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It turns out that Melinda Duckett did write a suicide note before she killed herself with a 
shotgun in her grandparents home.
VIDEO (Prime suspect)
In the letter addressed to the public, Duckett, 21, spoke of her love for her missing 2-year-old son, Trenton, and the anguish she felt at being “faced with ridicule and criticism” as rumors swirled about her role in his Aug. 27 disappearance. Thursday, investigators named her the “prime suspect” in the case.
After completing the unsigned two-page letter, she left it on the dashboard of her car and later took a shotgun and killed herself in a closet at her grandparents’ home in Lady Lake.
Melinda Duckett went on to say that the attention came off her son and on her. Obviously this was a troubled women.
“I’m sorry this is short,” Duckett wrote in her letter. “Usually I plan things out and am better with my writing. Your focus came off of my son. I love him and only wanted him safe in my arms. You created rumors and twisted words.”
One really has to wonder what the police were doing in this investigation. The idea that they had obtained the toddlers toys in the garbage and that they focussed on Melinda Duckett as the primary suspect, yet never arresting her is puzzling. Knowing that she has previously attempted suicide and had some issues, they let her remain free. They lost their number one witness and suspect with one shotgun blast.
Police said they could have arrested Duckett within four days of her son’s disappearance and more than a week before she killed herself, but they chose not to in hopes that she would lead them to the toddler.
Investigators began following Duckett and considered using other surveillance techniques, but the young mother shot herself before police could get her to cooperate. (Buffalo News)
Leesburg police release more evidence in Duckett case
The note apparently left by Melinda, which was undated and unsigned, was addressed simply to “Public” and appeared to place the blame for her suicide on the media. Later in the note, Melinda wrote that the decision to take her own life was one she made quickly and without much thought.
Investigators said they retrieved the note from the dashboard of Melinda’s car during a search following her Sept. 8 suicide. (The Village Daily Sun)
September 24th, 2006 at 07:50pm
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Two year old Trenton Duckett is missing, Melinda Duckett is dead due to an apparent suicide, possessions of Trenton were found in the garbage and still these troubling comments left of Josh Duckett’s MySpace account go unanswered.
What a tragic situation of a bitter divorce between two adults and the child caught in the proverbial middle.
The message was posted on Joshua Duckett’s MySpace.com homepage on July 3, 2006, at 8:15 p.m. The language is course and the message is filled with obscenities.
VIDEO (Interview with Josh and Melinda Duckett regarding MySpace comments)
“I hate you because you ruined my life and took my son.”
‘”I am going to hunt you and your damn son down one day and kill both of you.”
“I don’t even think Trenton is my son anyway and your (sic) going to pay for what you’ve done to my life.”
“When I get my hands on your f—– (racial slur) a– you’ll regret what you’ve done … and I’ll bury your son with you.”
When asked by police about these comments, Josh Duckett claimed it was his estranged wife who was behind it. Josh Duckett claims “that his wife somehow accessed his pass word and changed his information and also typed and sent the letter to herself”.
But according to a criminal complaint filed with the Bushnell Police Department on July 11, Joshua Duckett told investigators his “estranged wife was the person behind the incident, though (the detective) was presented no evidence to that effect.”
(WESH)
Anyone with information regarding Trenton Duckett please call 800-CALL-FBI.
UPDATE: Melinda Duckett Wrote MySpace Posting, Police Say
WOW, according the the police … Melinda Duckett hacked into Josh Duckett’s MySpace account and posted the death threats.
VIDEO
Also, Leesburg police confirmed on Thursday that a MySpace.com posting that included death threats and racial remarks directed at Melinda Duckett was written by Melinda Duckett. The posting appeared on Josh Duckett’s MySpace page, but he said he didn’t write it.
Computer experts now believe that Melinda Duckett hacked into his account and posted the message to set him up.
“I said that since Day 1. I knew for a fact,” Josh Duckett said on Thursday. “She was the only one that had the passwords to my e-mail account and everything. So, I knew from the start and I said that. I mean, they tried to set me up, and they failed.”
Also, the authorities have released an inventory list of the items taken from the Melinda Duckett residence.
