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

[klaasend]

Welcome Cathy!

[Wyks]

Hi Cathy, welcome! 

[no rose colored glasses]

WELCOME CATHY 

[Maven]

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090417/A_NEWS/904170320
Defense request to disinter body on hold

STOCKTON - A judge refused to rule on a request Thursday by Melissa Huckaby's attorney to have 8-year-old Sandra Cantu's body removed from her Tracy mausoleum so the defense could conduct its own autopsy.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar's request - drawing the judge's reproach and sharp opposition from the prosecutor - unfolded in a Stockton courtroom the same afternoon thousands of mourners gathered in Tracy to remember Sandra's short life.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Presiding Judge William J. Murray Jr. said he would not make a final determination on Behar's motion, because that decision rests with the judge assigned to the case.

Murray said he was disappointed Behar approached him and not Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss, who has been assigned to take up Huckaby's case next Friday.

Behar said Van Oss is not on the bench this week, and he also expects Van Oss to dismiss himself because of a conflicting case with Huckaby's prosecutor. Behar said he couldn't wait and had no choice but to ask Murray.

"Every hour is critical," Behar told the judge, adding that he's worried Sandra's body is deteriorating. "Any delay will be prejudicial to my client."

Sandra disappeared from Tracy's Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on March 27. Farm workers found her body April 6, stuffed in a black suitcase and dumped in an irrigation pond a couple of miles north of Tracy. Investigators said they believe she was killed just hours after she disappeared.

Behar's request came the day after he was assigned to represent Huckaby, the 28-year-old Tracy woman charged with murder and the special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and rape with a foreign object - charges that make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Sandra's body was placed in a casket even before Huckaby's arrest. Behar, who was later assigned to Huckaby's case, implied that the autopsy was conducted without Huckaby's interests being represented.

Most homicide cases involve a single, independent pathologist's report such as the one performed by the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office.

Behar said in the 14-page request that he wants his own analysis of "genital trauma" Sandra allegedly sustained that supports the lewd and lascivious acts and sexual penetration charges.

Behar seeks to have the Sheriff's Office send officials to Fry Memorial Chapel, who would then take custody of Sandra's body, which was entombed Wednesday at the Tracy Mausoleum.

The Sheriff's Office would "preserve" and "deliver" the body to the Coroner's Office "with all due haste" to prevent further deterioration. Behar's defense pathologist would examine and then return the body to Fry's or Sandra's family, the court motion requests.

"In this case, Ms. Cantu's body is of such material evidence and that, without immediate intervention by this court, her defense will be prejudiced," Behar's motion says.

This is the last chance Huckaby's defense pathologist will ever have an opportunity to refute the people's case, the motion says. Huckaby was not in court for the hearing. Behar declined to comment further outside court.

Put off by Murray, Behar has two options: to make his case before the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal or to wait for next Friday's scheduled hearing in Stockton.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa argued against Behar, saying he needed time to prepare a written response, consult with Tracy police detectives and his pathologist and give Sandra's family a chance to be in court and state their own objection to disturbing the girl's remains.

"It's obscene. I'm outraged by it," Testa told the judge. "Let me have my detectives here, my doctor here, (Sandra's) family here."

Murray, in declining to rule on Behar's motion, said he did some research on the law before the brief hearing, and the arguments Behar cited did not convince him he has the right to remove Sandra's body from the mausoleum.

"If I thought your legal arguments were compelling, I might be of a different thought," Murray said. "But I'm not."

[Maven]

PDF Order to preserve and surrender body
http://www.recordnet.com/_images/landingpages/cantu/0417cantumotion1.pdf

[k9ohana]

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090417/A_NEWS/904170320
Defense request to disinter body on hold

STOCKTON - A judge refused to rule on a request Thursday by Melissa Huckaby's attorney to have 8-year-old Sandra Cantu's body removed from her Tracy mausoleum so the defense could conduct its own autopsy.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar's request - drawing the judge's reproach and sharp opposition from the prosecutor - unfolded in a Stockton courtroom the same afternoon thousands of mourners gathered in Tracy to remember Sandra's short life.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Presiding Judge William J. Murray Jr. said he would not make a final determination on Behar's motion, because that decision rests with the judge assigned to the case.

