Judge, jury and executioner.
So claim Jay and Beth Eubanks, the parents of Melinda Duckett.
The Eubanks will file a wrongful death lawsuit against talk show host Nancy Grace, claiming the CNN Headline News host contributed to her suicide, reported FLORIDA TODAY news partner WKMG Local 6 News (11/21/2006).
"In (the lawsuit), Melinda's parents claim Nancy Grace and her producers lied to get their daughter on the show and that they are accountable for her suicide," Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio said. "The suit claims Grace's spitfire cross-examination of the young mother pushed Melinda to the brink. They said Grace was the judge, jury and executioner."
Grace came under fire for her aggressive questioning of Duckett on the day before she committed suicide on Sept. 8 as crews searched for her missing son, Trenton.
The blonde squawker pounded the young mom, demanding an explanation from Melinda Duckett, a psychologically fragile 21-year old Florida mom whose two year old son went missing August 27.
The boy, Trenton Duckett, disappeared from his bedroom at a Leesburg apartment complex where he lived with his mother. Police think he was taken through a hole cut in a window screen.
In the telephone interview, Duckett complained about her estranged husband, 21-year-old Joshua Duckett, and criticized the tactics of the police and news media.
Throughout the interview, Grace pounded and pounded and pounded the same question home.
Over and over and over.
Have you taken a polygraph?
Have you taken a polygraph?
Have you taken a polygraph?
Have you taken a polygraph?
Duckett refused to answer the question, choosing instead to hand the phone to her grandmother, who explained that the pressure is "just about more than she can handle right now."
Within hours of the journalistic ambush, Melinda Duckett committed suicide by a self-inflicted gun shot.
The Grace interview aired after the discovery of Melissa's body.
Yep. Grace and the producers ran the story anyway.
One week after Duckett ended her life, Grace went on air to defend her "fist-pounding" interview of the young mother.
"You look for somebody to blame," Grace said. "You look hard. I do not feel that our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett. Melinda committed suicide before that interview aired."
Hello? What a pathetic excuse.
A despicable disclaimer.
Grace uses her platform to shrill the "Case of the Day" to the national level. Night after night, she harps whatever story that can be "caused" ad nauseam, pounding, pounding, pounding to a pulp those persons who make the unfortunate decision to appear on her show.
The tables have turned on Nancy.
"What we are saying is that Nancy Grace's actions have led to Melinda's suicide," Attorney Kara Skorupa said.
The parents claim the Nancy Grace show misled Duckett into doing the interview, saying the 21-year-old was convinced to go on the national broadcast under false pretenses.
According to the family's attorneys, producers told Duckett that the purpose of the questioning was to drum up awareness of her son's disappearance.
However, they said Grace interrogated and accused Duckett of a crime by implication, according to the report.
"That conduct in combination with the questions she asked in the family's view put Melinda over the edge," Attorney Paul Deratany said.
A CNN Headline News spokesperson said, "While we have no comment on pending litigation, we stand by Nancy Grace and fully support her, as we have from the beginning of this matter."
Attorneys for the Eubanks said they are seeking monetary damages but have not decided on an amount.
Adding fuel to Grace's fire, reports have recently surfaced claiming a sighting of the child.
A Wendy's employee recently revealed having served Melinda and Trenton the day the boy disappeared.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Melinda Duckett and her son Trenton pulled up to a Wendy's drive-through in Belleview on the day the 2-year-old went missing nearly three months ago.
Less than a half-hour later, Duckett returned to the fast-food restaurant alone to pick up chicken tenders, according to a Wendy's worker who served her both times. She likely returned a third time, hours later, again without the child, the Wendy's server told investigators.
The three sightings, first reported to law enforcement Sept. 27, have prompted the Marion County Sheriff's Office to start its own investigation into the Leesburg boy's disappearance, holding a belief that the toddler is still alive.
'Little Trenton is alive because no one has proven to us otherwise,' Marion Capt. James Pogue said.
That's all Nancy needed to yell "ROAD TRIP!"
The Grace circus pitched a tent in the Orlando area to get the latest information for readers who "want to know".
How sadly ironic.
The one link to Trenton killed herself under duress.
The parents have decided to hold Nancy Grace responsible for that final action.
Grandfather Bill Eubank believes Trenton may still be alive.
I figure he's out there somewhere, and someday when God's ready, he'll bring him home,' he said. 'And life won't ever go back to normal, but someday it might get close.'
Fire Nancy Grace.
Boycott her sponsors.
I rest on the Grace Case.