Among the 15 things that investigators seized was a swab of something taken from an unknown stain on the hall wall in her apartment.
Also, police took a blue towel with unknown stains and a top sheet with “blood-like stains,” according to the inventory sheet.
(I -Team, WESH)
September 21st, 2006 at 05:28pm
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It is no surprise that law enforcement probably considered Melinda Duckett a suspect from
the out set of the disappearance of Trenton Duckett. Melinda would have been the last one to have put Trenton to bed and the first one to have noticed he was missing. The disappearance also took place under Melinda’s roof. However, now we are learning some more details to the original searches performed by the police upon gaining the initial search warrants.
Police asked to search her apartment on Aug. 27 — the night she reported Trenton missing. Investigators went to court to get a search warrant, and they searched her home early Monday morning.
“There were two search warrants served. One on the original night of the disappearance, or I guess that would actually be the following morning, early in the morning hours, and that was as the case wore on and it became apparent after interviewing the parents that the child had indeed disappeared,” said Capt. Steve Rockefeller of the Leesburg Police Department.
Upon searching the home the police found some interesting items:
Law enforcement officials told the WESH 2 I-Team that police found freshly painted walls in some places, and in the back, trash that was allegedly thrown out by Duckett was filled with Trenton’s toys.
But what grabbed investigators’ attention were the pictures, officials said. They said a lot of pictures of Trenton, including the sonogram printout from when Duckett was pregnant, were all thrown away in the trash.
Learning such details it becomes all that much more tragic that Melinda Duckett committed suicide. Authorities being able to question her in whatever manner might have shed some light on all of this as to “Where is Trenton Duckett”? Authorities have been searching at Ocalla National Forest and have turned up the following so far.
1. This past Sunday, divers in Farles Lake in the Ocala National Forest found a white garbage bag.
On the bag, investigators discovered a substance that some believed was blood and holes that appeared to be from alligator bites. The bag was sent to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab in Jacksonville for analysis, and forensic tests showed that the substance on that bag is not blood.
2. Law enforcement officials also said divers found a large piece of asphalt about 10 feet away from the bag. The lake is in a remote woodland where there are no paved roads.
3. The search in the Ocala National Forest has also turned up what could be a child’s shoe. Forensics experts are examining the shoe. (WESH)
The family is trying to work out the details to offer a $5000.00 reward.
The Eubanks’ church fund is in addition to the reward offered by Crimeline. In order to get that reward, tipsters need to call 800-423-TIPS. Police are also urging anyone with information to call the main investigative number at 800-CALL-FBI.
September 19th, 2006 at 05:27pm
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Searchers, dogs, boats, ATV’s, horses and helicopter all searched areas on Saturday of 
the Ocala National Forest to try and locate 2 year old Trenton Duckett. To date, the Forest searches have been unsuccessful in finding the missing boy.
The officers and volunteers will search again on Sunday, but as of this point they have found nothing.
“We have found really nothing to indicate that Trenton is here,” Leesburg police Capt. Steve Rockefeller said.
This area is being searched based on a tip that was reported last week by a man that thought he saw a woman resembling Melinda Duckett.
Saturday’s nine-hour hunt was based on a tip police received late last week: A man told investigators he spoke with a woman who looked like Trenton’s mother, Melinda Duckett, in the forest before Trenton’s reported abduction three weeks ago.
“It’s a possible sighting,” Rockefeller said, adding that investigators have received several other tips about the forest since officials first searched the area Thursday afternoon. It is the only place investigators are actively looking for the boy.
Dive teams from Lake and Marion counties will return to Farles Lake today to continue searching near the shore and several hundred yards into the water.
“That still is in many ways searching a needle in a haystack,” Rockefeller said.
(Orlando Sentinel)
September 17th, 2006 at 10:32am
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Lets start out by saying that 2 year old Trenton Duckett is still missing. The focus should 
be on the missing boy and his whereabouts. Instead the media has made the story about the media. It is disturbing that certain shows have only covered this story after Melinda Duckett committed suicide rather than when Trenton Duckett went missing.
