgot a word lol! Isn't there an edit function on here? Anyway they found him or he went looking for them!

Oh don't you think when he heard about it he went looking for his 15 minutes of fame? I mean GMA?

oh yeah....and there will probably be more to come! Gotta pay off those medical bills!

[Wyks]

Hummmmmmm, 


I have heard the term, and used the term "self image", I have never heard the term "self persona"???

The persona is the self as one sees oneself, and may change according to whatever situation the person is in.