Murray said he was disappointed Behar approached him and not Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss, who has been assigned to take up Huckaby's case next Friday.

Behar said Van Oss is not on the bench this week, and he also expects Van Oss to dismiss himself because of a conflicting case with Huckaby's prosecutor. Behar said he couldn't wait and had no choice but to ask Murray.

"Every hour is critical," Behar told the judge, adding that he's worried Sandra's body is deteriorating. "Any delay will be prejudicial to my client."

Sandra disappeared from Tracy's Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on March 27. Farm workers found her body April 6, stuffed in a black suitcase and dumped in an irrigation pond a couple of miles north of Tracy. Investigators said they believe she was killed just hours after she disappeared.

Behar's request came the day after he was assigned to represent Huckaby, the 28-year-old Tracy woman charged with murder and the special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and rape with a foreign object - charges that make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Sandra's body was placed in a casket even before Huckaby's arrest. Behar, who was later assigned to Huckaby's case, implied that the autopsy was conducted without Huckaby's interests being represented.

Most homicide cases involve a single, independent pathologist's report such as the one performed by the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office.

Behar said in the 14-page request that he wants his own analysis of "genital trauma" Sandra allegedly sustained that supports the lewd and lascivious acts and sexual penetration charges.

Behar seeks to have the Sheriff's Office send officials to Fry Memorial Chapel, who would then take custody of Sandra's body, which was entombed Wednesday at the Tracy Mausoleum.

The Sheriff's Office would "preserve" and "deliver" the body to the Coroner's Office "with all due haste" to prevent further deterioration. Behar's defense pathologist would examine and then return the body to Fry's or Sandra's family, the court motion requests.

"In this case, Ms. Cantu's body is of such material evidence and that, without immediate intervention by this court, her defense will be prejudiced," Behar's motion says.

This is the last chance Huckaby's defense pathologist will ever have an opportunity to refute the people's case, the motion says. Huckaby was not in court for the hearing. Behar declined to comment further outside court.

Put off by Murray, Behar has two options: to make his case before the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal or to wait for next Friday's scheduled hearing in Stockton.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa argued against Behar, saying he needed time to prepare a written response, consult with Tracy police detectives and his pathologist and give Sandra's family a chance to be in court and state their own objection to disturbing the girl's remains.

"It's obscene. I'm outraged by it," Testa told the judge. "Let me have my detectives here, my doctor here, (Sandra's) family here."

Murray, in declining to rule on Behar's motion, said he did some research on the law before the brief hearing, and the arguments Behar cited did not convince him he has the right to remove Sandra's body from the mausoleum.

"If I thought your legal arguments were compelling, I might be of a different thought," Murray said. "But I'm not."

As if what that family has been through is not enough. Now after they have had to lay there loving 8 year old daughter to freaking rest they are facing the thought of taking her broken little body out, going through another autopsy and then entombing her again.
I am so ANGRY!

[Cathy]

WELCOME CATHY 

Thanks!

Like you all, I am a Truth seeker, so my prayer is that the truth be revealed, the lies be exposed and those deceived would wakeup.

Also, I pray that the Lord comfort and bring healing to the Cantu family - the pain goes deep but His love goes deeper...

[Wyks]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

[no rose colored glasses]

PDF Order to preserve and surrender body
http://www.recordnet.com/_images/landingpages/cantu/0417cantumotion1.pdf

Wow, thanks for that link.

[no rose colored glasses]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I don't get it. But I know one thing, if this were my child they would not be exhuming her body, I would lay on her grave, and they would have to kill me before I would allow this. Does a family not have any say so in something like this?

[k9ohana]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I don't get it. But I know one thing, if this were my child they would not be exhuming her body, I would lay on her grave, and they would have to kill me before I would allow this. Does a family not have any say so in something like this?

My question is this, can it actually be detrimental in the end to not allow the defense there own autopsy? I do NOT want to see this babies body exhumed however I also do not want to see doubt cast of the prosecutions case over this either.