The question has arose, did an over-zealous media and Nancy Grace push Melinda Duckett, the mother of missing Trenton Duckett, over the emotional edge to commit suicide? Melinda’s grandparents seem to think so.
Duckett’s grandparents said she was fed up with the coverage that unfairly scrutinized her.
“Nancy Grace and the others, they just bashed her to the end,” Duckett’s grandfather Bill Eubank told the Associated Press. “She wasn’t one anyone ever would have thought of to do something like this. She and that baby just loved each other, couldn’t get away from each other. She wouldn’t hurt a bug.”
(Boston Herald)
It is obvious to many that a decision, or one should say a lack of thought to determine to take one’s life is a result a a multitude of many factors. Was the manner in how Melinda Duckett was treated on the Nancy Grace show the only factor that resulted in Duckett’s suicide? No; however, it was most likely a contributing factor and one that may have been the final straw.
The Nancy Grace Show had the following comment to make in responding to the allegation that they were to blame for Melinda Duckett’s suicide.
Janine Iamunno, a spokeswoman for Grace, said in an e-mail that Duckett’s death was “an extremely sad development” but that the program would continue covering the case. “We feel a responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett, who remains missing,” Iamunno said.
Also, Nancy Grace responded to a callers question the other night as to if she felt responsible for Melinda Duckett’s death in any way. 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question is, you are such a good interviewer and everything. I just wonder, with the pressure that you put on the mother with your questions your last show, is there any possible way that you feel you might have somehow pushed her over the edge or contributed to her suicide?
GRACE: You know, Stan, speaking as one that knows firsthand, when you suffer a tragic loss, you look for somebody to blame. You look hard. I do not feel that our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett. The truth, Stan, is not always nice or polite or easy to go down. Sometimes it`s harsh, and it hurts.
I`d like to also point out that Melinda committed suicide before that interview ever aired. It had never gone to air. The purpose of this show is all about finding Trenton Duckett. That`s what we`re about. And I`d like to also point out that, seemingly, police agreed with my line of questioning. You`ve got to know that we are deeply saddened to learn about her death, Melinda Duckett`s, the mother of Trenton, the day after she taped our program. It was last week.
I hope the viewers keep in mind that this show is one of the single most active in looking for missing children. And as part of that, I often — always, I would hope, I ask parents the same questions I would ask any mom and dad about an investigation in a missing child case, where they were when the child went missing, what happened, what`s the timeline, anything to help find that missing child. I also ask whether the parents have taken a polygraph, as I did with Melinda. And at that point, and at this point, Trenton is still missing, and our focus is on finding him.
(Nancy Grace Transcript 9/11/06, CNN)
The response that Nancy Grace gives to the question does beg the question as to whether they went too far. She states, “the truth is not always nice or polite”. Does anyone think that either Nancy Grace or her producers when booking this interview made those types of comments to Melinda Duckett? Does anyone believe in order to get Melinda Duckett to come on the Nancy Grace Show that the following line was used to entice her, “Sometimes it`s harsh, and it hurts”? Hardly. For those that state they Melinda Duckett knew what she was getting into when she went on the Nancy Grace Show, I would say … did she really? Those that are familiar with Nancy Grace know she a a tough nosed, ex-prosecutor and a rather in-your-face interviewer. Personally, I have never had a problem with Nancy Grace. However, when one is dealing with a parent of a missing child there is another whole level of decorum. Approximately 537,000 watch the Nancy Grace show according to the last reports. There are approximately 300,000,000 people in the United States. You do the math, think its possible a 21 year old divorced mom has ever seen the show? Its hardly the demographic that they are going after.
What is even more bizarre than the overzealousness of the interview was the comment by Nancy Grace stating that she was not responsible because, “I`d like to also point out that Melinda committed suicide before that interview ever aired. It had never gone to air”. So what? This is your defense? Melinda Duckett would not have had to seen the interview to get emotionally upset to commit suicide, she took part in the interview. She would have been upset at the time of the taping of the show Nancy, not when she saw it. As reported, it was the grilling she received during the taping of the show that the grandparents are claiming, not the actual video.
