The Melinda and Trenton Duckett Story
A picture is said to say a 1000 words, this picture shows an absolutely beautiful time shared between Melinda and Trent. A Kodak moment if you will, a moment in time, so precious and one I wish we could turn back to.
Trenton Duckett went missing on August 27, 2006, during the evening hours. Melinda is said to have put Trenton to bed at 7:PM. He was reported as being abducted very early on in this case. The Leesburg police department stated
“In the 21 years I’ve been here, we have never been looking at anything like a potential abduction-type case where it may be a stranger,” Leesburg police Capt. Steve Rockefeller said. “We have had parent involvement, parent interference and other domestic-type situations. Obviously we are looking at all angles in this case and we just want to get Trenton home.”
If you read between the lines, it is clear the direction that the Leesburg PD thought this case would take. There was also news of Joshua Duckett the boys father James Duckett on death row early on and the fact that his own father was on death row. Joshua was took a polygraph early on (that was said to be favorable) and Melinda allegedly refused to take a polygraph.
On Sept. 4, 2006, the National Voice For Children received this email from Melinda Duckett.
YOUR INFORMATION IS WRONG, MY SON HAS NO MARK OVER HIS LEFT EYE, INFACT, HE HAS NO UNUSUAL MARKS WHATSOEVER.
THERE ARE NO UPDATES AS TO WHAT IS GOING ON, BUT THANK YOU FOR THIS POSTING.
The NVFC sent this email to Melinda in response.
The information on Trenton’s poster comes from the NCMEC, I can remove the mark that is mentioned. Please let me know if there is any way we can help get the word out more.
After looking at Trenton’s picture, there was clearly not a mole (Trenton has a small mark over his left eye) as the NCMEC poster mentioned, so this was removed from the poster that the NVFC put up for him.
I knew the email was legitimate and did come from Melinda, it was short and to the point, an outsider would have tried to be more convincing and i would expect a longer email.
What stood out to me was Melinda was concerned about her son’s appearance. The subject line was “MY SON”, all caps were used in her email, perhaps a mistake of leaving the lock on for caps. Her email did give an easy find to her Myspace account which was set to private.
This is the one picture that Melinda had on her profile page, I was able to find several comments Melinda made. She did love her son, she referred to him as “Trent”, I had not heard this before.
I spoke with a detective today for the Leesburg PD and we were comparing notes on this case,I did feel that the FBI and local LE would have the information that I had, my call to them was to confirm this. They did call back and we went over the case and what I knew, they also knew these things which did not come as a surprise to me.
Melinda’s Myspace postings IMO show a very normal young mother and she did not appear to have any troubles. She did mention a few times her difficulties with holding down two jobs while taking care of Trent also. She also posted an invitation to Trent’s birthday party, it was held August 14, 2006, less than two weeks before he disappeared.
I have chosen not to link her Myspace page nor the pages to her comments on friends pages, I see Nancy Grace is showing her Myspace. NG transcripts here I will just leave it at that. The phone numbers were also x’ed out by me.
8/3/2006 1:59 PM
You are invited to Trenton Ducketts 2nd birthday party on Monday, August 14th, 2006. It will be held in Venetian Gardens at the playground, starting at five oclock. Bring as many friends and family members as you would like to and food will be served so bring a dish to pass.
This festivity will also include Melindas 21st birthday.
Please RSVP at your earliest convenience.
Melinda: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Cara: xxx-xxx-xxxxOr send message via myspace
Thank you.
HEY THERE, ARE YOU GUYS COMING TO TRENT’S BIRTHDAY PARTY? WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE YOU GUYS UNLESS YOU HAVE TO WORK OR SOMETHING.
Melinda on her life one month before Trent went missing MEE KEE ONG LEE
7/25/2006 2:46 AM
Workin and school….Trent and more work. That just about sums it up. The last month I’ve totally lost my social life so I’m trying desparately to reclaim some of it.
Enjoy the rest of your week though…weekends are always good to look forward to.
This is so hard, I don’t know what went wrong, Melinda did express difficulties with trying to do too much. Today Melinda Duckett is not with us anymore, her body was found at her grandparents home, cause of death has not been released but suicide will most likely turn out to be the cause of death.
well, not much to report, busy with work and ready to die from exhaustion. i can’t seem to find time to sleep anymore. i was thinking though, i may quite after a few months with my second job or the first, depending on how things go. we’ll see. honestly i want to keep both if i had more time to do school and take care of trent.
Melinda may have been selling a few things to get money for Trent’s birthday party, here is an end table she had on Yahoo, notice the day it was added, one day before the birthday party.
WHY CAN”T WE HAVE YESTERDAY?
If you read the invitation to Trenton’s birthday party, it is clear that she placed Trenton before herself, there is just a mere mention of her own birthday being celebrated at the same time. If you read over many of the cases here on this blog, you will find many parents that have abused their children, most of which have turned out to be murder. Melinda Duckett was not one of these parents. I do not know what went wrong and I hope that Trenton is healthy. Having a young child, working two jobs and going to school, is far too much pressure for a 21 year old girl to have. I feel sorry for Melinda and this will not change, I do not know that she had anything to do with Trenton’s disappearance.
I do know she loved very much a little boy named Trent and I wish she was alive today to share more moments like they shared “YESTERDAY”
The NVFC has a banner for Trenton, we encourage web sites to use it and hope Trenton can be found safe.
September 8, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Great write up!
I said it before, and I’ll say it again….You did well!
Prayers to all!
September 8, 2006 at 7:40 pm
What a beautiful boy! He looks like he really adored his mother. As a mother of 3 little ones, I know it can be overwhelming at times. I could never possibly hold down two jobs, go to school and raise a two year old. Being a single mother myself, I think she had too much on her plate. Great read BTW, I found this on Court TV. Thanks for providing a personal glimse at their lives. RIP Melinda Duckett
September 8, 2006 at 7:52 pm
Kitty,
This is a wonderful and thoughtful blog. The write up is so bittersweet. Especially with the news received this evening that indeed Melinda has taken her own life, without any word of Trent.
I have posed the question in a recent post on another board—Could this have been how she dealt with her grief?
I hope she had no knowledge of anything horrible happening to Trent, and if so, she did not take the knowledge with her.
Trent still has a father and family who love him.
What a loss for the entire family.
September 8, 2006 at 8:26 pm
I apologize for addressing my previous post to you incorrectly. I was reading from a post at CTV and just remembered the wrong name.
BTW
I thought you would be interested in this 9/6/06 update on the Ricky Holland case
Tim pleads guilty one week before wife’s trial to begin……..
September 8, 2006 at 8:53 pm
WHITESHARK, I have written three entries on the Hollands here. There are several stories of child abuse here, Brianna Lopez was the first entry ever written here, followed by several other children like Evelyn Miller, Matal Sanchez, Jordan Amber Gonsioroski
I did not link all but there is search so you can type in names and there are categories that will bring them up also.
Thanks for reading, I was confused by who you addressed but no problem.
September 9, 2006 at 7:06 am
Trenton Duckett Timeline
Aug. 10, 2004: Trenton Duckett born to Melinda Eubank and Joshua Duckett.
April 6, 2005: Joshua Duckett calls Bushnell Police Department with concerns about Trenton’s welfare. Melinda Eubank (maiden name) is investigated on child neglect and endangerment allegations, but DCF investigators find no evidence that Trenton is in danger.
April 16, 2005: Joshua Duckett complains to the Bushnell Police Department that Melinda Eubank, his ex-girlfriend, has been entering his truck and moving his belongings. Duckett tells police he is concerned that Eubank may hurt their child if he does not rekindle their relationship. The investigating officer notes that he has been to to the couple’s home in the past in response to verbal domestic disputes.
April 27, 2005: Joshua Duckett’s workplace, Love’s Creation in Bushnell, burns in an arson fire. Love’s is owned by Joshua Duckett’s mother, Carla Massero. Two friends of Melinda Eubank are later named as possible suspects.
July 3, 2005: Joshua Duckett and Melinda Eubank marry. Lake County Court records list their address in Leesburg.
Dec. 25, 2005: Melinda Duckett calls the Bushnell Police Department for a well-being check on Trenton. He is at Massero’s house with Joshua Duckett, who is living in Croom-a-Coochee. Police tell Melinda Duckett the boy is fine. She later calls for another well-being check. She is again told he is fine, and police warn her not to make unfounded complaints.
June 14, 2006: Melinda Duckett files for divorce.
July 5, 2006: Melinda Duckett requests an injunction against Joshua Duckett for protection against domestic violence.
July 13, 2006: Melinda Duckett is granted temporary custody of Trenton and Joshua Duckett is ordered to have no contact with the child until the case is heard.
Aug. 4, 2006: The request for injunction case is continued in Lake County Court.
Aug, 27, 2006: Melinda Duckett reportedly discovers Trenton missing from his bedroom.
Sept. 8, 2006: Melinda Duckett is found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in her grandparents’ Villages home.
September 9, 2006 at 8:18 am
TODDLER DISAPPEARANCE: Mom of missing boy found dead
Staff and Wire Reports
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
A Lockport native and mother of a missing toddler was found dead in Florida on Friday, though local family disputes what lawmen are calling an apparent suicide.
Beth Eubank of Lockport recalls her daughter, 21-year-old Melinda Duckett, as a smart girl — one she said was too smart to have met the end reported by Florida police.
“(In this) case, two and two don’t make four,” Eubank said. “If your child’s missing, you don’t commit suicide. If your child is missing, you try to find them.”
Melinda Duckett was found in her grandparents’ home in The Villages of Lady Lake, Fla., with what police have described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Duckett’s 2-year-old son Trenton has been missing for 13 days and Eubank said police have made little progress in their investigation.
Eubank said she’d heard from her daughter as recently as Friday morning.
Duckett and her husband Joshua were in the process of a divorce after a year of marriage. Eubank said she’d never met her daughter’s husband, but said they were high school sweethearts.
Melinda Duckett moved to Florida in 2002 to live with her paternal grandparents and finish high school. She had since moved on to college, where Eubank said she had a 4.0 grade point average and was interested in pursuing a career in criminal psychology.
Ironically, that’s the profession being employed to help find her son. Agents with the FBI have taken up the search.
