Nancy Grace, CNN Head to Federal Court Over Trenton / Melinda Duckett Lawsuit

A federal magistrate has recommended that the father of Trenton Duckett, Joshua Duckett, be dropped from a wrongful-death lawsuit that has been brought forth by the family members of Melinda Duckett, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The lawsuit named Joshua Duckett, Cable News Network (CNN), Nancy Grace, who is a host of a show on CNN, and other various associates from CNN. The magistrate also stated that he would suggest that the lawsuit be tried in federal court instead of county court.

The lawsuit was brought forth in the Lake County Courts in November of 2006 by the family members of Melinda Duckett, mother of the missing Trenton Duckett. Trenton Duckett was taken from his bedroom window in late August of 2006 while his mother and friends were watching a movie in the living room in Leesburg, Florida. The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount for damages stating that the Nancy Grace show inflicted emotional distress and also misappropriated the young mother's image.

When Melinda reported Trenton missing, a nationwide manhunt went into effect. The first suspect was of course the non custodial father, who had a restraining order placed against him by Melinda. The restraining order was granted from the courts based on one key piece of evidence, a message sent from Joshua Duckett's Myspace account that threatened to kill Melinda and Trenton. The court system granted the restraining order, but after Trenton went missing and Melinda has passed, it was revealed that law enforcement found out that Melinda had hacked into Joshua's Myspace account and sent that message to herself. Later Joshua Duckett was cleared as a suspect by law enforcement.