Two weeks after telling police that her son had been snatched from his crib, Melinda Duckett found herself reeling in an interview with television’s famously prosecutorial Nancy Grace. Before it was over, Grace was pounding her desk and loudly demanding to know: “Where were you? Why aren’t you telling us where you were that day?”
(Boston Globe)
When reading the actual 9/8/06 transcripts of the Nancy Grace Show one can plainly see 
how a calm introduction referencing “a mothers worst nightmare” turned into a relentless attack on Melinda Duckett regarding the polygraph and if Melinda had taken one. Then came the time line badgering. Nancy grace prides herself on being a prosecutor, yet such actions on her part would never have been tolerated in a court of law. I am sure Nancy is familiar with the court room term, “asked and answered” and “objection, badgering the witness.”
Was Nancy Grace in part responsible for the death of Melinda Duckett? The answer most likely is … could very well be. Did anyone at the Nancy Grace Show take into consideration the emotional or mental state of Melinda Duckett prior to the interview? Did anyone care is probably more to the point. However, that being said it is very likely if Melinda was as unstable as she seemed to be that she may have committed suicide at some point later. Which brings me to my biggest issues with what the media and Nancy Grace did.
1. The media is not the DA’s office even if they may have been one at some point in their career. They should never interfere in a case to the point where they actually affect the on going case.
2. Who does not think the line of questioning done by Nancy Grace would have been asked by the local police as well who had a better understanding what Melinda Duckett’s psychological make up may have been? Knowing what, when and how to ask the question.
3. Lie detector tests are not DNA. There is a reason why these things are inadmissible in a court of law. Serial killer Ted Bundy passed it with flying colors. A person who was an emotional wreck may not even have a shot of passing, even if they were innocent.
4. Melinda Duckett was a divorsed, 21 year old single mom. She was in the middle of a horrific divorce and custody battle where both sides seemed to be as bad as the other. reports are that she had been laid off and was having money issues. Then her child goes missing. Then a long comes Nancy Grace with all the finesse and compassion in the world.
5. These are missing persons cases. For anyone who has experienced a child missing or been involved in a missing persons case, they are an emotional roller coaster nightmare. There has to be a certain amount of deference given when reporting and questioning. We all want the truth to come out; however, sometimes it has to come out in its own time.
6. What if Melinda Duckett was responsible for Trenton’s disappearance by accident or on purpose? What if it was only a matter of time before the right button was pressed and she confessed? What if in dealing with guilt and realizing what she had done she later still committed suicide? However, in doing so in her own terms she may have left a note as to what happened and where Trenton may be. Now, we will never know.
7. What if she is innocent and had emotional and mental issues that were pushed to the brink?
In the end what is the result of what was done in the Nancy Grace interview? Most likely people will not want to come on the show for fear of being attacked. That hardly serves Nancy Grace nor the spread of information of a missing person story. The media has effectively interjected themsleves into the case and become the story rather than reorting the story. That is the true tragedy … as Trenton Duckett is still missing.
The fact of the matter is that the media does serve a purpose and play a role in missing persons cases. Their job is to report and disseminate information to the public. There job is not to ambush, interrogate or prosecute a crime that they do not even know what may have taken place. It has been stated by Nancy Grace on a recent show that she was outraged that others would make money off of others pain. Well Nancy, what do you think you do for a job? There is a place for the media as long as it is a win-win situation.
Getting the word out on missing person cases is crucial. The more eyes the better. One never knows if they will spot a missing, abducted or exploited child. For that the media can make all the ad revenue they want. However, too many media outlets only covered the story of missing 2 year old Trenton Duckett after Melinda committed suicide. What is that about?
Its not about the media … its about TRENTON DUCKETT.
HELP FIND TRENTON DUCKETT. Pray that he is found safe.
September 14th, 2006 at 09:56am
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The investigation continues into the disappearance of 2 year old Trenton Duckett. With the 
recent events of Melinda Duckett’s suicide, the investigation has certainly been thrown for a loop. The national media exposure created by the Nancy Grace Show has created some new leads according to police.
Police in Leesburg say last night’s national TV exposure of the Trenton Duckett case is again drumming up new leads.