Trenton Duckett disappeared from his bedroom in the family’s Leesburg apartment complex where he lived with his mother. Police say they think he was pulled through a hole cut in a window screen.
Melinda Duckett had refused to take a polygraph test, Police Capt. Ginny Padgett said. He would not say whether she was considered a suspect in the boy’s disappearance.
Police said Trenton’s father, Joshua Duckett, took a polygraph test within 24 hours and investigators were “satisfied with his responses.” That’s a claim Eubank disputes. She reported hearing he had not submitted to a lie detector test.
“I think the heat of Florida has fried the brains of everybody down there,” she said. “To me it just seems very, very coincidental that he’s missing for two weeks with no leads and then this happens.”
Melinda Duckett filed for divorce from Joshua Duckett on June 14, and the two were fighting for custody of Trenton. Police are trying to piece together Melinda and Trenton Duckett’s whereabouts on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27, and anyone who saw the pair is being asked to report it to the FBI.
News of the boy’s disappearance has been scarce, thus far, family said. Don Jordan, the missing boy’s great uncle, told reporters in Florida the family has only gotten “bits and pieces” of information.
“Until they (the police) track more down or get anything, we’re just fearing for the worst.”
Duckett is described as three feet tall, 35 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and a mark over his left eye. Anyone with information can call local police authorities.
September 9, 2006 at 1:16 pm
She killed Trenton because her life was not going
the way she had imagined it. She became pregnant
with Trenton with the intention of hooking Joshua
and claiming the 20year meal ticket.
It didnt turn out that way. She had no “social life”
as Trenton took all her time. So she killed the boy.
Had an attack of remorse then killed herself so
she could be with her boy forever.
Mark my words. The 2 men who watched the film with
her on the night of the ‘claimed abduction’ will prove
IMO
to show where Trenton is buried.
September 9, 2006 at 2:07 pm
[...] Get more information from the National Voice for Children. [...]
September 9, 2006 at 3:19 pm
melinda seems evasive in her interviews and Joshua does not seem to be out of the clear. i hope that some answers come shortly, I just watched the press conference, not much new came out, houses serched.
September 9, 2006 at 3:36 pm
she killed the little boy…. so very sad
IMO
September 9, 2006 at 4:35 pm
This young woman you speak s highly of broke a comandment, and she was the person this precious boy depended on so desperately for a safe life, are you going to keep this updated here?
September 9, 2006 at 6:54 pm
CC Lane, if you do some reading here on other cases, you will see that I do not speak highly of parents that murder their children. I am going to update this and follow this case. I suspect Melinda had something to do with this but Joshua needs another look also. Something happened to this child and I definitely feel one of the parents are involved. I don’t know what may have happened to Trenton or what happened with Melinda, if she is responsible. I do know that Melinda did love Trent at one time. After having experiences with Brianna Lopez and the DA Susana Martinez who worked to write Brianna’s Bill and all of the other parents who have abused their children for years, I just do not think that Melinda falls into the same category.
It would be easy for me to condemn her, I chose to wait until we know what happened.
Here is a list of children that have died at the NVFC since May 15,2005. Many of whom were killed by parents, neighbors and SO. A review of the list will show more(100%) parents and close neighbors, than strangers from outside the area.
September 9, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Nancy is going to be taking some heat on her outrageus interview of MD, she was ruthless as usual and she is no better than a Jerry Springer or Jenny Jones talkshow host.
http://www.local6.com/news/9815793/detail.html
September 10, 2006 at 4:16 am
many girls at 21 are not sure of themselves and are just finding out about who they are. she even posted on myspace about being confused about her place in the world.
http://www.myspace.com/33481059
nancy grace was way out of line for the way she handled this poor girl, i would have a hard time going up against nancy, not that she is good, she is just a control freak, talk about narcissistic. i support her family, nancy harmed this case in such a way that we may never know what happened. hoping that trent is found alive.
melissa florida
September 10, 2006 at 4:23 am
I am hearing reports to her death being from a shot gun and also a few versions that she may bhave been murdered? Does anyone know when the official autopsy comes out?
September 10, 2006 at 4:40 am
i added this and i agree with this person, melissa oops, sorry i do not know how to link.
Originally posted by Jadedblueeyes
I really don’t know how this news makes me feel. I have mixed emotions. I do believe that Melinda may have had something to do with the disappearance of her little boy and that is why she resorted to suicide. But then I wonder at 21 was she just ignorant on how to act or what to say as Nancy lodged her questions to her with such disdain and rapid fire? Did this young woman think now that no matter what she would be blamed by all for Trenton being missing?
And then I think if I do believe that she did something to her little baby then that means Trenton will not be returning to be loved and cared for ever again and that too scares me as I want so much for him to be alive.
I worry if she is not involved then Nancy will be in serious legal jeopardy I am afraid. If this girl was already depressed then this might have been what pushed her over the edge.
It is just a horrible situation no matter which way it goes.
IMO
Ocean
September 10, 2006 at 5:30 am
I am not ready to judge Melinda. I have no idea what happened to Trenton but I hope and pray that he is alive somewhere and will be brought home soon. I’m amazed at the people who have found Melinda guilty because she colored her hair, or because she was evasive on Nancy Grace as Nancy ripped her to shreads pretending that she was in a courtroom and she was the prosecutor or because she wasn’t in front of the media 24/7 weeping and gnashing her teeth. None of us know this young woman. We have no idea what her personality is like. Was she a private person that wasn’t comfortable letting her feeling hang out in front of the world so that they could be evaluated?
How I might handle myself may be totally different because I’m a very emotional person. But I’m not going to judge Melinda for how I think she should have acted. I’ve heard people say “she laughed.” When I’m nervous I often start laughing. Nothing will be funny but I can’t hold it in. I did this during a deposition. I was taking the depo in a custody case over my grandaughter. There was nothing funny about the case yet it just bubbled up and out….nerves.
I am so sad that Melinda took her life. I don’t know why she did that. Maybe she just became so fragile and stressed out that she couldn’t coop anymore. It is just so sad that she felt that hopeless and must have just wanted to escape from life. It doesn’t mean that she did anything to Trenton or that she didn’t.
I hope that she is innocent of any wrong doing. It seems to me that she would have left a note if she was responsible. Wouldn’t she have wanted her baby found where ever he may be? This time I’m waiting until the police solve this case to judge anyone. I can’t help but remember that Kevin Fox spent almost a year in jail for the murder of little Riley when in fact the DNA proved that he wasn’t guilty. Maybe Melinda is innocent too.
September 10, 2006 at 5:46 am
This just makes me sick the way M was treated throughout this entire ordeal. If you are not a family member or a true friend and you have thrown stones you should all be ashamed of yourselves. How could any of you possibly come to judge WITH OUT having all of the facts? All you hear is what is in the news. Which basicaly means that what you really know is absolutely nothing about the family or the facts. It’s all heresay and speculation. Here are people crying out for help and here’s the response: “You did it.” Your horrible parents.” What’s wrong with you people. Just because someone tries to be brave and strong, just hold together what’s left of themselves.. that means that they automatically did it? Haven’t you watched enough talk shows to know that this sort of behavior is EXACTLY what people do when they are falling apart?????? Well guess what. Just because someone isn’t crying on the NEWS doesn’t mean that they aren’t crying at all.
If you want to do something. Don’t criticize the parents. JUST HELP FIND TRENTON!!!!
September 10, 2006 at 6:43 am
Melinda was a very sick woman. She needed help a long time ago. Her husband was an immature young man that only exagerated her illness. Her grandmother is in TOTAL denial.
September 10, 2006 at 11:43 am
Barbara, Thank you for taking the time to write a well thought out comment. Melinda had troubles for a while and all of this was well documented. People call out for help in different methods. It may have been hard for Melinda to ask for help, she may have been asking for help with her some of hers calls to police. I received an email from Melinda this past Monday, Sept. 4 She may have been calling out for help then.
Melinda was bothered by the mark said to be over his left eye. If you look at Trenton’s photos, he does not have a mark over his left eye. The information MAY have been submitted by LE to the NCMEC, it may have been their mistake, I have seen girls with their weight as 1,115 pounds listed on their posters as well as other mistakes so when they are obvious like the extra 1 adding a thousand pounds to the child, I make the correction. I sent Melinda and email back stating that I had corrected his poster that we had for him and if there was any way we could help further to let me know.
I wish that I would have reached out and been more engaging in my correspondence with her. I could have at least sent a direct link to Trenton’s poster on the NVFC. I was aware of her case and the situation with the disappearance but all this was before her case had received much attention. Knowing what I do now with her subsequent suicide, I would have tried to reach out to Melinda more.
People will always see a glass as half full or half empty. Many people are quick to judge this young girl without any facts for their decisions. The referance to the birthday party that I saw she made on Myspace, it was clear to me that this party was all about Trenton. She made a mere mention that her birthday would also be celebrated. YET people have tried to turn this invitation against her to make it seem like it was all about her, how ugly.
Comments have also been aimed at her picture she had displayed on Myspace “wearing a hiphugger miniskirt and tight top, belly showing.” Come on people, how far did they have to zoom the picture for that? Her Myspace photo was very tame when compared to the usual oneupmanship between girls to show as much skin as possible.
Nancy Grace stepped way out of BOUNDS in the manner in which she handled Melinda. Nancy had to know how fragile Melinda was, it was all over the news of her past problems. Very irresponsible news reporting/talk show antics for ratings.
NANCY if your listening, I would love to back side you in the same manner that you do all your guests, at least the ones you do not like. But hey I am giving you fair warning, look through your transcripts, how nice at least I am giving you a clue in ADVANCE. Can you say mincemeat? No I suspect you will chicken out Nancy, Keith Olbermann has a “Countdown” it would be rather funny there.
Clearly it was for LE to handle Melinda in what means they deemed necessary. I had this information last Monday, I chose to call the Leesburg PD, you chose to ruin any possibility of solving this case by your rating antics.
This morning I am reading over quotes from Bill Eubanks.
” ‘Papa, I don’t know where Trenton is at,’ ” he said, quoting her. Joshua is also quoted as saying these things.
The first sentence is a little troublesome for me, What two year old likes to sit still? yet Joshua describes this as a “CHORE,” it sounds like he realizes this may not have come out the best and attempts to make up for it with his following sentences. My own son is going to be two years old September 17, 2006, in many ways he looks a lot like Trenton. My son is a mixed child also, my wife is Hispanic.
