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	Huckaby Barely Composed During Hearing (2:44 p.m.) The Record April 14, 2009 http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090414/A_NEWS/90414011 [read the criminal complaint] STOCKTON – An emotionally fragile Melissa Chantel Huckaby teetered on the verge of tears today in a brief courtroom appearance as she listened to a judge read off the charges that she kidnapped, murdered and raped 8-year-old Sandra Cantu. The hearing lasted a little more than four minutes but carried the weight of the last three weeks -- through Sandra's disappearance March 27, the discovery of her body in a black suitcase and the arrest of Huckaby. The 28-year-old Tracy woman stands accused of a sex crime usually committed by men. The charges make Huckaby eligible for a death sentence if convicted. San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Richard Vlavianos read Huckaby the charges. Shackled and standing the entire time, she appeared to purse her lips, struggling to maintain composure as the judge mentioned "Sandra" by name and used words like "rape by a foreign object." Huckaby entered no plea to the charge of murder with special circumstances of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious acts on a child and rape by a foreign object. The complaint doesn't say what "object" Huckaby allegedly used, and prosecutors won't comment on the evidence. The carefully orchestrated hearing was watched by more than three dozen reporters from local and national media outlets. A dozen bailiffs lined the wall next to Huckaby, who stood alongside San Joaquin Deputy Public Defender Ellen Schwarzenberg. Her relatives and those of Sandra also sat watching, tears welling in the eyes of both families. Vlavianos said that Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss will hear Huckaby's case. The next hearing is scheduled April 24. Schwarzenberg asked Vlavianos for a gag order, something Vlavianos said he will let Van Oss decide. Also among observers in court were Tracy Police Chief Janet M. Thiessen seated with with three of her investigators. San Joaquin County District Attorney James Willett watched with his chief prosecutors. San Joaquin County Public Defender Pete Fox also was in court. Outside the courthouse, a swell of reporters swarmed around Willett who made a brief statement that his office will follow the normal procedure in deciding what penalty they will seek against Huckaby. "As charged, she faces a potential death sentence or alternatively life without the possibility of parole," Willett said. "We will not make a decision on whether to seek death until we're further down the road in these proceedings." Check back for updates and read Wednesday's Record for more on this story by staff writer Scott Smith.
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