TV host and legal analyst Nancy Grace featured Trenton on her show again Monday night. Police say the broadcast generated new and credible leads that they are following up on today.
(Central Florida News 13)
Of course the spot light of appearing on Nancy Grace also seems to have created a set back in the case of missing Trenton Duckett in that Melinda Duckett committed suicide shortly after her interview for the program. However, the fact remains and should be focussed on the fact that there is a 2 year old missing child out there and his name is Trenton Duckett.
Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch was interviewed last evening on Nancy Grace and had this to say with regards to searching for Trenton Duckett and offering help to the search.
To Tim Miller with Texas Equusearch, also a crime victim himself. What`s your best 
advice to help the police? They`re doing everything they`ve got. You`ve conducted more searches than any of us put together, Tim.
TIM MILLER, TEXAS EQUUSEARCH: Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for having me on.
You know, No. 1, this is just a tremendous tragedy for everybody involved. And you know, we`ve had so much success with finding victims out there and the problem being is that Trenton`s been gone a long time now. Just two weeks ago, we found a lady on the 19th day of her disappearance, and it took 10 days to even get her identified.
GRACE: What`s your advice to the police?
MILLER: You know, right now, I think the search needs to go on. We`re certainly offering our resources to come out there. The sooner Trenton`s found, let`s hope he`s alive. Let`s hold on to that miracle. But if he`s not, we need to find him, determine that cause of death.
They`ll have a crime scene and then they can be really put a case together. So, again, we`re willing to offer anything we can do, but you know what? This search needs to continue. We`ve done a lot of research on this. We know there`s a lot of water around there; there`s a lot of areas. And we will — we`re willing to help any way that they can help.
GRACE: And of course, you know everyone, Tim Miller has volunteered to do searches all over the world, including in Aruba for Natalee Holloway.
(Full Nancy Grace Transcript 9/11/06)
We had the opportunity to speak to Tim Miller this afternoon regarding Texas EquuSearch’s involvement in the case of missing Trenton Duckett. Tim Miller said, “he is offering the Leesburg Police TES as a search resource”. Tim Miller also went on to say, “that if Trenton is not found soon, TES could be involved in the case as soon as Thursday or Friday of this week.” Tim Miller said “there is a lot of water in the area so they could bring in boats and the aerial plane to scout potential areas”. Tim Miller will play it by ear and wait for the police’s request for their help.
We can all hope that Trenton Duckett is found sooner rather than later.
September 12th, 2006 at 06:17pm
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The police investigating the disappearance of two year old Trenton Duckett 
have shifted focus to Melinda Duckett. Suspicion has been raised into her possible involvement in Trenton’s disappearance following Melinda Duckett’s suicide.
Police have stated , “that common sense kind of dictates that we loom at her connection.” Melinda Duckett was found shot in a closet of her grandparents home of which the wounds appeared to be self inflicted. The bizarre set of circumstances obviously dictate that the police must investigate this angle if they had not already been doing so prior to her death. The authorities have stated that the focus of the investigation may change again. However, as we have witnessed in missing child cases, everyone is considered a suspect.
Police Examine Melinda Duckett’s Diary; Toddler Still Missing
VIDEO
Leesburg detectives said they’re now looking at pages of a diary that belonged to Duckett. Her estranged husband, Josh, confirmed for WESH 2 that she did keep a diary.
Investigators said the pages could explain her state of mind before committing suicide on Friday while at her grandparent’s home.
By analyzing the pages of her writings, detectives said they hope it will shed more light on what may have happened to Trenton.
Leesburg police said there is a 28-hour gap between the time Melinda Duckett reported her son missing and anyone else who saw the toddler alive.
(WESH)
September 11th, 2006 at 09:48am
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The grandparents of Melinda Duckett have gone on record as saying that they believe that the grilling that CNN’s Nancy Grace gave Melinda Duckett contributed to her decision to commit suicide. Did this interview go too far? It leads to some interesting questions regarding interviewing parents of missing children. What is the media’s role? Does the media have a right to ambush a parent during an interview as police investigate a case? We all want the truth to come out and more importantly Trenton Duckett to be found.