At first when reading this comment about being a chore to get Trenton to sit still, it reminded me of when I was teaching a Sunday school program in Minneapolis. The class I taught was three and four year olds, it was an hour long and most children that age had a hard time sitting at the TABLE for that period of time. I got an idea and got permission to change the class style. My roommate at the time was “Jamie Chez,” the drummer for “Jesse Johnson’s Revue,” he laid down the funky drumbtrack and I worked on lyrics for a song for the children. I had all the children sit in a circle on the floor Indian style and brought in a boombox with the tape that was done on an 8 track. The chorus went like this.
When that part played, all the children were like “Steve Talk to the People Now,” in fact they wanted that part played over and over again. That Sunday school class the children learned much more than they were previously learning in the conventional setting.
My son has so much energy, I look for ways to channel that energy with activities, encouragement and the use of positive reinforcement. He has also never once been disciplined or punished, there has never been a need. He gets respect when spoken to and responds well to his positive environment.
Joshua’s last statement “I expect him home safe.”
Joshua believes his son is alive, I hope Trenton is alive and well. I hope that Melinda did not have any part in his disappearance.
I do believe Nancy should have to answer to this, Jenny Jones had a lawsuit filed against her when a guest committed suicide shortly after filming an episode. The time frame of Melinda’s suicide was barely over twenty-four hours after she was humiliated on National TV, actually she did the interview at 11:00AM on Thursday and the show was broadcast Friday evening. Melinda committed suicide six hours before the show was broadcast.
Clearly Melinda needed help a long time ago, I hope we find some much needed answers in this case. I know I love my son, and I feel Melinda loved Trent.
September 10, 2006 at 2:32 pm
[...] Abductions, Child abuse, Crime, Joshua, Mee Kee ong Lee, Melinda Duckett, Myspace, Steve Rockefeller, Suicide, Trent, TrentonMain entry for Melinda “Why Can’t We have yesterday” [...]
September 10, 2006 at 4:28 pm
I was reading at websleuths, Luthersmama, has an interesting view on NG.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42617&page=18&pp=25
It’s all about the ratings for her. She is a parasite, masquarading as a seeker of justice. You don’t get the kind of pay and perks she gets if you are working day in and day out as an investigator. She gets to pick the cases, make her own rules and then edit the tape to boot! What a deal!! Every cop would like that kind of career!
September 10, 2006 at 4:30 pm
First let me say, I am glad to see that you realize that there may be more to the story of Melinda and Trenton. I am also glad to see that you look beyond the news story the media has created, versus the facts that we know or will know when the case is eventually solved. It is easy to judge without the facts, and often it turns out that real life is quite different than the media frenzy and media circus that draws audiences.
I live in The Villages and have been following Trenton’s disappearance from the time it was first announced in the media. Like many of you I formed judgments, right or wrong, on both sides of the question of whether either of his parents was involved in his disappearance. I even watched the whole Nancy Grace show, knowing that Melinda had already been found dead of unnatural causes. I too was amazed at Melinda’s behavior and answers to the questions put to her. I wondered with amazement why she would not want to tell Nancy Grace and millions of viewers any information that might help find her son. Then I went to sleep to ponder all that I had been thinking, and to imagine what it might have been like to be in Melinda’s shoes, remembering that the only way to really honestly judge someone is to walk a mile in their shoes. I also know that we can never believe all that we read in the news media, and even less of what we hear. The one fact that I have truly come to realize over the last 60 years of my life is that the news media no longer just reports the news; they now seem to be responsible for making the news. The case of John Mark Karr is just such a case in point.
When I awoke on Saturday morning, I thought about what it would have been like to walk in Melinda’s shoes. She was adopted from Korea when she was a baby, 18 when she became pregnant with Trenton, 19 when he was born, 20 when she married Trenton’s father, 21 when she was involved in a bitter divorce and custody case, and 21 when her son was discovered to be missing. She worked 2 jobs, went to school, and was raising her son on her own. To the most mature among us those events would be hard for any parent much older in years than Melinda. Just take the case of Jon Bonet Ramsey, the police and media circus was beyond comprehension and they were older, had each other and lawyers to help deal with law enforcement and the media, and still they were attacked and vilified by the police, media and the public.
Here we had a 21 year old girl, mother, and wife who probably would have had emotional issues just dealing with a normal life of being a 21 year old without children or a marriage, and yet she had a child, a bitter divorce and now her child was missing. She did not have a lawyer or family member dealing with the media or helping her deal with the media. Maybe she was guilty or had some part in the disappearance of Trenton, and maybe she did not. I certainly do not know, nor can I judge with any certainty what the eventual facts will turn out in the case. I will be waiting and interested to know what really happened.
For all of us, finding Trenton should be the number one priority. Judging Melinda should wait for two things; first, Trenton to be found, and second, the facts to be discovered and to come out in the case, not the media slant, spin, and fervor of an exciting media story. In the mean time we should consider what walking in her shoes would have been like; to be young, just twenty one, to be at the center of a law enforcement investigation and the object of a media circus. When there was nothing else to report, Melinda and speculation on her involvement became the story. Not being very mature, having someone to tell her how to handle her celebrity status when her son was missing would have been tough for the most mature among us, but to be 21 and alone.
Few among us can accurately have known what we would have done to be in her shoes. So until the facts are truly known in the case, would it not be better to make the story about finding Trenton not about condemning someone. If in the end she turns out to have been involved, then there will be plenty of time to lay blame. In the meantime Melinda should be afforded her right to be innocent until proven guilty, and even the Leesburg police have reported that she was not a suspect. It is a tragedy no matter what, and people in this blog and other blogs are more focused of having someone to blame. Who knows, if she is found to eventually be innocent of all involvement, maybe people will be more willing to believe what her grandfather said … “that she felt like she was trapped and cornered” persecuted by the media, and not supported in her grief at the disappearance of her son. Could any of us have done better ourselves at 21?
September 10, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Heather,
Please do not quote forums, it is fine quote a news source as long as you link to the source and credit the author.
I have seen two forums and two blogs that are quoting Melinda as having commented there. IE ” Melinda The Mother” I could easily write that I am “Alexander The Great” does not mean it would be true. I doubt that Melinda would write “The Mother” after her own name. Too many people like to play mean games, without checking the IP address, it is irresponsible to enter in comments like these as factual. It would not surprise me a bit if this person who submitted that comment was not even from the state of Florida.
September 10, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I live in The Villages and have been following Trenton’s disappearance from the time it was first announced in the media. Like many of you I formed judgments, right or wrong, on both sides of the question of whether either of his parents was involved in his disappearance. I even watched the whole Nancy Grace show, knowing that Melinda had already been found dead of unnatural causes. I too was amazed at Melinda’s behavior and answers to the questions put to her. I wondered with amazement why she would not want to tell Nancy Grace and millions of viewers any information that might help find her son. Then I went to sleep to ponder all that I had been thinking, and to imagine what it might have been like to be in Melinda’s shoes, remembering that the only way to really honestly judge someone is to walk a mile in their shoes. I also know that we can never believe all that we read in the news media, and even less of what we hear. The one fact that I have truly come to realize over the last 60 years of my life is that the news media no longer just reports the news; they now seem to be responsible for making the news. The case of John Mark Karr is just such a case in point.
When I awoke on Saturday morning, I thought about what it would have been like to walk in Melinda’s shoes. She was adopted from Korea when she was a baby, 18 when she became pregnant with Trenton, 19 when he was born, 20 when she married Trenton’s father, 21 when she was involved in a bitter divorce and custody case, and 21 when her son was discovered to be missing. She worked 2 jobs, went to school, and was raising her son on her own. To the most mature among us those events would be hard for any parent much older in years than Melinda. Just take the case of Jon Bonet Ramsey, the police and media circus was beyond comprehension and they were older, had each other to help deal with law enforcement and the media, and still they were attacked and vilified by the police, media and the public.
Here we had a 21 year old girl, mother, and wife who probably would have had emotional issues just dealing with a normal life of being a 21 year old without children or a marriage, and yet she had a child, a bitter divorce and now her child was missing. She did not have a lawyer or family member dealing with the media or helping her deal with the media. Maybe she was guilty or had some part in the disappearance of Trenton, and maybe she did not. I certainly do not know, nor can I judge with any certainty what the eventual facts will turn out in the case. I will be waiting and interested to know what really happened.
For all of us, finding Trenton should be the number one priority. Judging Melinda should wait for two things; first, Trenton to be found, and second, the facts to be discovered and to come out in the case, not the media slant, spin, and fervor of an exciting media story. In the mean time we should consider what walking in her shoes would have been like; to be young, just twenty one, to be at the center of a law enforcement investigation and the object of a media circus. When there was nothing else to report, Melinda and speculation on her involvement became the story. Not being very mature, having someone to tell her how to handle her celebrity status when her son was missing would have been tough for the most mature among us, but to be 21 and alone.
Few among us can accurately have known what we would have done to be in her shoes. So until the facts are truly known in the case, would it not be better to make the story about finding Trenton not about condemning someone. If in the end she turns out to have been involved, then there will be plenty of time to lay blame. In the meantime Melinda should be afforded her right to be innocent until proven guilty, and even the Leesburg police have reported that she was not a suspect. It is a tragedy no matter what, and people in this blog are more focused of having someone to blame. Who knows, if she is found to eventually be innocent of all involvement, maybe people will be more willing to believe what her grandfather said … “that she felt like she was trapped and cornered” persecuted by the media, and not supported in her grief at the disappearance of her son. Could any of us have done better ourselves at 21?
September 10, 2006 at 7:02 pm
The voice of reason,
Well said! Thanks for taking your time to explain how we should look at this case.
September 10, 2006 at 7:54 pm
you make her look like an angel she is a crazy b***** who did something with her child and only god knows
September 10, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Dear anonymous,
Obviously you did not really read what I said. I never made her out to be a angel, or even a devil. I said I did not know what Melinda was in her heart, and we will not know until the facts of the case are determined by law enforcement. As you said “only God knows”, and that is true since we do not have all the facts at this point. What I did say in determination of the truth instead of just taking the tack that she was guilty, was to try to look at the case from both sides. Since people are being so quick to determine her guilty, maybe if we for a moment looked at it from the opposite view, by looking at it from what if she was not guilty, it might give us some other clues that could help find Trenton. Remember when people are under extreme stress they do not behave in a very logical manner, and certainly in a manner that the arm chair detectives who are not under that level of pressure think is normal. Would you act any less crazy if you at age 21 were going through what Melinda was experiencing? The point is you do not know, because you were not in her shoes. At this point as you say “only God knows”.
