TRACY, Calif. – A San Joaquin County grand jury has indicted a Sunday school teacher on charges she kidnapped, raped and killed an 8-year-old girl and drugged two other people.
Melissa Huckaby, 28, broke down in tears as Judge Linda Lofthus read the indictment against her Monday.
Prosecutors convened a grand jury in late July rather than hold a preliminary hearing to determine whether Huckaby would stand trial. Lofthus said the grand jury transcript would not be made public.
Click here for photos from the memorial service.
Defense attorney Sam Behar asked the judge to postpone setting a trial date because he said he did not have time to read the lengthy transcript. A hearing to set a date was scheduled for Sept. 10.
Huckaby previously pleaded not guilty to murdering 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond in April.
Huckaby is charged with murder with the special circumstances of rape, kidnapping and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14, which could make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Sandra was last seen on a surveillance camera skipping near her Tracy home just five doors down from the defendant.
Huckaby also pleaded not guilty to drugging a 7-year-old girl earlier this year as well as a 37-year-old man, whom police believe she had dated. She is charged with two counts of furnishing someone a harmful substance and one count of child endangerment in the drugging case.
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