Sandra Cantu Case- Church is Crime Scene

Posted by BOC Staff | Amber Alert,Kidnapping,Missing Persons,Murdered,Sandra Cantu | Tuesday 7 April 2009 11:26 am

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sandracantuframe1

Tracy, CA- As the news of Sandra Cantu’s death and the finding of her remains in a black suitcase emerged last evening, the investigation into her disappearance and murder moved to the West Clover Baptist Church.  Almost immediately following the heartwrenching news this little cherub we  last saw skipping past a surveillance camera was dead; FBI and Tracy Police personel converged on the the scene at 11000 West Clover Rd. 

Crime scene tape was used to cordon off the surrounding area of the Church and Police indicated they were focusing their efforts on a shed on the grounds. churchcrimescene-1  

Police will not comment on what has led them to obtain warrants to search the church and it’s surrounding land and outbuildings.  However, Blinkoncrime has learned that the Pastor of West Clover Baptist Church, Clifford Lane Lawless is a resident of Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Sandra Cantu lived and was last seen.

Pastor and Mrs. Lawless own the mobile home that occupies Space #57.

A source inside the investigation has confirmed to Blink on Crime  the undisclosed location which was the subject of last nights search warrants and evidence collection, is the home of Pastor Lawless.

Clover Baptist is 6 mi from Irrigation Pond

Clover Baptist is 6 mi from Irrigation Pond

Clover Baptist is 6 miles from the Dairy Farm irrigation pond where Sandra’s remains were found yesterday.  A search participant from this weekends search efforts sent Blinkoncrime an email which describes the immediate area to Tracy and that in their opinion this was the first accessible large body of water with significant “cover” for one to dump the suitcase. 

The Church is less than 1/8 of a mile from the Cantu home. mgptochurch

Lt. Tony Shenemen of the Tracy Police Department reported last evening that there was nothing to identify the church or an individual found in or on the suitcase in which she was found. When asked if the suitcase could be tied to a person of interest in the case, however, he declined comment.

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26 Comments

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  2. kimm says:

    When is the justice system gonna learn..Sex offenders they let out are always more likely to kill their victim the next time. I have read over and over again the victim testifies the first time then they make sure they can’t the next time..It’s sick i know but it is so true and it need to stop. Why can they use lie detector test when these criminals and others go before a parole board..We all know it’s easy to tell someone what they want to hear but it doesn’t make it true

  3. ~Michelle says:

    Well Blink, I have to admit that you were right. I’m sorry about that, this time. I was so hoping that this poor little girl was still with us.
    All these children going missing is making me sick to my stomach. Can these be prevented? Should society be schooled in order to keep their children safe? Something needs to be done so we don’t feel so helpless.
    Off subject – Today I re-read the senario of the traffic tickets to Annie Downing and ZG (?) on 5/24. Have you ever done a follow up to that post? I believe it’s an interesting theory that I would love to hear more about. I think your theory has much merit and wish LE would pick up on it. If your theories are correct, a lot of questions will be answered.
    Thank you Blink and keep up the good work.
    ~Michelle

    I would have preferred to be wrong, but I am glad she has been found.
    On the Annie D and Zenaida post, LE as well as John Morgan has had that information PRIOR to me writing on it publicly. I would say stay tuned to the next depositions in Zenaida’s case.

  4. Gigi says:

    blink: thank you for your excellent coverage of the stories of missing children. sex offenders cannot and will not ever be rehabilitated. i have a master’s degree in criminal justice and have worked in the correctional system. i think the first time someone commits a sexual crime on a person under the age of 16, the perpetrator should be locked up for life. how many children do we have to sacrifice before america wakes up to this crisis. sexual predators will never change; they are not capable of changing. their behavior only escalates. society cannot monitor these deviants 24/7 nor should we have to. lock them up and keep them locked up. i cannot imagine how this child’s parents are coping with this horrible loss. i hope they find the monster who did this and execute him.

    I completely agree GiGi
    B

  5. kelli says:

    My heart goes out to this family. People need to realize the world has changed. My Daughter is 17, she was never allowed to do the things i did as a child. I used to ride my bike all over the place, My Mom drank alot, she didn’t care if I was home or not. Most of the time she didn’t even know where I was. It was a safer time back then. It was ok to talk to the neighbors. AT my grandma’s house we never even locked our doors. NOW WE HAVE TO LOCK UP OUR CHILDREN TO KEEP THEM SAFE, LOCK OUR DOORS, PUT IN ALARM SYSTEMS, KNOW WHERE YOUR KIDS ARE AT ALL TIMES, CHECK ON THEM, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE THEY GO SOME WHERE WITH, MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS ARE WHERE THEY SAY THEY ARE.
    LOVE YOUR KIDS WITH TOUGH LOVE. BE A PARENT!! OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE, AND OUR PRECIOUS GIFTS FROM GOD

    with love and sympathy
    kelli

  6. Connie says:

    My heart goes out to the family. May it help to know that people care.
    xox

  7. La girl says:

    My heart is broken over this news. All I see in that video is a little angel the same age and bubbly personality that my little girl has. :*( Praying for this family

  8. Felicity says:

    It would terrify me to have a young child nowadays! I would be a wreck when they were out of my sight! I pray they catch the monster who did this to this beautiful child. He should be put to death immediately!

