Intrinsic value is an ethical and philosophic property. It is the ethical or philosophic value that an object has "in itself" or "for its own sake", as an intrinsic property. An object with intrinsic value may be regarded as an end or (in Kantian terminology) end-in-itself.
On March 27, 2009, 8-year-old Sandra Cantu mysteriously disappeared in Tracy, California, after she left a friend’s house. Authorities were initially focusing on all the men who lived in area, despite 28-year-old Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby’s odd behavior. With eyes filled with tears and hyperventilating, she had approached police and FBI agents to report that she had found a note on the ground that read:‘’Cantu locked in stolin (sic) suitcase. Thrown in water onn (sic) Bacchetti Road and Whitehall Road.’’ She was interviewed many times, but her behavior was dismissed as attention-seeking, and they never considered her as a serious suspect due to her gender. That was until, several days later, the little girl’s body was found in an irrigation pond, stuffed inside the suitcase Melissa had reported as stolen. She had been beaten and sexually assaulted with a foreign object. Police scoured the church where she worked and collected a rolling pin that had a bloody smudge on it. After running some tests, it was confirmed that the DNA belonged to Sandra. Melissa was arrested and pleaded guilty in court. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. At her sentencing, Melissa stated, “I still cannot understand why I did what I did. This is a question I will struggle with for the rest of my life.’’ She reportedly had a history of mental health issues, including borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.