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TRACY, Calif. (CBS13/AP) ― A Tracy woman cried in court this afternoon as she was formally charged with kidnap, rape and murder in the death of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

Melissa Huckaby, 28, was formally arraigned this afternoon, charged with murdering her daughter's friend, Sandra Cantu, in a gruesome crime that has shocked and terrified residents in Tracy,  Huckaby entered a Stockton courtroom that was packed with local and national media including CBS13's David Begnaud.

David says Huckaby walked in, shackled at the waist and immediately started crying silently.  He says her chin trembled as the judge read the charges against her including in their allegations the special circumstances of rape with a foreign object, lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14, and murder in the course of a kidnapping.

The special circumstances mean Huckaby, if convicted, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have said they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

During Tuesday's hearing, which lasted only several minutes, public defender Ellen Schwarzenberg, asked Judge Richard A. Vlavianos for a gag order in the case. Vlavianos said that question would be answered by his colleague, Judge Terrence Van Oss, who would be presiding over future hearings.

Schwarzenberg also asked that a medication evaluation be given.

Vlavianos ordered Huckaby to return to court on April 24, when she's expected to enter a plea.

Sandra Cantu's mother, Maria, was not in the courtroom, according to David Begnaud.  But her Aunt Angie and Uncle Joe were. Huckaby's father, grandmother, aunt, and other family members were also in the court.

Sandra disappeared March 27. She was last seen on a surveillance camera skipping outside the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy where she lived just five doors down from Huckaby. 
A 10-day search by law enforcement and the community ended on April 6, when farm workers draining an irrigation pond a few miles away from the mobile home complex found the suitcase that was later determined to contain Sandra's body.

Police have said Sandra was found wearing the same clothes she had on when she was last seen: a pink "Hello Kitty" T-shirt and black leggings. They have not said how, why or where she was killed, and the coroner's office has said autopsy results are pending.

The complaint said the murder happened "on or about" March 27, but gave no other details.

Huckaby was arrested Friday, hours after she told a Tracy Press reporter that the suitcase was hers but it had been stolen the day Sandra went missing.

CBS13 has leanred that Huckaby gave investigators four different, conflicting, staements on the night she was arrested.  None of those statements was a confession, but it was enough to get her charged.

Huckaby's family visited her late Monday at the San Joaquin County Jail, where she is being held without bail.

"We're in shock," Brian Lawless, Huckaby's father, said. "The young lady I see on film, that's not my daughter."

Lawless said during the visit, the family cried and prayed together. He said his daughter looks good despite not getting much sleep. He said he did not discuss the case or any of the possible new charges in the case with his daughter.

"Among all of our pain and among all of our suffering, the center of that has always been Sandra and her family," Lawless said when asked if they had anything to say to Sandra Cantu's family. "We do not minimize or pretend to be suffering the same...and all I can say is our prayers are with Sandra and her family."

The slaying had already aroused fear among parents in Tracy and particularly in the mobile home complex, where residents described a tight-knit community. News of the rape allegation heightened concern for children.

The little girl's family broke down in tears when they were told of the sexual assault allegations.

"I'm in shock. The whole thing is unimaginable," Sandra's aunt, Angie Chavez, said Monday.

A public memorial service is scheduled for Sandra on Thursday.

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