    Pedifiles should NEVER, EVER be released. They CANNOT be rehabilated, and they progress to murder. Some new laws must be passed to protect the precious children of America….

  9. ANNIE says:

    I WISH PEOPLE WOULD STOP SAYING “GIVE THEM A LIE DETECTOR TEST” I KNOW IT WILL NOT HELP IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. PATHOLOGICAL LIARS SUCH AS CASEY ANTHONY, LIE SO MUCH THEY HAVE NO CHANGE I HEART RATE OR ANYTHING WHEN THEY LIE. I KNEW A WOMAN WHO WOULD NEGLECT HER KIDS DAY AND NIGHT AND PUSH THEM OFF ON EVERYONE. HER DAUGHTER WAS HURT AND DFACS GOT INVOLVED. SHE LIED SO WELL SHE PASSED HER TEST AD HER BOYFRIEND WAS NOT SO LUCKY(COULDN’T LIE AS WELL I GUESS) AND FAILED AND HE WENT TO JAIL FOR HER NEGLECTING HER KIDS!!!!

  10. G says:

    This is a sick world we live in. I hope they catch the pervert who did this. I’d like to have 10 minutes with him. I’d put him in a suitcase.

  11. gail says:

    It seems that with the accessability of the internet, there has been a huge increase in porn of all kinds. Child porn is definately linked to these kinds of crimes. We need to STOP child porn by punishing the preditors severely instead of slapping them on the hand and “monitoring” their whereabouts. Anyone can access porn and everyone is at risk.

  12. Concerned Mother says:

    My heart bleeds for Sandra’s family but thank God she is now in a better place. I have been praying that she would safely be returned to her home but God obviously had a different plan for her.

    I have not stopped thinking about this case ever since I learned about her body being found last night. I too have a daughter the same age I could not imagine this nightmare becoming a reality. My daughter was sexually abused over a year ago by our 17 year old neighbor. She was not the only victim and the perpetrator confessed to his actions and served only 4 months in juvenille hall. He does not have to register as a sex offender and his file will be closed at the age of 18 due to the fact that he is a “minor”. His actions were not those of a minor though. As many of you have stated that there is no rehabilitation for sex offenders, my husband and I agree that this young man will indeed act again. I wish that everyone was convinced of that. Mostly his parents who cover for his every mistake.

    I thought that I was an overprotective parent until I learned about what was happening to my daughter. Obviously, I was oblivious to the fact that sex offenders are not always grown men over the age of 18.
    Now, I educate anyone who will listen. I want to make sure that parents have the awareness that I didn’t.

  13. ann says:

    If this child’s death is at the hands of a repeat sex offender, then I hope that her parents bring a civil damages case against the persons/parole board who signed off on his release. It is time these decisions are held up to scrutinity-and the persons who have granted the release held accountable.

  14. Char says:

    Blink, thanks for all your posts.
    You have really given so much info. Thanks again, Char

  15. Prevost1580 says:

    A Pastor? is being investigated??

  16. Char says:

    Yes,Prevost, that`s what was posted.
    I really am shocked! Char

  17. Pam says:

    This has been on my mind since last evening upon the discovery of this precious little girl. Mid-march of this year (and Sandra missing on the 27th) there was a huge story in Poway, California and it has taken me awhile to find the news/video:
    http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10072355.
    Geographically, Tracy California is approx. 450 mi. up the coast and Tracy is right off the interstate of 5/580. The pond where Sandra was found is just a jump back onto the major highway and back onto the interstate. I am not from California, but that story never left my mind and then Sandra went missing. Would it be too far-fetched to think that this possibly may be linked to the Poway incidents?

  18. Prevost1580 says:

    If it’s not a politician,a doctor or a teacher it’s always a Pastor. Things that make you go hmmmmm….