At this point we should be more focused on finding Trenton, and leave the determination of guilt or innocence for the time when law enforcement has done their job and the real facts, not the gut feelings, are all on the table.
September 11, 2006 at 9:19 am
We should reserve judgment on the parents and instead focus attention on finding the little boy. Nancy Grace lacked tact in her interview with the boy’s mother; however, it’s incredible that any mother at any age, even having had bad experiences in dealing with the media, would not be forthcoming with information, especially when it’s being broadcast to a national audience. NG was right in questioning this unusual resistance from a mother of a missing child, although she could have done so with a more sensitive approach.
I’ll be praying for little Trent.
September 11, 2006 at 2:31 pm
What a beautiful piece you wrote on this case no matter how it turns out. I am also glad as I read through the comments that most people are in favor of waiting until the truth comes out before passing judgement. I hope that little Trenton is found alive.
I wish we could have back yesterday, Melinda adored little Trenton, that shows in the way she carressed him. A mother knows these things, what possibly happened to change all that if that did change, I will have to wait and see.
Keepings children everywhere in my prayers and hoping for a miracle. God bless Melinda even if things turn on her.
Rest in peace Melinda Duckett
PS Could you add a picture for me?
September 11, 2006 at 4:19 pm
http://www.local6.com/news/9818553/detail.html
ORLANDO, Fla — Investigators in the search for a missing 2-year-old boy in Leesburg, Fla., are leaning toward the possibility that the boy will not be found alive and are asking people to search remote areas on their property this week.
“The search for Trenton Duckett is changing a bit this morning,” Local 6′s Jessica Sanchez said. “Leesburg police are acknowledging (that) it is possible the 2-year-old may not be found alive.”
Sanchez said police are asking people in Leesburg, Fruitland Park and the Lady Lake area who have property in remote areas to search the region for clues or a body.
“They may have a good idea that, you know, that corner of property I got might be a good place,” Leesburg police Captain Steve Rockefeller said. “Well, grab a friend, go out there and start looking. That’s what I enourage people to do at this point.”
According to authorities, Trenton Duckett was last seen in his room. His mother, Melinda Duckett, said she first noticed he was missing around 9 p.m. Leesburg police said a screen on a window in the boy’s room was cut and that he was apparently taken through the opening.
However, the investigation into the boy’s whereabouts was dealt a major setback when Melinda Duckett’s body was found Friday in a home at 638 Rainbow Lane in the Villages of Lady Lake. Police said she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her grandparents’ home.
Local 6 News reported that Melinda Duckett’s grandparents said media coverage may have been too much and pushed her over the edge.
Two days before she died, Melinda Duckett told Local 6 News that she was frustrated that the media and police were scrutinizing her whereabouts before her son vanished.
And in a taped interview that aired hours after Melinda Duckett’s suicide, CNN news anchor Nancy Grace grilled the woman about her alibi on national television.
“Where were you?” Grace asked. “Why aren’t you telling us where you were that day? You were the last person to be seen with him.”
“We were just shopping, going around…” Duckett said.
“Shopping where?” Grace asked.
“Well, we didn’t go any where specific,” Duckett said.
“If you went shopping, you had to go into a store — what store did you go into?” Grace said.
“I wasn’t (going to get) into any specifics,” Duckett said.
The boy’s father, Joshua Duckett, said he did not think the media was unfair in their coverage.
“At first, the media was rough on me too and I had a lot of fingers pointed at me and stuff like that,” Duckett said. “To me, I don’t feel the media was unfair to either side.”
“Despite Melinda Duckett’s apparent suicide, police are not yet publicly calling her their primary suspect,” Local 6′s Mike DeForest said. “They say everyone is still a possibility at this point.”
Saturday, investigators searched Duckett’s apartment but so far there was no sign of a suicide note.
Anyone with information into Trenton’s whereabouts is urged to call 800-CALL-FBI.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
September 11, 2006 at 9:48 pm
I have wondered if it would do any good to post as the postings seem to have the case picked apart but I have decided I have a few things to say.
I don’t think that people are completely formed or mature by age 21. I think we have to look beyond what happened just while she was in high school and determine what she was enduring as a child. What formed this person who for sure committed suicide and who may have harmed her own child.
Being adopted is not always easy and many people go through years of trying to figure out why they were given up and if their adoptive parents really love them. The grandparents were Caucasian so you know that at least one of her parents was also Caucasian and kids go through a tough time with that. Trying to fit in. Realizing their roots are a world away and that there is a whole lot to them that is lost when they are adopted. Now if their parents handled it right these issues can be overcome but many adults do not address issue correctly and leave holes in children’s lives. Obviously she was still having identify issues if she named her web space after her birth name. Most children adopted from Asian countries are in orphanages and have their birth name for only a short time. They are not attached to their birth name unless they are still searching for peace. Kids start out innocent. What happened in her life to make her troubled?
Why would a girl go live with her grandparents in high school As a mother I would have to be having really big problems with my kids to agree to let them go away and live? All teenagers have problems and you expect that as a mother, so the problems she was having must have been very big to let Melinda go and live in Florida.
Additionally these grandparents seem kind of old. So my guess is that if she lived with them in high school then they probably had a hard time giving a probably already troubled teen much discipline.
Why have we not heard any quotes from the father? Did he die? Was a tragic divorce or cancer or affair part of Melinda’s history? We know nothing about her biographical sketch. Does she have siblings? Why have we heard nothing from a family member at all on her side? She must have had a very trouble life if something this serious was happening to her and no one in her family was there to help her or speak out. I recall a posting where one of Josh’s cousins spoke for the family, a family friend did and then also his high school friends have. Yet no one speaks for her.
Most of us who are mothers would consider our 21 year old kid to still be KIDS. Yes they may be in college or trying to work and be on their own but a HUGE percentage of 21 year olds still live with their parents. This is a remarkable ordeal to go through if you are 21 and there seems to be little support. I also wonder about her church group. Was it possibly her grandparent’s church group? Additionally why was she not living with the grandparents during all this? If she was separated and having to work 2 jobs and go to school and the grandma said she did not let anyone but her baby-sit the child then why did she just not live with them to save money. I believe the email in question was one Josh had written threatening them in regard to paying child support so who knows if she was getting child support and if she was it could ‘t be very much. Maybe the grandparents had distanced themselves from her too. It seems her web postings are to people she says she has not been able to see much or that she does not know if they are good with kids. Maybe she really did not have a lot of close friend to support her. It is clear one of the guys watching a movie with her also distanced himself from her during this ordeal. Who was there for her—and if only some people could have been there for her whether she did this or not—they ultimately would have been there for Trenton.
I am not saying she did or did not harm the child. What I am saying is no matter whether she did or not I believe there certainly was more others could have done to help the situation… One theory is that she hid the child in hopes of getting back with the father, if more people including her family had stepped in to support her maybe they could have convinced her to tell the truth and they would support her through the consequences And if she did not do something with the child then maybe they could have supported her more so that she may not have killed herself.
The sept 11th news article http://www.dailycommercial.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=162&ArticleID=17676&TM=6359.606 ……………………..states that even though they are encouraging people to look in trash they HAVE NOT named her as a suspect or a person of interest even though her suicide timing is questionable to all of us……… “However, he added that Melinda had not been named as a suspect or even a person of interest, and said police are still exploring as many possibilities as possible, though with limited resources.” I think that says something. That is the latest news report we have and they state that she is not a suspect and not a person of interest!!! Additionally it states that Josh has nailed down his timeline further to help rule him out—-why is it taking 2 weeks to still nail down his time line—–up until now it seemed like Josh was being so cooperative. But obviously there were details he left out is he is still nailing down his timeline. …. “Rockefeller said police were focusing less on the idea that Trenton was taken by a stranger and added that Joshua Duckett – the boy’s father – has provided a more firm timeline of his activities in the hours before Trenton was reported missing, taking some suspicion off him.”
Maybe she did have an outburst in high school. Maybe she did use a loud voice when arguing with her boyfriend. She was pregnant in high school!!!! And having been pregnant myself I know my hormones made me do things that were not what I would typically do Additionally she felt her life was out of control. I believe she was intelligent and probably had plans to go to college and then she finds herself pregnant in a tumultuous relationship—as it clearly was since they did not get married until a few years after high school.. And the ‘daughter that is a friend of Josh” can you really tell me she herself never did anything in high school that she is embarrassed by, that may come out and reflect negatively on her should she have something like this happen to her. Maybe this friend of Josh’s told a lie or stole or did drugs or had a few too many boyfriends. Good grief haven’t we all done things in high school that were rotten, or embarrassing or that we are not proud of while in High School. It is really not fair to jusdge someone based on what they did during the crazy teen years. And to be pregnant and going through all the stress of how can I raise a child alone if he dumps me, and what will be become of me and ALL the stuff one deals with in high school—- I would hate to have what I did in high school held against me in my life and I was actually a good kid.
You cannot take bits and pieces of someone’s life—in fact they are not even bits and pieces that are facts—they are others perceptions—and use those to determine what someone is capable of
Maybe she was hesitant to tell the timeline because she was doing something she should not have been like buying drugs or shoplifting or seeing a guy. I don’t excuse those behaviors and certainly not with a baby in tow BUT when you are young the fear of PUNISHEMNT for things is very intense. And maybe she would in a day or two tell an FBI agent but not on national news. And I agree with the person who posted the comment that she may have had someone in the background at the house telling her what to say on the phone.
