TRACY (CBS 5) ―
Tracy police arrested Melissa Huckaby early Saturday for suspicion of kidnapping and murder in the death of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, CBS 5 has learned and police confirmed.
The 28-year-old Huckaby is a Sunday school teacher and the granddaughter of the pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church, which was searched by authorities for a second time Friday in connection with the case.
Huckaby's arrest came after she drove herself to the police station and was voluntarily questioned by police detectives for several hours on Friday night.
CBS 5 obtained exclusive video of Huckaby leaving the mobile home park, where both she and the girl lived, and driving away. She signaled that she had to leave.
She later sent a text message, telling CBS 5 that she was on the way to meet with police detectives.
At 2:25 a.m., police drove Huckaby out of their headquarters in an unmarked car, headed for the San Joaquin County Jail, where she was booked on charges of kidnapping and murder.
She was being held without bail, with a court arraignment set for Tuesday, according to the county sheriff's office.
"We have information that by the time (Sandra Cantu) was reported missing to us, she had already been murdered," said Police Chief Janet Thiessen said.
However, Thiessen would not elaborate on the cause of Sandra's death nor the motive in the case.
"This is a terrible terbible tragedy," Thiessen added. "An act against a child that has wide-reaching implications."
A massive search for the missing child had included hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials. Pictures of the girl with dark brown eyes and light brown hair were posted all over Tracy, a city of 78,000 in the Central Valley.
The search ended April 6 when farmworkers who were draining the irrigation pond to water fields found a suitcase containing Sandra's body.
The slain girl's aunt, Angie Chavez, said Saturday that she was happy to learn of the arrest.
"I want to know why she did it, if she did it," Chavez said.
Tracy police arrested Melissa Huckaby early Saturday for suspicion of kidnapping and murder in the death of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, CBS 5 has learned and police confirmed.
The 28-year-old Huckaby is a Sunday school teacher and the granddaughter of the pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church, which was searched by authorities for a second time Friday in connection with the case.
Huckaby's arrest came after she drove herself to the police station and was voluntarily questioned by police detectives for several hours on Friday night.
CBS 5 obtained exclusive video of Huckaby leaving the mobile home park, where both she and the girl lived, and driving away. She signaled that she had to leave.
She later sent a text message, telling CBS 5 that she was on the way to meet with police detectives.
At 2:25 a.m., police drove Huckaby out of their headquarters in an unmarked car, headed for the San Joaquin County Jail, where she was booked on charges of kidnapping and murder.
She was being held without bail, with a court arraignment set for Tuesday, according to the county sheriff's office.
"We have information that by the time (Sandra Cantu) was reported missing to us, she had already been murdered," said Police Chief Janet Thiessen said.
However, Thiessen would not elaborate on the cause of Sandra's death nor the motive in the case.
"This is a terrible terbible tragedy," Thiessen added. "An act against a child that has wide-reaching implications."
A massive search for the missing child had included hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials. Pictures of the girl with dark brown eyes and light brown hair were posted all over Tracy, a city of 78,000 in the Central Valley.
The search ended April 6 when farmworkers who were draining the irrigation pond to water fields found a suitcase containing Sandra's body.
The slain girl's aunt, Angie Chavez, said Saturday that she was happy to learn of the arrest.
"I want to know why she did it, if she did it," Chavez said.
