The Minasi Committee: Rest in Peace, Sandra Cantu.

I don't know if I'll get in trouble for this or not, but the article below was taken from this link

(http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090408/A_NEWS/904080340)

I don't understand, I just can't wrap my brain around what kind of mind a person must have in order to be capable of such a horrible act.

It will take a long time, but I wish the Cantu family peace. It was the one thing I longed for the most after Nicolas died. Peace in my heart. I have a feeling it's going to take longer for them than it did for me.

A community grieves
Hundreds pay tribute to Sandra at vigil

By Jennie Rodriguez
Record Staff Writer
April 08, 2009 6:00 AM

TRACY - Tuesday's gray skies and rainy weather reflected a community's heartache and tears over the slaying of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, remembered as "Tracy's Angel" on a 5-by-4-foot poster hanging in front of her mobile home park.

"She was a beautiful angel, and she didn't deserve this," said Tracy resident Janet Anderson, Sandra's second cousin.

"She lit up a room. She was pure. She was sweet. She was outgoing. She was kind, thoughtful, full of smiles," said Anderson, 39. "She was truly special."

About 500 people showed up in front of the mobile home park for an impromptu vigil Tuesday night. Hundreds laid flowers and balloons, and many people lit candles in remembrance of Sandra. Tears were shed and hugs exchanged; the mood was somber.

Traffic was backed up to the Tracy Boulevard and Clover Road intersection, and people were still streaming in by the dozens after 8 p.m.

Sandra disappeared from in front of her home in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on March 27. Her body was discovered Monday stuffed inside a black suitcase floating in an irrigation pond.

Penny Morgado, a longtime resident of the mobile home park, also remembered Sandra's joyous and lively personality.

"I never saw a sad part of her or bad part of her. She was a little doll," said Morgado, 64.
Sandra would often pick flowers from her neighbors' yards and give them to her mother, Morgado said, "but they always let her pick them."

On Tuesday, hundreds of people stopped throughout the day at a memorial to Sandra under a tree near the park's entrance to pray, mourn and leave gifts.

Deborah Talley, a minister with Prayer Temple Christian Center on Larch Road, asked a morning crowd to hold hands and then led a prayer.

"She was the apple of your eyes, Lord," Talley said in prayer. "Now, Jesus, we ask you that you lift the family."

Bronwyn Escola, 36, bowed her head as she quietly sobbed. "It just breaks my heart, especially when it's in your own community," said Escola, of Ripon.

"We didn't know her, but I have a grandchild her age," 48-year-old Valerie Mazzoni said with a quivering voice. "I don't know what I would do in this situation. Everyone is just torn up."

At one point, Mazzoni fell to her knees and cried.

By midday, the shrine had tripled in size.

Pink, red and yellow flowers surrounded a tree and a nearby fire hydrant. Mylar balloons with butterflies, Disney princesses and "We will miss you" messages floated in the wind. Stuffed Easter bunnies and other toy animals were dampened by rain showers.

Monday's tragic turn of events overwhelmed Sandra's mother, Maria Chavez, and Sandra's grandmother. "The mother and grandmother had to be hospitalized," Anderson said.

When the suitcase was found midmorning, family members dismissed the possibility that the little girl's body would be inside. There had been a number of fruitless leads previously, Anderson said.

"They were hopeful (the suitcase) was full of tires. They weren't prepared for this," Anderson said.

Sandra's abduction motivated volunteers from the Valley, the Bay Area and beyond to join law enforcement agencies in a massive, weeklong search. Fliers were posted in communities miles from Tracy. The reward money reached almost $30,000, and candlelight vigils were held night after night.

The grim discovery and the knowledge that a killer remains at large have added to the community's sense of apprehension.

"I have two little girls of my own. I just want to hold them close," Escola said.

"You can't be safe anywhere," said 45-year-old Senait Sahle of Tracy. "What kind of an animal? How can a human being do such a thing to a little girl?" Sahle has an 11-year-old daughter.

The discovery of Sandra's body was felt at the Tuesday morning meeting of the county Board of Supervisors in downtown Stockton.

Chairman Leroy Ornellas, a southern San Joaquin County dairy farmer whose district includes Tracy, said people expect events like this to strike somewhere else - not in their backyard.

"I'm just so upset by it. It proves to me there is true evil in our midst," he said.

Sandra had been a student at Jacobson Elementary School.

The Tracy Unified School District responded to news of her slaying by placing a psychologist on every campus in the district to help children deal with their emotions.

Some children have reported having nightmares, said Nancy Hopple, the director of special education who organized the district's grief response team.

"It's somber, of course. Our role is to try to be reassuring that they are safe. It's a districtwide effort," Hopple said.

Tracy Unified gave each teacher a guide on talking to children about the incident. Parents also were provided with the guide in addition to tips on keeping their children safe.

The district plans a memorial ceremony in honor of Sandra after spring break, the week of April 20.