I am sure she thought that refusing to go on the NG interview would look bad—and isn’t that what everyone has been judging her on—how her actions LOOK—so she went on NG. But I can bet the attorney told her—give out only this info and that is all and just keep repeating yourself. We all think she was evasive. However she states she was told to work with this one FBI agency and that those people would coordinate with the other officials. She states she has done everything that agency asked her. I can imagine a lawyer stating that she just work with the one agency —maybe the lawyer had connections with an officer in that agency and felt it was the safest bet for Melinda to talk to that agency with the confidence the info would be shared. Maybe the lawyer felt that the local police are not handling it anyway and they themselves stated that they knew it was out of their realm and that is why they did not hesitate to call in the FBI. Maybe the lawyer said –the local police seem to favor Josh. Lets be cooperative but with the Florida FBI who agrees to share the info with the other agencies. When you’ re scared and you know you have already had DSS look into an unfounded case of child neglect you are scared. You do exactly what your attorney advises especially if you have no one else you can depend on advising you. And if she thought her child would be found then naturally her next thought would be —is this going to mean Josh or DCF can take my child. How can I make this whole situation better?!
Additionally I am sure she was in contact with the missing children’s center and people who have also lost children and I feel confident some of them told her to not take a poly graph as one poster said—if she had passed—would we all have really believed it or would some still say…”Well they are not completely accurat so she could still be guilty” I thought the Ramsey’s refused to take a polygraph for a while and the grandma in the Lunsford case failed the polygraph. And I would write a lot more about the polygraph but either way you cut it—–they really could not rule her out…. And I have heard that the number of sociopaths is as many as 1 in 4 people on this earth. If as you stated sociopaths usually beat polygraphs what good what it have done for her to take one if she was indeed a sociopath who anyone who kills their own child would be? Many many people are put in prison wrongly accused. Most all missing children cases accuse the parents.
Leave her alone about how she dealt with the disappearance of her child! She was probably stunned, probably being told by law enforce ment that they would soon find him and not to worry, how do we know she did not cry her eyes out in private all the time but held it together in public. If your child is missing you are told over and over YOU CAN’T FALL APART and you have to think clearly you have to help find the child then that is what you have to do. Especailly if you do not have a husband or someone else to lean on. You have to stay strong and collected. Furthermore some depression meds—which she may have been on since she did have psychiatric evals done involuntarily thus, assuming she had mental issues —–but some meds for those issues make it difficult for one to cry even if they are upset. We know she had a dealth in the family as she herself posted that she did not even cry at funerals.
I also wonder why the media is making the father look so terrific. I have to believe he is not so terrific in person. He had premarital sex and got a girl pregnant in high school. That does not make someone evil BUT it is not something every parent says “Oh I hope my child has sex in high school”. He was involved in the domestic disputes where the police were called out—it was not one sided and the judge did grant her custody. He is from FL, has a whole community behind him with immediate and extended relatives. We know very little about him and I just really doubt he is such a stellar guy. And the Captain was clear to say that he still has not been completely ruled out as a suspect.
How many of you posters have done something to actually find this child other than pray and post. I am not knocking prayer. I am praying my guts out. But actions are what is needed. Have you sent chain emails to every single person you can think of to get his picture out? Have any of you sent money to help pay for the efforts? Have any of you printed out the flyers and hung them up in your local stores and day cares and such. Is this just a web site to talk about people badly OR is it one where people actually help solve mysteries.
It was selfish of her to have killed her self in the grandparents home. However she probably went there because it was where she felt safe. And most people are selfish especially teens and young adults!!!! That is just pretty normal.
And yes she should have thought about the child—just another reason why teens should not have sex and raise children when they are still children themselves. It is very often a mess and the child is the one that suffers. It does take a village!!!! And this kid’s village apparently failed big time.
Maybe she killed herself because she knew the stats that if a child is not found with in the first few hours the chances are slim that he will be found alive. Maybe she thought he was probably dead and that she could be with him if she killed herself. Maybe someone said something the last few hours of her life to throw her over the edge, like telling her again how it is looking like she must have done something.
I think it would be unlikely that she would have done something to her child after going through a pregnancy in high school and not choosing to terminate it, choosing to keep the baby, choosing to raise the child on her own (she could have said it is too much and just given the boy to the dad) and after all that, and she does seem to be with him the child all the time –that she would kill herself if she did not believe he was dead—but you CAN believe he was dead with out knowing you did it—
At 21 the way the world perceives you is very very important to you. Thinking everyone in the world was against her and not having many people to help her this most difficult time would definitely throw most 21 year olds over the edge.
As far as Trenton being in his jeans to go to bed. Maybe she kept an odd schedule and this child did too. Maybe she figured after the second movie that she would put him in his PJs and prepare home for bed for real but that this was just a nap. Maybe they sleep in on Mondays per her class schedule. Being a single mom you keep your little kids on a very different schedule then you would if you were a 2 parent family living a settled life. You often keep your little one up late so that they will sleep late and you will thus be able to sleep past 6am and the child will not be up running around getting into trouble while you are asleep. Can you honestly say that you have never let your kid sleep in their clothes? She did say she checked on him at 7:10 and then again after the first movie and I am sure she was checking on his diaper while doing that as she probably would have again after the second movie when she would have put his PJs on and went to bed for real.
It drives me crazy when people pick apart little things parents do and determine they are bad parents or don’t love their children just because of some things they may do differently than others. You do what works for your family.
Most teens and young adults have a my space web spot. That is not a weird thing. Most post pictures. And how many of us always think clearly about our actions. So she posted her child’s birthday party on the web. Well how many of us have done things that could POTENTIALLY—but unrealistically —-put our children at risk,,, like leave your 9 year old in the car while you run into the post office. Or let your 12 year old run in for milk. Where they could be stolen in the store. Or put your child’s bed by the window so they can get fresh air. Or a zillion other things. I am sure she just had no idea that it would be looked up on by the world as an act of child endangerment.
I really do not like that this has not gotten more national coverage. I remember plenty of missing persons cases that have been on our local news that have happened hundreds and thousands of miles away—even in Aruba!!!! And yet this little guy is missing 2 weeks and I have not seen a blurb at all on our news and we are only a few states away.
If the FBI is involved why are we not getting more attention? Is it so common place that missing children are not news anymore? And this case has all the makings of a media smorgasbord. I mean the first angle that would have been great to report was the fact that the biological grandfather was on death row for sexual perversion. Maybe he shared pictures of the child with some of his sicko friends and they thought the child would be a great catch. Considering there are 50!!!! Sex offenders living right around Melinda’s apartments this is a reasonable angel.
Then you have the whole email and threats and that is a good angle. There are many others and so I don’t know whey this is not on the news.
It could be a nationwide case easily since the mother lives in NY.
Just because someone says they have an interest in criminology or wanting to do that for a career does not mean much nowadays. Ask a pool of high school kids what they want to be and you will get tons of answers about criminology and forensics. Since a large part of TV shows that are on now are related to this field of study there is a high interest in this field like computers were into the 90s. And since she was just starting classes it is silly to post that she would have had crime scene diagnosis classes. She was probably still taking Basic English and Math!!!
As far as the child neglect case that keeps being brought up. You remember they said nothing was found. NOTHING WAS FOUND. Haven’t any of you had this happen to you or had it happen to a friend — where a small child has been injured in an odd way and the doctor is bound to make the report to DSS. You know nothing you did was wrong it was a freak accident. But you still have to go the nerve-wracking investigation and of course nothing was found. Now how would you like every time something happens in your life for people to keep saying —well,ya know, she probably is guilty because once her child got hurt accidentally and they had to have DSS look at it. It happens a lot. Crazy neighbors or pissed off in- laws or whatever make false accusations and nothing is ever found.
—————————-
Someone made reference to the fact the mother in laws place of employment was torched and friends of Melinda’s were possible suspects. That is rude to state she may have been involved. Just because you are associated with someone does not mean you were a part of it. Does that mean because Josh’s bio-dad was a rapist and murderer that he is also? Let’s keep the facts in play here.
The comment that Trenton looks so sad and like a waif. He looks like a beautiful little boy with big Asian eyes. Don’t read so much into big brown eyes. The are big and empty because they are brown but that is not an indication he was miserable. I think he looks very cute in the amber alert poster. Both his mother and father described him as very lively and affectionate.
I would be like a caged animal too—pacing back and forth —and agitated if my BABY was missing!!!! I would probably be hostile with NG too. I think she went to on the NG interview and did just what her advisors told her to which was stick to the facts. She described the apartment layout and her search that evening and her timeline that evening and NG did not give her a chance to PLEAD for his return.
I too just want Trenton returned.
September 12, 2006 at 12:16 am
Mysterious, I agree with, I think just about everything you said! You said a lot so I can’t commit to 100% but thank you for taking the time to address so many issues and shed light on the conditions that Melinda grew up in.
Before I go further, I run the National Voice For Children web site and we have this poster that can be emailed out to anyone and everyone for Trenton.
I know Melinda was a good mother and loved Trenton, that shows by her postings on Myspace and by her pictures with Trent. My wife even told me today that she wants a photo with our son in the style that Melinda has with Trenton at the top of this entry. She further added that she would also add her birthday to an invitation like the manner in which Melinda did. My wife and our son’s birthday is only separated by four days. I too can not get over all the negative comments made about “Oh everything is all about Melinda, she had to add her birthday in also.” Where do these sinister people come from?
As for Nancy Grace, myself back when I was twenty, I would have gone off on her! She is such a drama queen. “We at Nancy Grace want very much to find blah blah blah” She is always patting herself on the back. When is the last time you have seen a fireman put out a fire and immediately congradulate himself? Tonight she talks so softly and acts like she is about to cry at Melinda’s suicide. Nancy I will call you out, you make a lot of mistakes and run a lot of false information. I will use your own transcripts to impeach you. And if you cared so much, you could have a gopher verify your information first before running your colossal blunders on National TV.
The love fest with Joshua, I don’t understand that one either, he has made some really weird reports also. Like the one of Melinda rearranging his tools in his truck, is he paranoid or what? Also the two wellness checks that Melinda made, police said they were bogus after they got called on the second one. Melinda was a 21 year old mother, five minutes could seem like an eternity to her. If she felt that Josh was actually harming Trent, she did the right thing! What would we be all saying if she did not make that second call and Josh killed Trent when he had visitation? I have always been more suspicious of Joshua than Melinda, what if the reason that Trenton has not been found is that LE is looking in the wrong direction? If Josh did grab his son, LE is mainly focused on Melinda and looking in the wrong direction.
I am putting blame on either party, I have suspected parental involvement since the beginning. However not enough is known to make a judgment on either Joshua or Melinda. Why wasn’t help available for Melinda? Clearly it was shown that they both had problems, but no one stepped in. I wish I would have reached out to Melinda more when she emailed me.
