Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby swallowed razor blades after allegedly raping and murdering an 8-year-old friend of her daughter's, according to family court papers filed by her ex-husband.
The papers, filed by Johnny Huckaby last month in Orange County, Calif., also say that his ex-wife has been on suicide watch at San Joaquin County Jail. Her arraignment, which has twice been postponed, is scheduled for Friday. Charges include murder, kidnapping, lewd acts with a minor and rape by foreign object.
The papers, obtained Thursday by PEOPLE, say Huckaby, 28, is incarcerated on suicide watch. "She tried to kill herself by swallowing three razor blades," the papers say. It's unclear exactly when the suicide attempt occurred, although the troubled woman told the Tracy Press hours before her April 11 arrest that she had just been hospitalized for "internal bleeding."
Huckaby allegedly murdered Sandra Cantu, her 8-year-old neighbor, on March 27 at the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, stuffed her body into a suitcase and dumped it into a dirty lagoon. The murder shocked the farm community, where more than 3,000 people attended a public memorial.
The papers reveal that Johnny Huckaby is in a tug-of-war with his mother-in-law, Judy Lawless, over custody of his and Melissa's 5-year-old daughter, Madison.
Lawless has urged the judge to let her keep Madison at her home rather than with a father she has hardly seen in the past four years. She has petitioned the court to prevent the child's father — who lives in Arkansas — from taking her out of state.