Around the Nation

CALIFORNIA KILLING

Relatives Describe Suspect as 'Loving'

Eleven relatives of Melissa Chantel Huckaby said Sunday they are having trouble reconciling the 28-year-old "very loving" mother they know with the person accused of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

The relatives declined to identify themselves during their news conference in front of Orchard Estates mobile home park in Tracy, Calif., where the dead child and Huckaby were neighbors. They said the charges are out of character with the woman they know.

So far, they said, relatives have been unable to meet with Huckaby, who is in the San Joaquin County jail, where she is booked on kidnapping and murder counts. Huckaby is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday afternoon at the San Joaquin Superior Court branch in Manteca.

Huckaby's arrest was a double blow to Tracy, a police spokesman said Saturday. People were on the lookout for "the monster, the madman who would do this," the police spokesman said.

Instead, investigators said it was a neighbor -- the mother of one of the girl's best friends -- who they believe kidnapped and killed Cantu, then stuffed her body into a suitcase and dumped it in a dairy drainage pond.

Authorities did not disclose how or where the girl died. They also declined to say whether Huckaby confessed, and they did not discuss a possible motive.

The arrest prompted outrage and disbelief, and it reminded residents that even bedroom communities of 80,000 such as Tracy, where thousands of commuters cross the Altamont Pass each day to go to work in the San Francisco Bay area, are not insulated from the worst of big-city ills.

"We are getting bigger," said Michael Cain, 54, a decade-long Tracy resident, as he rode his bike Saturday past the Clover Road Baptist Church. "We can't have a small-town mentality anymore."

-- Sacramento Bee

Christian Center Homes Burn: A massive Easter fire damaged dozens of buildings on the grounds of a Christian center in New Hampshire. Fire Marshal William Degnan says 40 cottage-type seasonal homes believed to have been unoccupied burned at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center, 30 miles northeast of Concord. There are no reports of civilian injuries, but one firefighter was hurt. The fire erupted at 4:30 p.m. when the resurrection of Jesus was being celebrated. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Marine's Release Sought: Former Marines are mounting a petition drive to try to persuade a general at Camp Pendleton to drop charges against a Marine sergeant accused of killing a prisoner during a battle in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. The Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, has admitted the killing and awaits court-martial on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. The drive to have the charges against Nelson dropped began after the acquittal Thursday of Sgt. Ryan Weemer on similar charges. In August, a civilian jury found former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario not guilty in the same case.

Churchgoers Gather: Easter prayers were offered for victims of deadly storms that hit western Arkansas and the Southeast last week with signs of damage done by a tornado evident in St. Agnes Church. A stained-glass window in Mena, Ark., was broken in several places and rainwater leaked down the back of a display showing Jesus being led to the cross. Three people were killed and 30 injured when the tornado struck Mena on Thursday.

Egan at Easter Mass: Cardinal Edward Egan, who will retire as head of New York City's Roman Catholic Archdiocese on Wednesday, told worshipers at his last Easter Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral that mortal life is fleeting and "we are here for a moment in eternity." Egan, who was hospitalized for several days with a stomach ailment and missed Palm Sunday services, appeared robust. Egan is leaving after nine years leading the New York Archdiocese's 2.5 million Catholics. Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan will be installed as his successor on Wednesday.

Rain Brings Relief to Texas: Texas Forest Service officials say rainstorms have drenched most of north Texas, helping firefighters contain several large blazes that have burned for days. Wildfires have burned more than 172,000 acres across the state, killing three.

-- From News Services