September 12, 2006 at 3:39 am
I was reading some of her peotry that was copied form her blog. It is really beautiful. As i read the one about her son I caught myself thinking that she really really loved him and he was a part of her. I thoguht she coudl not possibly have done anything to him. I believe she really loved him a great deal. Her other poetry about lost love and love troubles are touching. I also read a clip of a message she sent the day before she went to the beach to a guy friend taht she woudl be taking him to the beach and she extended an invitation to a guy to go with her but she stated “I do not know how good you are with kids”. I believe she realized finding someone to love her would be hard since she was a single mother BUT I believe she was determined to not let men in her life who would not accept the fact she was a mother first. It seems to me that is what she was saying in her peotry—there is some guy she liked but maybe he had a hard time with her having a child and so she said good bye to him. I believe from her postings that she put Trenton first.
http://crimeblog.us/
September 12, 2006 at 6:10 am
Does anyone know how we can contribute to the reward fund. I saw on Cnn that the reward was only $5000. I read in the Daily Commercial that one of the SunTrust Banks had an account you could make donations to in Trenton’s name BUT I was not clear if this was for him in general or was it for the reward. I also wondered if anyone knows how the rewards work. Do we pledge the money or send the money now? Is the money given as a reward whether he is found alive or otherwise? I want to start a collection from my coworkers, friends and family and I woudl like to provide them with these answers while asking for the donations.
By the way the same article stated Josh would be going to her memorial service. That brought me peace. I am glad that they are pulling together there as these poeple did share a bond and are still a family.
September 12, 2006 at 7:48 am
[...] I was up quite late last night, I had finished watching the second game of Monday night football when I came in and read one comment made by Mysterious. The comment itself read like an entry, it was long but this reader had a lot to say. I then responded and went to bed about 2:AM. Here I am and it is 7:AM and Mysterious added a comment after I went to bed. [...]
September 12, 2006 at 9:00 am
When I first heard this story on Nancy Grace’s show, I immediately knew that Melinda Duckett did something with her child.. She never answered any of Nancy’s questions. Even merely telling viewers where she was on that day, she acted as if she could not even remember. I believe she was guilty and her guilt got the better of her. The FBI were on to her and she knew it. She was anything but a good liar.
C’mon people Andrea Yates killed her 5 children and Lynn Paddock killed her 2 year old son because she could not cope with the pressures of being a young mother. It happens everyday. OPEN your eyes!!
Yes, I think that Melinda did love her son; but I think that all the pressure she was under brought her to her the end of her rope. She did not know what else to do. The father has not been as active in his childs life as he should.
I am a mother of 2 beautiful children. 12 months and 3 years. I couln’t imagine living my life either without them. They are the reason I get up each morning with a big smile upon my face.. My heart goes out to the entire Duckett family. I hope and pray that little Trenton turns up unskathed. God Bless…
September 12, 2006 at 10:01 am
ERYN, I respect your opinion and i agree with much of it but I have trouble with one minute aspect that may not have been directed at myself. “OPEN your eyes” When I first wrote this, I thought the title was clear. “Why Can’t We Have Yesterday” The title was meant to reflect that why can we not go back to the beautiful times Melinda shared with her son. I believe she loved him dearly. I too hope that Trenton will return home unscathed, if this happens it would mean that Melinda did not harm her son.
The very first entry I wrote here was on a child abuse case. Many entries have followed that all have parents that have killed their children, my eyes are wide open.
Trenton first came to my attention the very day he went missing, he was added to the National Voice For Children database. Over the past several months we have noticed that many children between the ages of two and three have either been killed by their parents in the case of Marcus Fiesel, or they are missing like Reachelle Smith and many children the same age.
I am especially aware of when I have to add a child to the list of deceased children when they have been murdered by their own families.
September 12, 2006 at 10:05 am
Mysterious,
I am glad to help out with the formation of a reward fund, I could host it in the NVFC, let me know if you are interested. I have not have a chance to brainstorm this yet, but if there is a will, there is a way and we can make something happen.
September 12, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I am sorry. I am not computer savvy really. What does it mean you coudl host the info on the nvfc site? How would i access it to give a donations to the reward fund? Just guide me through it and I will follow. Thanks
September 12, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Mysterious,
Sorry i was out of the office tied up in meetings all afternoon. Hopefully some good will come it it. Trenton’s case did come up and I hope that we can get additional groups like the “make a wish” foundation and others to help.
You can email me at contact[at]nvfc[dot]us
As for the tech info, I would need to know where donations should go to and have information for that account and bank address and whatever information telling about the fund.
HTH
September 12, 2006 at 7:36 pm
http://orlandosleuths.com
Some interesting info on this site. A very strange message posted by someone acting as if they are in Melinda’s family. They are asking for money to fly to FL and state that the holidays make the airfare higher. It is not near the holidays. I wonder if this is some sort of a scam. Sick people. There is not name or address or phone number attached and the person who posted it uses the posting name “orlandosleuth” which woudl lead me to believe they are in FL already. Sick Sick Sick.
Besides why are they wanting to go to FL now–what about at the beginning of this mess to support Melinda and to find Trenton.
Anyone know anything about who this person could be?
Also one of the posts there states Josh took the baby to the prison to see his father who is on death row for RAPING and MURDERING a child. And that the grandfather was given pictures of the child.
I am wondering about the accuracy of this.
September 12, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Mysterious,
Forums can be a very nasty thing, users post all kinds of false information. I highly doubt that any family member would try to solicit money online, it is probably some sick person trying to take advantage of a tragedy.
Happens all the time, it did with 911, Katrina and sadly people will try to gain from the misfortune of a child.
I will not let false information or unconfirmed information to be published here.
It has been published in the press about visitation in prison.
September 12, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Thanks Steve I read the link.
If James was a sexual pervert and he was allowed pictures of the baby–it is possible he let other perverts have access to the info and pictures and with the woven network that perverts weave he coudl have gotten the info to one of the 50!!!! sex offenders living around Melinda’s apartment!
September 12, 2006 at 8:46 pm
Mysterious,
Anything is possible and the longer this case holds on going nowhere, the more it points away from Melinda IMO.
How is it a 21 year old girl can outwit LE, the FBI for this long? Clearly both parents had problems, I am holding out my speculation until something concrete comes out People should not be convicted on rumors or innuendos.
September 13, 2006 at 3:17 am
Steve,
Unlike some of the people posting information about this case on your blog and other blogs, I am very impressed that you do not prejudge who and where the responsability for this terrible crime lies. I also respect that you put forth your effort to help find Trenton more than you provide a forum for people to accuse anyone before law enforcement determines the actual facts in the case. The point is that the victim in this case is Trenton, and that there is time enough to later determine who purputrated his abduction, be it his mother, father or someone else.
I live in The Villages, FL, not far from where Melinda’s grandparents live. I have never meet the Eubank’s or Melinda, but somewhere in my heart I feel Melinda really loved her child. I also think it would have been hard to be in Melinda’s shoes raising a 2 year old by herself. I also feel, as my last posts have indicated, that the situation would have been overwhelming for any parent, and even more so for a 21 year old woman.
I can understand why her behavior on Nancy Grace’s show might not have seemed appropriate to other people. For anyone, even someone a lot older than Melinda, Nancy Grace’s interview techniques are overwhelming. For a 21 year old handling that interview alone, they would have been mind boggling.
Five questions I have not seen anyone talk about are:
1) For a woman who kept a journal and liked to write about her feelings and emotions even in a public forum such as MySpace, it seems very strange that she did not leave a suicide note. The police have said that they have not found any suicide note. With her closeness to her grandparents, I really believe she would have left some explaination for her grandparents, who played such a big part in her life and who spent some of her formative years raising her.
2) From watching her grandfather be interviewed on the local news channel in The Villages, VNN. He stated when asked if he was overwhelmed by her suicide and Trenton still being missing? His response was that ” .. his belief in God was such that he put it all in God’s hands.” That would make me think that they instilled that same type of belief in Melinda, and it could explain why she was not outwardly emotional with the media concerning Trenton’s abduction. Maybe she too had put it in God’s hands.
3) I really do not think it would be very easy to commit suicide with a shotgun, much less a small woman such as Melinda.
4) Statistics I have read over the years say that woman typically do not use guns to commit suicide, they typically use pills or other methods.
5) Most remarkedly, she supposedly was found in her grandparents closet. Now that seems very stange to me.
Previously, I have done suicide counseling on a hotline for almost 12 years. Melinda’s whole suicide has puzzled me for the above reasons and a few othere. I really wonder if it truly was a suicide and not the possibility of the person who really committed the crime seeing a way to set the direction on blaming Melinda after the Nancy Grace interview and take the whole direction away from an outside person, or someone else having abducted Trenton.
I really hope that it turns out Melinda had nothing to do with his disappearance. I guess we will all have to wait until law enforcement finds Trenton and determines all the facts in the case. Here is praying that they find him alive and soon!!!
September 13, 2006 at 8:15 am
Please keep in mind that here locally the day that Melinda died there was a terrible rumor that was circulating around Leesburg Regional Medical Center and spread like wildfire through the town that Trenton had been found in a dumpster, I actually got 7 calls and also heard it at my sons pediatricians office, I called my church, which was working closely with Melinda and told them and they immediatly called me back and told me that it was not true, I then called the doctor office to tell them to stop telling this and then called LPD to verify and they told me that it was a horrible rumor that they had received many calls on….. it is my hopes that she did not receive word of this rumor, I would almost find it impossible that she would not have heard it, and out of sadness choose to take her life…. The rumor was started sometime in the morning , i was at the doctor at 10:30 and heard of it and she took her life that afternoon…… I just wanted to let people know what was really going on here at that time …….
September 13, 2006 at 9:11 am
Thanks Leesburg mom, I addressed the vicious rumors that spread around on the Internet on this entry
http://nvfc.us/blog/archives/302 yesterday. What makes it worse is when people that may have close inside information that is sensitive to a case that they run to a forum and start posting to rumors that are not true. They do spread like wildfire. As to myself, I had a lot of inside information on this case since it started as I had Trenton in the NVFC database immediately. I also had information on Monday Sept. 4 06 way before anyone really knew of this case that I did not publish. It was not until Friday when the alleged suicide, that I wrote about what I knew in the case and still tried to keep Melinda’s Myspace private as that is what she wanted. I knew she followed this case online because she contacted the NVFC by email, she knew of Trenton’s poster we had online. So she may have seen those false rumors. For the record, that is why the NVFC doesa not have a forum because rumors and false information spread like wildfire.
