Tracy, California Sunday School Teacher Charged with Sandra Cantu's Murder

Police arrested Sunday-school teacher Melissa Huckaby in connection with the murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu of Tracy, Calif., alleging that the woman owned the suitcase in which Cantu was found, according to CNN.

Huckaby, 28, claimed to the Tracy Press newspaper that her suitcase had been stolen and reported it missing the day before Cantu's body was found inside it, a story that police did not buy.

Authorities believe Huckaby lied when she said it was stolen, police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said in a briefing.

"There's been a lot of speculation on the news about what happened to my suitcase," Huckaby said. "It's not my granddad's. It's mine, and someone took it," Huckaby told the Tracy Press.

The suitcase disappeared on March 27, around the same time Cantu was last seen, Huckaby told Tracy Press.

She and her daughter lived with her grandfather, Clifford Lane Lawless, pastor of the Clover Road Baptist Church, and his wife, in the same trailer park where Cantu lived.

Huckaby drove herself to the police station for a second interview Friday night. She was booked into the San Joaquin County jail about 3:25 a.m. (6:25 a.m. ET), according to the sheriff's Web site and faces charges of kidnapping and murder. She is set to appear in court Tuesday.