Documents: Woman who killed girl found in suitcase later went to hospital for swallowing blade
By APFriday, June 18, 2010
Records: Killer of CA girl swallowed razor blade
STOCKTON, Calif. — Prosecutors say a Northern California mother who killed her daughter’s 8-year-old playmate checked herself into a hospital eight days after the murder for swallowing a razor blade.
In grand jury transcripts released Friday, prosecutor Thomas Testa says Melissa Huckaby entered the hospital on April 4, 2009 — two days before the discovery of Sandra Cantu’s body in a suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond.
The documents show Huckaby told investigators she accidentally swallowed the blade while sleepwalking.
Testa told members of the grand jury the action showed the “consciousness of guilt.”
Huckaby was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and murder charges. Authorities say they have no motive for the killing.