  19. Dan Mata says:

    THE TRACY POLICE SCREWED UP! Do you think maybe we should have some actuall evidence before we call this Pastor (or any POI) an evil child killer? It has become quite obvious the Tracy Police HAVE NO IDEA who did this terrible thing. They are blindly searching everyone and everything in proximity to this child. They have no clear direction, no clear suspect and they are basically grasping at straws at this point. Why were they originally so reluctant to classify this as an abduction? Why did they wait so long before the dogs came in? Why did they make statements at press conferences telling the public they were “confident” Sandra would be found alive? Will the Tracy community be further victimized by a botched police investigation?

  20. Char says:

    Yes, I agree, lots of mistakes made by the Tracy police.
    I don`t understand why, they didn`t call this an abduction.
    It didn`t make sense, and why were they sure she would be found alive??
    And if that drainage thing hadn`t gone down, the suitcase might never have been found.
    Char

  21. Dan Mata says:

    Other than the family and the residents of Orchard Park, no one wants to find the killer(s) more than Tracy PD. That said it appears clear to me T.PD dropped the ball from the begining by inexplicably refusing to treat Sandra’s disappearance as an abduction from the outset. The family clearly told them she would not have left on her own; and the location is a one-entrance/exit trailer park near a major interstate freeway. The police were told she never would leave the trailer park on her own. What else could it have been but an abduction?

    Imagine what the scent dogs would have found in the limited geography of that enclosed trailer park if they had been used right away on Friday Night. Obviously someone who had a safe spot near or in the trailer park abducted Sandra. Her body was dumped in the first publically accessable body of water just two miles in a straight line from the trailer park. Thus the Killer(s) had to have a place between those two points to commit the crime(s). With only one exit/entrance from the trailer park, the dogs could have followed lineal scent line while the scent molucules were fresh.

  22. tobe says:

    Come to think of it, TPD was searching rivers and landfills, yet, they left this close-by pond unchecked. Wouldn’t you look at all close-by places first before heading further out? And an 8-year old missing by evening should have justified an Amber alert! Even if she would have showed up again, it is better to immediately alert everyone around so people keep their eyes open. What good is an Amber alert when you issue it after the fact – or not at all!

  23. nascarmom says:

    Melissa Chantel Huckaby has been arrested
    Twenty-eight-year-old Melissa Chantel Huckaby was arrested at 11:55 p.m. Friday on suspicion of kidnapping and killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

  24. Honey says:

    Blink, I was just looking at the Pastor Lawless Church website (http://www.clover-road-baptist-church.com/Pastor1.html) and noticed he was from EAST Wenatchee, Washington many many years ago. Back in 1998, in EAST Wenatchee, Washington a Church was busted a child pornography ring, could Lawless be involved or have something to do with that ring as well? ( police raided the church to arrest Roberson and his wife, “Sister Connie,” on 22 counts of allegedly raping and molesting children – both at the pastor’s house and during Friday-night Bible classes. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16947472.html)

    Mr. Lawless was baptized July 9, 1960 by the authority of the Eastside Missionary Baptist Church of East Wenatchee. Please check this out, sounds like he’s connected and these people have been working this ring since the 60′s, I’m not sure but it’s starting to make sense to me.

    THIS IS THE WORK OF A CHURCH PARTICIPATING IN CHILD PRONOGRAPHY!

  25. punkin says:

    THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT THINK THAT IS NONE OF THERE BUSINESS,WANT GET INVOLVED,BUT WILL YELL AND SCREAM IF YOU ASK THEM TO HELP. I THINK THIS WHY IT IS SO BAD WE NEED TO GET INVOLVED AND STOP LETTING OTHERS GET AWAY WITH THINGS. IF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN ROBBED A GUN STUCK IN YOUR FACE AND YOU THINK THAT HIDEING NOT HELPING WILL KEEP YOU SAFE YOUR WRONG.LETS GET INVOLVED WITH OUR CHILDREN KNOW WHO THEY KNOW THANKS

  26. yes mom says:

    All these kids disappearing and people complain about how strict I am with my kids!!!! Other parents tell me I should let my children have more freedom! I should let them go places alone and with other kids… My oldest kid is 11, NO WAY IN HELL AM I LETTING HER GO ANYWHERE ALONE!!!! I have a daughter that is 9 and resembles Sandra Cantu in an eerie way. I am so sorry for the families of all these missing and murdered children. My heart bleeds for them! I am SO afraid of losing one of my children. Humanity has never been trustworthy with kid’s safety, but it is getting SO much worse!!! Every person you meet has the potential to harm your child. My kids can hate me for hovering and my neighbors can think I am overbearing and restrictive all they want. I am not letting my kids out of my sight for as long as I can possibly manage. I know they will need more freedom as they get older, but I think our society has to find new ways to accommodate our children’s needs for freedom AND still keep them safe. My kids are going to hate me for it, but if I have anything to say or do about it, MY kids will make it safely to adulthood. We all have to be more vigilant for ALL children!

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