The grandparents of Melinda Duckett say the grilling that CNN’s Nancy Grace gave their granddaughter contributed to her decision to commit suicide.
Melinda Duckett’s grandfather said it was his gun that Melinda used while she was at their home alone on Friday.
During a news briefing yesterday, police shed little new light on their investigation, refusing to speculate as to whether the media scrutiny led to the apparent suicide.
It is hard to comment as to what goes through the mind of a parent with a missing child. The grief, sorrow and anxiety that a parent feels cannot be experienced unless one has lost a child. The media is supposed to ask questions, report the fact of the case and get the word out. Could “shock journalism” have played a role in the suicide of Melinda Duckett? Anything is possible and from the tone of the interview I believe that anchors need to remember they are journalists first, not lawyers. They are not there to solve the case on national TV. Does the media know or care about the emotional or mental makeup of a guest they are interviewing prior?
See the transcript of the Nancy Grace show in questions. Nancy Grace was certainly unrelenting. Granted I agree that questions need to be asked. However, no one in the media has the right to ambush a guest on their show. Nancy Grace is a lawyer. She understands what the term, “asked and answered” means. Guests and especially parents of a missing child have to be treated with a certain amount of deference. Just because a news anchor thinks an individual may be hiding something does not mean they have the right to badger them. Granted Melinda Duckett came on the Nancy Grace program of her own free will. However, I hardly think that she thought she would be ambushed or treated in a manner that she was.
One of the things that is troubling among many in this case is the fact that it is another case of an innocent child being caught in the cross-hairs of two parents in a bitter divorce and custody battle. The child’s welfare is hardly ever an issue when this occurs. Another troubling issue is if Melinda Duckett was somehow guilt-ridden and responsible for Trenton’s disappearance, why did she not leave a note of what she did prior to committing suicide? It is possible that she was just an emotionally unstable person who cracked under the extreme pressure of the case.
The end result is that Melinda Duckett is not alive to answer police questions or provide anymore information into the disappearance of 2 year old Trenton Duckett. That is the most important part in all of this. Trenton Duckett is still missing. Where is he? As Joshua Duckett has stated the primary goal should be on Trenton and any information as to his whereabouts.
The father of missing two-year-old Trenton Duckett talked to reporters yesterday, for the first time since Melinda Duckett’s apparent suicide.
Trenton Duckett’s Father, Joshua Duckett says it is not time to point fingers and everyone needs to work together to find his son.
“Please come forward if you have anything at all. It may not be relevant. Just please come forward because right now is the time. We need anything to go on,” Joshua Duckett said.
(Central Florida News)
Trenton Duckett’s Description:
He’s described as from 2 and a half to 3 and a half feet tall, 30 to 40 pounds and was last seen in a blue and green striped shirt with blue denim shorts, no shoes.
|
UPDATE: Trenton Duckett Missing: Did the Media and Nancy Grace Push Melinda Duckett Over the Edge to Suicide?
September 10th, 2006 at 01:46pm
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Melinda Duckett, 21, the mother of missing 2 year old Trenton Duckett was 
found dead today in her grandparents home. According to reports Melinda Ducket did not die from natural causes.
Circumstances surrounding the death of 21-year-old Melinda Duckett aren’t being released. However, police say she didn’t die from natural causes.
Trenton Duckett was reported missing August 27th. Police believe he was pulled through a hole cut in the window screen of his bedroom.
Officials say his father, Joshua Duckett, passed a polygraph test he took the day after Trenton was reported missing.
But Melinda Duckett refused to take one. Police aren’t saying if she was considered a suspect.
(First Coast News)
From Central Florida News 13
(Central Florida 13)
Investigators say Duckett did not leave a suicide note, or any indication of what happened to her son. Police wanted to emphasize that Trenton has not been found, but called this a “major development into the investigation of Trenton.”
Body Of Missing Boy’s Mom Found
Melinda Duckett’s body was found in a Silver Mitsubishi Eclipse right in her grandmother’s driveway,”
The body of a missing Central Florida boy’s mother was found inside a car at her grandparents’ house Friday, according to police.