[Wyks]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I don't get it. But I know one thing, if this were my child they would not be exhuming her body, I would lay on her grave, and they would have to kill me before I would allow this. Does a family not have any say so in something like this?

I'd be doing the same, NoRose!  Seems to me they'd be having to ask the family before thinking of asking the judge!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.   If there isn't a particular timeframe where both sides have the opportunity to do an autopsy, there ought to be, IMO.  Once the body has been laid to rest, IMO, it ought to be too damn late and too damn bad for whoever didn't take the opportunity beforehand. 

Am thinking this is a much different thing, than someone who has been laid to rest for a long time and the case has been reopened or something. 

[AZSunny]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I guess this public defender is new to the case as of Wednesday, but it is not her first PD.  I am outraged at the suggestion.  To make matters worse, it doesn't appear the the PD has even reviewed the findings of the first autopsy.  I hope to hell this is denied.  Do they need the families permission to do this?  What more do they need to deal with right now?? 

[klaasend]

O/T

This Sunday on the LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) they will be airing the Natalee Holloway story.  It will be aired at 8pm ET.  Please check your local listing and channels.  I have Direct TV and I'm in SoCal and it's going to be at 5pm Sunday for me.

More information here:

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=4623.0

[Tracygirl]

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090417/A_NEWS/904170320
Defense request to disinter body on hold

STOCKTON - A judge refused to rule on a request Thursday by Melissa Huckaby's attorney to have 8-year-old Sandra Cantu's body removed from her Tracy mausoleum so the defense could conduct its own autopsy.

San Joaquin County Deputy Public Defender Sam Behar's request - drawing the judge's reproach and sharp opposition from the prosecutor - unfolded in a Stockton courtroom the same afternoon thousands of mourners gathered in Tracy to remember Sandra's short life.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Presiding Judge William J. Murray Jr. said he would not make a final determination on Behar's motion, because that decision rests with the judge assigned to the case.

Murray said he was disappointed Behar approached him and not Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss, who has been assigned to take up Huckaby's case next Friday.

Behar said Van Oss is not on the bench this week, and he also expects Van Oss to dismiss himself because of a conflicting case with Huckaby's prosecutor. Behar said he couldn't wait and had no choice but to ask Murray.

"Every hour is critical," Behar told the judge, adding that he's worried Sandra's body is deteriorating. "Any delay will be prejudicial to my client."

Sandra disappeared from Tracy's Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on March 27. Farm workers found her body April 6, stuffed in a black suitcase and dumped in an irrigation pond a couple of miles north of Tracy. Investigators said they believe she was killed just hours after she disappeared.

Behar's request came the day after he was assigned to represent Huckaby, the 28-year-old Tracy woman charged with murder and the special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and rape with a foreign object - charges that make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Sandra's body was placed in a casket even before Huckaby's arrest. Behar, who was later assigned to Huckaby's case, implied that the autopsy was conducted without Huckaby's interests being represented.

Most homicide cases involve a single, independent pathologist's report such as the one performed by the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office.

Behar said in the 14-page request that he wants his own analysis of "genital trauma" Sandra allegedly sustained that supports the lewd and lascivious acts and sexual penetration charges.

Behar seeks to have the Sheriff's Office send officials to Fry Memorial Chapel, who would then take custody of Sandra's body, which was entombed Wednesday at the Tracy Mausoleum.

The Sheriff's Office would "preserve" and "deliver" the body to the Coroner's Office "with all due haste" to prevent further deterioration. Behar's defense pathologist would examine and then return the body to Fry's or Sandra's family, the court motion requests.

"In this case, Ms. Cantu's body is of such material evidence and that, without immediate intervention by this court, her defense will be prejudiced," Behar's motion says.

This is the last chance Huckaby's defense pathologist will ever have an opportunity to refute the people's case, the motion says. Huckaby was not in court for the hearing. Behar declined to comment further outside court.

Put off by Murray, Behar has two options: to make his case before the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal or to wait for next Friday's scheduled hearing in Stockton.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa argued against Behar, saying he needed time to prepare a written response, consult with Tracy police detectives and his pathologist and give Sandra's family a chance to be in court and state their own objection to disturbing the girl's remains.