September 13, 2006 at 11:31 am
I was jsut wondering about the cut in the window. they said it was L shaped. and only 10 inches. Does that mean 5 inches up and 5 over or 10 up and 10 over?
If it was 5 inches I am just thinking that if Melinda did stage that it seems she would have made the cut bigger to be more believable. That is just not a very big cut.
September 13, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Thank you for keeping this interest about Trenton and not allowing all the rumors to just flow free.
As a mother of two young boys, reading through some of Melinda’s blogging I know she loved her children and her attitude was if you can not accect my child, don’t even step to me!
I HAVE LIVED FOR MANY THINGS THROUGHOUT MY LIFETIME, LIVED AND LEARNED LESSONS THAT HAVE MADE ME THE PERSON THAT I AM: WHETHER THAT BE A GOOD THING OR NOT IS LEFT TO YOUR OPINION. BUT THOSE LESSONS TRUELY HAVE SHAPED MY VALUES AND ONE COMPONENT THAT I HOLD EXTREMELY VALUABLE IN MY LIFE, IS MY SON. HIS NAME IS TRENTON AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE I TALK TO DO NOT KNOW ABOUT HIM AND EVEN MAY STOP TALKING TO ME AFTER THEY READ THIS. (BEING THE FACT THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DATE ME INSTEAD OF BEING FRIENDS AND DO NOT WANT A CHILD INVOLVED) OF COURSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SHALLOW AND I DO NOT WANT THEM INVOLVED IN MY LIFE ANYWAY. BUT NOT TOO AWFULLY LONG AGO AND CONTINUED INTO THIS VERY DAY,I HAVE HAD TO FIGHT TO KEEP MY SON, WHOM I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF. THE FATHER LIED TO THE AUTHORITIES WHOM WERE FRIENDS OF HIS FAMILY, FORCED ME TO JUMP THROUGH LEGAL AND EMOTIONAL HOOPS. NOW THAT I AM ON TOP OF THE SITUATION, I AM STRUGGLING TO STAY IN THE MIDDLE CLASS AS A CITIZEN OF FLORIDA.
September 14, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I dont know if this angle has been talked about, and forgive me if it is redundant, but are they absolutely sure that she did take her own life? Could it have been staged? No one has the right to judge her. Unless you have ever lost a child in that manner you cant say there is a way you should or shouldnt act. Look at the JonBenet Ramsey case everyone looked at the parents at first and then they were cleared. Meanwhile, they lost time looking for the real killer. I pray that is not what has happened here. Then there are two tragedies for no reason. There is no textbook for people’s emotions in these types of cases. It is just sad that all this attention is being focused on what people claim are her faults instead of finding this precious little boy. Nancy Grace needs to hope and pray nothing suspicious ever happens around her…let’s remember “judge not, lest ye be judged” she ought to be a little less uptight. If she believes in the justice system that she used to work for then everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I have said enough. The whole thing is just so heartbreaking. I have a son who is eight years old and when he was Trenton’s age my life was so out of control, but it didn’t make me a bad mother. I guess that is why I am not so quick to point the finger at her.. God Bless
Amy
September 14, 2006 at 2:38 pm
[...] 9 14 06, Abductions, blogs, Joshua, Melinda Duckett, melinda poetry, Myspace, Suicide, Trent, Trenton“Why Can’t We have Yesterday” [...]
September 14, 2006 at 4:19 pm
FOR ALL OF YOU THAT BELIEVE THAT MRS DUCKETT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HER SONS DISSAPERANCE I FELL FOR YOU FROM THE NANCY GRACE SHOW I SAW WHEN MRS DUCKETT WAS ASKED WERE DID YOU GO THAT DAY SHE SAID IN HER WORDS “IM NOT GOING TO SAY” THEN TO GIGGLE ANOTHER COMMENTING ON WHAT HAD BEEN SAID IN THE MEDIA TO THEN NOT ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION OF HAVE YOU BEEN ASKED TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH OR DID YOU OFFER TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH SHE WAS NOT FORTH COMMING SHE ALSO MADE A SAD COMENT “I NOT GOING TO SIT HERE AND CRY MY EYES OUT I AM DOING STUFF PUTTING FLYERS UP” AND THEN SHE GOES AND TAKES THE COWARDS WAY OUT AND KILLS HERSELF WHAT IF TRENT IS FOUND ALIVE AND HE GROWS UP KNOWING THAT HIS MOTHER DID NOTHING TO HELP FIND HIM OR INSTEAD SHE KILLED HERSELF HE WILL POSSABLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPEND TO HIM HE WILL FEEL AS IF IT WAS HIS FAULT THAT HIS MOTHER DIDNT LOVE HIM AND THAT IS WHY SHE DID WHAT SHE DID IT IS JUST SO SAD THAT SHE WOULDNT HELP FIND HER OWN CHILD IF IT WERE ME AS A MOTHER OF TWO AND ONE ON THE WAY IF ONE OR ALL OF MY CHILDREN WENT MISSING I WOULD DO WHAT EVER IT TOOK TO GET THEM BACK AND YES I WOULD BE IN MY HOUSE IN THEIR ROOM CRYING MY EYES OUT UNTIL THE MOMENT I SAW THEIR BEAUTIFUL FACES AND THEN I WOULD CRY MORE JUST BECAUSE I KNEW THEY WERE HOME IN MY ARMS WERE THEY BELONGED SO I DO BELIEVE SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HER BEAUTIFUL SONS DISSAPERANCE AND WE MAY NEVER FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS BUT I WILL PRAY THAT HE IS SAFE AND HOPE HE IS BROUGHT HOME TO A FATHER THAT DID DO EVERYTHING HE COULD TO FIND HIS SON
September 14, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Shannon
I see you are typing in all caps. Ya know people say Melinda was mentally ill becsaue she wrote her PERSONAL thoughts in ALL CAPS. What should we conclude by the font type (all caps) you have chosen???
See how easy it is to distort things. Wouldn’t you be really pissed if your family member ended up hurt, killed or something else and poeople stated you may have had something to do with it becsaue you posted in all caps?????
September 14, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Shannon
Just so you know some people are saying if you type in ALL CAPS as Melinda did in her Personal My Space notes that it means you are mentally ill.
I see you prefer all caps as well. What should we conclude????
September 14, 2006 at 10:41 pm
When I heard this story I started crying. Im a mother of two and i love my girls soo much. this story makes me want to sit home 24/7 with my kids. I hope thry find him i pray every night they do.GOD PLEASE FIND THIS BOY. I have you in my heart…
September 14, 2006 at 10:42 pm
I cried when i heard about this. i pray you find this little boy. I Hope god is watching over please… I will keep him in my heart
September 15, 2006 at 9:56 am
Just a note about Melinda’s mental stability:
I was a neighbor to her father and grandparents in Lockport, NY. Approximately, 4 – 5 years ago, Melinda attempted suicide (2001 or 2002). I remember it distinctively because I had just visited her (adopted) parents home and met her for the first time and within a week or so of that visit, my mother said that she was in the hospital for attempted suicide.
Obviously, the poor girl was fragile and did not receive the help that she needed then.
So sad!
September 15, 2006 at 11:51 am
I was a neighbor of Melinda’s father in WNY. Just to give you an idea of her mental state, I had been introduced to Melinda by her father in 2002. Within a week or two of meeting her, she attempted suicide. And, I believe, that was why she went to Florida to live with her grandparents.
Obviously, the poor girl was mentally unstable and she never received the help she so desperately needed back then.
What a shame.
September 15, 2006 at 4:48 pm
http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2006-09-15-0007.html
Very interesting………….Seems the family is speaking out and maybe shedding light on the issues. None of which are helping to find him though.
And check out this post off the http://nvfc.us/blog/archives/300
Great Article!!!!
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-lritchie1506sep15,0,7065498.column?coll=orl-news-col
PARENTS FINALLY SPEAK
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-duckett1506sep15,0,7764528.story?coll=orl-news-col
September 16, 2006 at 7:37 am
[...] From the starting gate Melinda Duckett did not have much of a chance and her choice of Mee Kee ong Lee made her easier for some people to dislike. Coupled with other problems and having mental difficulties made her so much more unlikable in most peoples minds. Andrea Yates, Deanna Laney and Susan Smith all of whom have killed their children but the fact that they are all white makes them more likable than Melinda Duckett. Yates killed all five of her children , so a Texas jury decided she must be “CRAZY”. Deanna Laney also “NOT GUILTY” , it must be easy for us to see things differently when a “WHITE WOMAN” kills her children. Susan Smith was the only one of these three found “GUILTY” , but then she was never like any os us. [...]
September 16, 2006 at 9:15 am
For those of you interested in donating to the family please go to a local suntrust bank and donate to the trenton duckett family charitable trust fund
thank you all very much
~team trenton~
Added by administration, Pamela could you please supply a direct link to the actual account so that it can be verified. We here at the NVFC want to ensure that the money goes where it is supposed to go.
September 17, 2006 at 12:22 am
let me get right to the point.i knew mindy(melinda) since she was 6 or 7,until she was about 17.at which time her parents shipped her off to Florida tolive wih her grandparents.i don’t buy for one second that she commited suicide.i truly believe she was murdered,and it was staged to look like a suicide.it has been done before,why not now? until somebody can prove otherwise,i ain’t buying the suicide thing. Dave.
September 17, 2006 at 3:04 am
Dave,
You are right, there are many reasons not to accept the suicide, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
September 17, 2006 at 7:10 am
I don’t think Nancy should be blamed of Melinda’s suicide. NOBODY knows what happened from the time of the interview until 3pm the next day. Anything could have triggered her to pull the trigger. I believe she realized that her lack of answers and inconsistencies were going to be aired that night and not only the world but the law enforcement would question it. This would make anyone stop and think about her involvement. Melinda stated that she has co-operated fully with law enforcement which we found out to be a lie. If her divorce attorney advised her not to say anything or take a polygraph test then she should have advised her not to talk to the media ESPECIALLY Nancy Grace. Nancy is known to chew you up and spit you out if you’re not making a lick of sense. If people are going to point fingers at Nancy then they better point at anyone that questioned her and the attorney for giving BAD advise. This show was to help find Trenton NOT to determine how fragile Melinda was. The whole case is bizzare.
