STOCKTON, Calif., April 22 (UPI) -- The California public defender for accused child killer Melissa Huckaby says he's dropping a request to have the body of slain 8-year-old Sandra Cantu exhumed.
Public Defender Peter Fox contradicted a filing made on the day of the girl's memorial service by defense attorney Sam Behar in which he said an exhumation and second autopsy of the victim was necessary for Huckaby's defense.
Fox, however, told Tuesday's San Francisco Chronicle that independent tests on Sandra Cantu's body are not needed and that relevant DNA samples had been adequately preserved.
"It will not be necessary to disturb the child's remains," he told the newspaper. "From a human point of view, certainly, it's nice not to have to do that."
San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus has since issued a gag order directing all the parties not to talk to the press about the case, the Tracy (Calif.) Press reported.
Huckaby is set to appear at a second arraignment Friday in Stockton, Calif., on charges of murder with three special circumstances, kidnapping, rape with a foreign object and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14, the newspaper said.