"It's obscene. I'm outraged by it," Testa told the judge. "Let me have my detectives here, my doctor here, (Sandra's) family here."

Murray, in declining to rule on Behar's motion, said he did some research on the law before the brief hearing, and the arguments Behar cited did not convince him he has the right to remove Sandra's body from the mausoleum.

"If I thought your legal arguments were compelling, I might be of a different thought," Murray said. "But I'm not."

How many times will this woman want to violate this little girls body? What a disgusting person she is.

[Wyks]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I guess this public defender is new to the case as of Wednesday, but it is not her first PD.  I am outraged at the suggestion.  To make matters worse, it doesn't appear the the PD has even reviewed the findings of the first autopsy.  I hope to hell this is denied.  Do they need the families permission to do this?  What more do they need to deal with right now?? 

For the PD to be new, I can understand why she would want to do this, but ... she's got to realize that it's just too late, and to even suggest such a thing is outrageous.  IMO.  If she hasn't even reviewed the findings of the first autopsy yet, then why would she need her own autopsy done!  Just cuz??  Or just to build her own case?  Jeeeeeeeez... Review the findings already done and be happy with it, build her case on something else.  Am hoping that's what the judge will tell her. 
 

[cookie]

snip Tracy:
How many times will this woman want to violate this little girls body? What a disgusting person she is.

quite right Tracy...this is outrageous....Sandra is resting in peace now after all that she has been through and she should be left undisturbed in my opinion...

[Tracygirl]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I don't get it. But I know one thing, if this were my child they would not be exhuming her body, I would lay on her grave, and they would have to kill me before I would allow this. Does a family not have any say so in something like this?

I would be doing that very same thing. I have never heard of such a thing. First I don't' know how anyone could defend this crime, then to ask for the poor little girl to be continually violated. She doesn't need anyone poking around that area anymore. For gosh sakes let her be! I am sure they took pictures to go along with the report, they can "defend" MH using those.
That poor family, they do not need this nor do the thousands of people who tried to get some kind of closure yesterday at her memorial. She is selfish to allow her PD to ask for this. Shows me she doesn't care one bit for this child. I hope she is convicted and sent to death.

[no rose colored glasses]

What I don't understand is why the defense didn't ask to do an autopsy on Sandra's body before she was laid to rest.   

I don't get it. But I know one thing, if this were my child they would not be exhuming her body, I would lay on her grave, and they would have to kill me before I would allow this. Does a family not have any say so in something like this?

I would be doing that very same thing. I have never heard of such a thing. First I don't' know how anyone could defend this crime, then to ask for the poor little girl to be continually violated. She doesn't need anyone poking around that area anymore. For gosh sakes let her be! I am sure they took pictures to go along with the report, they can "defend" MH using those.
That poor family, they do not need this nor do the thousands of people who tried to get some kind of closure yesterday at her memorial. She is selfish to allow her PD to ask for this. Shows me she doesn't care one bit for this child. I hope she is convicted and sent to death.

Me too.

[O4Bull]

Video of GMA appearance is up http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/



http://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 17, 2009—


ARTICLE SNIPPED FOR SPACE....

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

In 2002, Melissa Huckaby took out a restraining order against a former boyfriend. In a handwritten note obtained by ABC News, Huckaby claimed he stalked her, threatened to kill her and harm her grandfather.

A year later, she was married to Johnny Huckaby. In their divorce papers, she accused him of child abduction and domestic violence, charges he vehemently denied.

His daughter is in a safe place and doing well, Huckaby said.

"She does not have any knowledge of the situation that's going on, which is best," he said.

I snipped the article and highlighted in red.  Hmmmmmmm, now why would a boyfriend threaten to kill her grandfather?  Was she living with her parents or grandparents?  If her grandparents, why?  Did dad do something to her, notice she came back to her grandparents after living first with her parents after their divorce.  Or? Did grandpa do something to her and she told the boyfriend?
Just thinkin'...