September 17, 2006 at 7:36 am
Her attorney, SHOULD have advised her not to do the Nancy Grace show.
Melinda did not seek out Nancy Grace, they called her. Nancy is in hot water, she should have never aired that show. She knew Melinda allegedly committed suiside some three hours before airing.
Nancy in her vindictive ways wanted to get in the last word. CNN and her show could have decided not to air that phone interview or at least edit that part out.
But no she decided to air the show and she should be held accountable for her actions. We don’t know whether or not Melinda would have committed, (alleged) suicide otherwise.
Her ratings affair and trying to cry out that she is a victims advocate is absurd. It is time that truth be the answer, Nancy has made huge blunders before on her show, these blunders will be addressed on cable, they will not be written about here beforehand.
In response to the show was to help find Trenton, that could have been accomplished without airing that interview. She did so to humiliate Melinda, ambush television.
September 17, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I myself refuse to believe that Melinda did anything to intentionally cause harm to Trenton.In the media its hard for some people to grasp all the things she did.I myself was a single mother at a very young age (15).I now have 4 children.With my oldest in college majoring in Forensics.I know at that age no one believed I could give her a good life but I did.I also know everything I did I did for her & the rest of my children.The working 2 jobs going to school w/o help from the father.I commend her for trying to give it her best shot under many circumstances we none know anythng about.I also agree that NG was a little harsh on the whole ordeal.I myself think that if some one never took Trenton out of the window that night,that Melinda put him in a safe haven for whatever danger was lurking at them (ref to the nasty e-mail left for Melinda).Im just saddened that her family & friends were not by her side to help her through this.I pray daily for Melinda,Trneton&all the families involved with this case.
To Little Trenton,
May the Angels protect you & The lord watch over you,until you get home.
September 17, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Nancy Grace interviewed Melinda as she does every other guest on her show, including other attorneys. Nancy Grace is not to blame for Melinda’s suicide. Nancy is not the person that put the gun to her head…again, Melinda did. Sadly enough…Melinda left this world knowing full well where she went with Trenton, and what happend to him; especially since
she supposedly got lost, called friends, and so on…
The biggest giveaway…refusing to take a lie detector test? What? If it were my child missing; I would e begging to take a lie detector test, so that they won’t think I had something to do with my child’s dissappearance.
Refusing to disclose stores that you supposedly went to the day your child came up missing…laughing while being interviewed…going to get your hair highlighted….(maybe to alter her appearance on television)…refusing to answer vital questions related to the dissappearance of a child you say “you LOVE” and is your world and life…is BECAUSE SHE HAD SOMETHING she wasn’t TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT!
Melinda should be the #1 suspect and NOONE ELSE! Mothers who LOVE their CHILDREN would NEVER kill themselves while their baby is missing!
September 18, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Kristin, we share the same sentiments. I don’t think Nancy’s questions have anything to do with Melinda’s actions afterwards, I think Melinda either did something to or with Trenton or knew what happened but was scared, maybe his life or hers was threatened by the person/people who took Trenton…
September 18, 2006 at 3:39 pm
This country’s legal system was founded on the belief that people are innocent until proven guilty. Not the other way around! None of us have the right to assume someone is guilty based on their behavior, which may or may not match what we would have done in the same situation. Guilt can only be determined after ALL the facts have been presented in a Court of Law! None of us on the Internet speculating on this case, nor Nancy Grace who as an ex-prosecuting attorney should have known better, have the right to play judge, jury, and executioner of a young woman when the investigation has not been completed, and all the facts are not known. Remember any fact, taken on its own can have multiple explainations. It is only when ALL the facts are known can you evaluate the guilt of a person. So why don’t we put our speculations to work to find Trenton. After all isn’t that what this blog is supposed to be doing, helping to find Trenton?
September 18, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Not sure if any one heard or watched NG tonight saying new leads.saying Melinda seen at a buisiness around 8am that morning w/o Trenton.Also seen going in house around 3pm I believe w/o him also.Also searching Lake for im w/Divers.Anybody have anything else?
September 18, 2006 at 8:14 pm
I heard something about aligators, they are going to trap them and uh, I can’t type this but what else could they be thinking, I sure hope they are wrong
September 20, 2006 at 12:50 am
THE WHOLE WORLD CRIES FOR TRENTON. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HER SOUL. MAN WON’T.
September 20, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Steve, I’m so glad you are on this I think Nancy Grace should be held accountable too. The way she acted was unacceptable to me. I didn’t see the interview but have read the transcript. Nancy Grace should be ashamed of herself for the way she treated Melinda and the way she has carried on after Melinda’s death.
September 20, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Nancy Grace is the worst type of media bottom feeder. She acts as if she judge, jury, and executioner. CNN should pull the plug on mean Nancy Grace.
September 20, 2006 at 8:38 pm
nancy Grace is the worst species ofd media bottm feeders. She acts as if she were judge, jury, and executioner. CNN shou,d pull the plug on Grace’s show.
September 22, 2006 at 8:33 am
Have you all heard that the day after Trenton went missing, she threw out his pictures, toys and even a sonogram picture? No wonder why Lake County has focused on her. People can do crazy things, like not believe thier childhood friend killed themself, or understand that love has driven people over the edge before.
Let the law do thier job, no one but Melinda is to blame for all this, she knew how to use a shot gun, and yes women do use shot guns, rarely though. She probably left a note but her grandparents have probably hidden it.
There are other clues not being released, probably for a reason. May the good Lord be with Trenton, and his wrath upon the one who was suppose to love him more than herself… orwas that a point that obviously she loved her son more than herself that she couldn’t do something like that?
September 23, 2006 at 10:17 am
On Sept 4th Melinda emailed Chen that she was going to “correct the problem” and then take action against who caused it. No mention of looking for Trent. (By the way was Chen with her on the night of Trent’s disappearance, I know Chris Pierce (Pearce) was) From that statement can it be deduced that she knew where Trenton was (alive but with someone else, either friend or foe) and it does not show her in a mental state that wanted to kill herself and not correct the problem.
I had a mystery story writer theory that it was not Melinda who was found dead (reports said that the body could only be identified by the tattoo on her arm) and that Melinda is somewhere with Trent safe and sound.
If it is really true that Melinda is dead, either she died by her own hand so as not to tell where the alive Trent is and keep him safe
Or someone murdered her (she was shot in the face) because they hated her so much for “messing up their life because they wanted to find Trent and she wouldn’t tell”
But to kill her own son, whom I believe was the only one who gave her unconditional love and she him, I don’t buy it.
Maybe in the end we’ll find out that she died to protect her son.
I also hope that investigators look at all the clues with an open mind, maybe they have overlooked things because they only suspect Melinda.
September 23, 2006 at 4:14 pm
From Leesburg PD
“We wanted cooperation,” he explained. “To come down heavy-handed with some kind of document like that — threatening [her] with arrest — that was not one of our investigative tactics.”
http://snipurl.com/wzgd
Well if it was not law enforcements idea to strong arm Melinda, why did Nancy Grace choose to?
September 24, 2006 at 11:38 am
For a good read on the sensitive side of what happened in this tragedy please read here.
Chris Smyr, thank you for the great reads and reminding us all to be human, while many have forgotten in this case.
September 24, 2006 at 2:26 pm
I’m thankful that there are others like you who are adding more to the commentary of this story than just a “whodunnit” aspect. As a society, we owe it to this family to remain human and show compassion and respect for their losses.
September 25, 2006 at 5:34 pm
WATCH O’REILLY FACTOR TONIGHT!!!!
Attorney for Melinda Duckett on Monday’s “O’Reilly Factor”
September 24th, 2006, 3:17 pm | Category: General | Author: frogbrother
Kim Schulte, family law attorney for Melinda Duckett, is scheduled to appear on Fox News program “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday, September 25th at 8:00 pm, EST and will be repeated at 11:00 pm EST.
September 25, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Those lowlife backwoods country hick Leesburg Cops and Nancy Dis-Grace are directly responsible for Mindy’suicide and they should all be arrested and tried for Murder.
Mindy clearly loved her Son morethan life itself and for the stupid Leesburg Cops and that bimbo Nancy Grace topoint the finger without a SINGLE shred of evidence was WRONG. I hope each one rots in Hell.
http://www.remail-it.com/sites/melindaduckett.htm
September 25, 2006 at 7:27 pm
http://www.remail-it.com/sites/melindaduckett.htm
Mindy had NOTHING to do with Trents disappearance and there is not a SINGLE shred of evidence to PROVE she did.
The lowlife worthelss Leesburg copsare taking the easy way out because they are too STUPID to find the real abductor!
http://www.remail-it.com/sites/melindaduckett.htm
October 2, 2006 at 4:36 pm
For some reason i have very much been drawn to the Melinda and Trenton Ducket tragedy and hope that Trenton will be found safe. I do not feel any media coverage is to blame for any of this. Melinda Ducket has thought about suicide for many years and our system failed her and Trenton. Pain is written all over this young women’s face and in all that she has written.I pray that God will bring this little boy home safe and that Melinda will have some peace even though it is not in this life…
October 7, 2006 at 12:55 pm
First of all I hope they find little Trenton soon! Second of all Nancy Grace is a good person and she wants nothing more but to help bring Treton home. And as far a Melinda I believe that she indeed had something to do with his disappearence. The way I look at it, is if she had nothing to do with it why didnt she do a polygraph? And hell if it was my child I would NOT kill myself no matter how depressed I was cause I wouldnt give up….who cares what the media says….and y throw his stuff away??? She seemed like a very selfish person to have killed herself at her grandparents house. Also, if she was so overwhelmed why didnt she let Josh keep him until she could get grounded? It just doesnt add up! And whether or not she killed him or gave him away…I believe with all my heart she had something to with it. Also her family needs to try to reach out to Josh and his family and help cause this is a 2 yr old little boy missing, so they need to get over their problem with Josh and help! But God Bless little Trenton where ever he is and my prayers go out to Josh and his family!