Posted on 11/21/2006 10:21:53 AM PST by NormsRevenge
ORLANDO, Fla. - Relatives of a missing boy's mother who killed herself after aggressive questioning by CNN's Nancy Grace sued the network and the talk-show host Tuesday, claiming Grace caused emotional distress that led to the suicide.
Melinda Duckett committed suicide Sept. 8, a day after Grace's show on CNN Headline News aired a segment in which Grace grilled Duckett about her whereabouts Aug. 27 — the day 2-year-old Trenton Duckett was reported missing.
Authorities, who said last week they believe the boy is alive, have named Melinda Duckett as the prime suspect in his disappearance.
Jay Paul Deratany, the attorney representing Duckett's estate, said Tuesday that Grace encouraged Duckett to appear on her show by saying the goal was to draw public attention to help find Trenton.
"It's not just about the questioning, it's about the misrepresentation with the knowledge that she was emotionally distraught," Deratany said. The attorney said Grace improperly took on the role of a law enforcement officer.
CNN Headline News declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
"We stand by Nancy Grace and fully support her, as we have from the beginning of this matter," a spokeswoman said in a news release Tuesday.
A file photo released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows Trenton Duckett, a 2-year-old who was reported missing on Aug. 27, 2006, from his home in Leesburg, Fla. The boy's mother Melinda Duckett, 21, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Sept. 8, 2006, at her grandparent's central Florida home, police said. Investigators have renewed their search for the toddler, saying he may still be alive. (AP Photo/Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
Nancy Grace is a misnomer. She has no grace what so ever.
I was just going to post this.
I cannot stand Nancy Grace.I hope she loses this lawsuit
I don't like her either, but I can't blame her for this suicide. This young woman had a lot of mental problems and was possibly trying to hide her young son from his father. Her suicide was her own fault.
"The attorney said Grace improperly took on the role of a law enforcement officer."
Grace arrested her and took her to a secure location and held her against her wishes? No, the interview was voluntary and I suspect there was compensation. Freakin' lawyers.
Ms. Grace......
.....and her pet cat.
Coincidence is not causality.
The mom was clearly convicted of her guilt.
>>Her suicide was her own fault.<<
Suicide is never anyone's fault but the person who does it.
Indeed.
She looked guilty as can be on the show, she knew it, she killed herself. My opinion.
I saw this interview. Grace was pushing the girl for a confession. Her questions were to the point, brutally. Even with the ugliness in mind, I don't think she is why the girl commited suicide and I don't think that it will be able to be proved that Grace was somehow responsible.
You can't sue somebody for asking you really tough questions. Or annoying you with her scratchy loud voice and stupid haircut.
This is a tragic, sad story. Of course all the low-life lawyers will descent like a bunch of vultures on this one.
Nancy Grace is hard-hitting but she is also passionate and good-hearted. Her concern was for this missing little boy.
All those scummy lawyers want is some money out of this.
I saw it too. She plays it on her current shows. She was NOT "pushing for a confession", Nancy asked this woman where she spent the day that the baby disappeared. She refused to answer. It was more than obvious that the mother did NOT want the child found.
Time might be better spent by this "family" looking for the lost child instead of lawyering up for profit.
There is hope the child is still alive per the article, I wish it were so, it's a sad affair all the way around nonetheless.
More lawsuits like this are needed against MSM.
Sigh. So little of the story is in the article. First of all, this Duckett woman did not have an "estate." She barely had a pot to piss in and was an adoptee by some liberal northeastern parents that gave up on her when she was a wild teen.
Authorities shouldn't give up the search, but it looks like the child is dead and likely from the hands of his own mother. The local talk radio guy said the dead mom was into amatuer porn and the dad appears to be a 6th grade drop out.
As much as I can't stand Nan Grace, the woman who killed herself left a lot of evidence that she was pretty disturbed so I don't blame anything on Nan.
Grace is pretty dramatic. It seemed to me that Grace was accusing her of being responsible for the childs disappearance. I remember the girl refusing to answer, but the insinuation was there that because she refused to answer, she was guilty. The question was whether the child was dead or alive. All in all, I think Grace will win this.
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