Sandra Cantu breaking news: Melissa Huckaby pleads guilty to murdering California girl.
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In a surprising turn of events, Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby, 29, pleaded guilty Monday morning to killing Tracy, California girl Sandra Cantu.
Huckaby entered her plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to a charge of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping, according to CBS 13. As part of the plea deal, all other charges she faced, including rape and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child were dropped.
The plea was unexpected to most, since Huckaby was in court for a routine pretrial hearing.
The original charges would have made Huckaby eligible for the death penalty had she been found guilty by a jury. She now faces a sentence of 25 years to life without the possibility of parole.
Sandra, 8, disappeared in March 2009 and was found shortly thereafter stuffed inside a suitcase in a drainage ditch. Huckaby was arrested several days later and charged with kidnapping, raping, and murdering Sandra. Authorities say Sandra was a playmate of Huckaby’s young daughter and each lived in the same mobile home park.