Leesburg authorities said Melinda Duckett’s body was found at a home at 638 Rainbow Lane in the Villages of Lady Lake. Police said the house belonged to the woman’s grandparents.
“They found Melinda Duckett’s body in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse right in her grandmother’s driveway,” Local 6′s Jessica D’Onofrio said. “This is still very early in the death investigation, but initial observations indicate that the death was not from natural causes. Naturally, this is a major development in the investigation into the disappearance of young Trenton Duckett.”
(Local 6)
Father was worried about boy before disappearance
But The Daily Commercial has discovered several incidents where police were called upon to intervene in the turbulent relationship between Joshua and Melinda Duckett. Police records at the Bushnell Police Department show allegations of child neglect and endangerment.
(Daily Commercial)
Nancy Grace interviewed both Melinda and Joshua Duckett this evening, September 8, 2006. She also had Mark Lunsford, Marc Klaas, Pat Brown, Vito Colucci, Marilyn Aciego, Angeline Hartman, Nicole Beborde and Lillian Glass, David Schwartz, Nancy Eubank.
Is it possible that the line of questioning drove Melinda Duckett to extreme measures. It certainly got contentious in the interview when it came to the polygraph.
Full transcript:
GRACE: Out to Melinda Duckett. This is Trenton`s mom. Melinda, have you taken a polygraph?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I`ve spoken to the investigators, and Joshua is on the outside loop of it, and as far as the investigative techniques are concerned with polygraph, stress test, physical searches, interviews, et cetera, my family and I have fully cooperated with local law enforcement and…
GRACE: Have you taken a polygraph?
MELINDA DUCKETT: … the federal and everything…
(CROSSTALK)
MELINDA DUCKETT: And locally, they don`t have enough necessary experience, and that`s why the FBI was called in to begin with. I`ve been instructed to only speak with them, with their unit, and anything that they release to the media or public is up to them. Now, as far as…
GRACE: Have you taken a polygraph?
MELINDA DUCKETT: … or anything — like I said, I mean, anything that I do or anything is in cooperation with them. I`m doing everything they want me to. But as far as details and everything, I mean, I`m leaving everything up to them.
GRACE: Right. Have you taken a polygraph?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I`ve done everything they`ve asked me to.
UPDATE (9/9/06): Mother of missing Leesburg toddler took her own life
On Friday afternoon the boy’s mother Melinda Duckett was found dead inside her grandparents’ home north of Leesburg. Police say it looks like Melinda took her own life with a gun.
- Captain Steve Rockefeller, Leesburg Police:
- “So regarding notes or information directly leading to his location…we don’t have it. We still need the public’s support.”
And friends of Trenton’s father Joshua Duckett who have been helping search for the boy say Melinda’s suicide just throws another tragic twist into this already bizarre and sad story.
- Cindy Vogler, Father’s friend:
- “I really, really hope there’s a note or that someone who knows something now comes forward.”
(Full story at Tampa Bays 10)
According to reports from Central Florida News 13, Melida Duckett did not leave a suicide note or provide any indication as to where her son may be.
September 8th, 2006 at 07:40pm
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Mark Lunsford, the father of 9 year old Jessica was abducted and killed last year wants to help the Trenton Duckett investigation by bringing greater media exposure to the case. Mark Lunsford knows through his own personal experiences that they more media, more eyes and more awareness, the greater chance a case has of being solved.
Josh Duckett and Mark Lunsford now have a common but painful bond. Both are fathers of abducted children. So that’s why Mark came to help Josh pass-out flyers with Trenton’s picture.
Mark says the FBI called him to bring national exposure to this case. Because with his own loss, Mark knows bringing closure will take a lot more than just passing out flyers.
Lunsford said the media’s response has to be much larger than it has been so far saying, “Because it needs to be more than local media, we need to get this across Florida.”
Residents around the area where Trenton was last seen call the situation tragic and say it’s got to be someone who knows the child and the family.
(Central Florida News 13)
You can call the FBI tip line with any information at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
September 6th, 2006 at 11:55pm
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child welfare, Mark Lunsford, Missing, Missing Children, Trenton Duckett |
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