Melinda Duckett

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Melinda Duckett
Born	August 1985 South Korea
Died	September 7, 2006 Lady Lake, Florida

Melinda Duckett (née Melinda Eubanks) (also known as Mindy Duckett, born August 1985, died September 7, 2006) was the mother of Trenton Duckett, a missing two-year-old from Leesburg, Florida.

1 Background
2 Case
3 Death
4 External links

[edit] Background

Duckett was born in South Korea. At four months of age, she was adopted by American parents, having arrived in the United States on December 24, 1985. She spent most of her childhood in Lockport, New York with her adoptive parents before relocating to Florida in her adolescent years to live with her grandparents.

Her grandfather, Bill Eubanks, described her as ambitious and hard-working, and said she had been a high-school honors student. She met Joshua Duckett when she was a junior in high school, became pregnant with Trenton in her senior year and gave birth just after her graduation in 2004. She and Duckett married a year later in 2005, and she filed for divorce in June 2006. In July 2006, she was granted a restraining order against him.

[edit] Case

Duckett initially reported her child missing on August 27, 2006, and investigators found a cut screen in the toddler's bedroom. She was named the prime suspect in her son's disappearance on September 21, 2006, two weeks after her death. The case reached national prominence when she was interviewed on the CNN Headline News show Nancy Grace, where Duckett was asked repeatedly about the specific stores she was in on the day of her son's disappearance. She refused to go into specifics. Again, the former prosecuting attorney Nancy Grace questioned the exact whereabouts so listeners could probably assist, although Melinda explained they had already distributed plenty of fliers in the community, talked with the FBI and how she was advised not to divulge any details.

[edit] Death

On September 7, 2006, shortly after the televised interview, Duckett was found dead from a shotgun wound in her grandparents' retirement home. The death was presumed to be a suicide. Initially, it was reported that she left no note or other indications regarding the location of her son. On September 25, 2006, information about the finding of a suicide note was released to the public.

Duckett's memorial service was held on September 15, 2006, by her family and friends at the Chapel of Christian Faith in Lady Lake.

On November 21, 2006, relatives of Melinda Duckett filed suit against CNN and Nancy Grace, alleging Grace's interview of Duckett caused considerable stress and resulted in her suicide.