Amber Alert: 2-year-old Trenton Duckett in Florida

[Easywriter]

Something is wrong about this whole thing and now it appears everyone screwed up BIG time.  LE now says they had probable cause to arrest Melinda only days after Trenton was reported missing, but they chose not to.  They wanted to watch her and see if she led them to Trenton.  Where were they looking when she blew her brains out?

[Kat_Gram]

Easy, Happy belated Birthday...I was without a means of communication on your birthday.

I had been following this, but jsut on NG.
I hope that she gave the kid to someone to stash until the divorce thing was over. This woman , well, what more can we say.. she was a seriously ill woman. The husband Josh was on NG doing an interview and he seemed very young. And immature.
Maybe her suicide was becasue she lied and lied and felt there was no way out.

[Jacqueline]

LEESBURG, Fla. -- The Leesburg Police Department released a copy of both the 911 call reporting the disappearance of Trenton Duckett and a copy of a note allegedly written by Melinda Duckett.

The note began with an apology for the shortness of her letter.

The note said that the focus on her was reflected from her son, whom she loved and only wanted "safe in my arms."

Through the note, Duckett explained that she is usually strong, but she stated that she was young and hard-working yet still faced "ridicule and criticism."

Duckett wrote the note to an ambiguous "you," saying, "you created rumors and twisted words."

Melinda ended the note by stating "time is short and I have more important people to speak to."

The 911 phone call began with an unidentified male speaking to the 911 dispatcher stating that young Trenton was missing. He described what Trenton looked like.

Melinda then spoke to the dispatcher, and is audibly disturbed by the ordeal, and she is unable to clearly describe what Trenton was wearing or how long he had been missing.

Copyright 2006 by WESH.COM. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



 
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[Jacqueline]

Something is wrong about this whole thing and now it appears everyone screwed up BIG time.  LE now says they had probable cause to arrest Melinda only days after Trenton was reported missing, but they chose not to.  They wanted to watch her and see if she led them to Trenton.  Where were they looking when she blew her brains out?

Yes, they wanted to keep an eye on her to a degree. Does not mean they could be there 24/7.

Melinda is the one who is responsible for whatever happened to her son. Not the Police, and Not even Nancy Grace.

[Jacqueline]

Few clues follow show on Trenton


Posted September 25, 2006
 

Leesburg -- Authorities received several calls when missing Trenton Duckett was featured on the television show America's Most Wanted on Saturday night, but those calls have so far brought few, if any, clues on the toddler's whereabouts, authorities said Sunday.

The 2-year-old has been missing since Aug. 27. His mother, Melinda Duckett, killed herself with a shotgun Sept. 8 as media scrutiny into the boy's disappearance grew.

Leesburg authorities consider the 21-year-old woman the prime suspect in her son's disappearance.

Leesburg police Capt. Steve Rockefeller said Sunday the agency plans to follow up calls received after Trenton Duckett's story was aired on America's Most Wanted.

After speaking to one of the two lead investigators, Rockefeller said the calls were "routine with a slim possibility of leading us to more acquaintances of Melinda Duckett."

He said there was no information indicating where the boy might be.

Nin-Hai Tseng, Kristen Reed, Christopher Sherman and Amy Rippel of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press also was used.

[Jacqueline]

http://www.wesh.com/news/9938223/detail.html

Police release two more suicide notes that Melinda Duckett wrote.

[sharon]

Thanks for posting these Jacquie. I rarely see anything on our local news about the case.

This just gets sadder every day -- if that's possible  I wish they would just find this beautiful little boy!

[Jacqueline]

Thanks for posting these Jacquie. I rarely see anything on our local news about the case.

This just gets sadder every day -- if that's possible  I wish they would just find this beautiful little boy!

You know all missing children cases are beyond sad, but this little Trenton...Oh, it just hurts my heart about him...

I wish they would find him alive and healthy, but I really think this mother killed her son.

I would think whomever had him would bring him forth in light of the fact that she has now commited suicide and would want him with the remaining family he has.

And I don't think any mother who was innocent would kill herself unless she was mighty guilty about something.  

From the email that she wrote to herself and tried to pass off has her estranged husband shows how manipulative this girl was.

[mrs. red]

Well I watched Nancy Grace last night because they had the dad on the show....

and he said that he thought that maybe, just maybe Trenton is still alive because he said that Melinda was so detailed that she would have never said as he grows in her note  - unless maybe there was the chance he was still alive....

I would like to know more about the trooper that thought he saw Trenton in a car... but wasn't allowed to chase the car.....

[Jacqueline]

Well I watched Nancy Grace last night because they had the dad on the show....

and he said that he thought that maybe, just maybe Trenton is still alive because he said that Melinda was so detailed that she would have never said as he grows in her note  - unless maybe there was the chance he was still alive....

I would like to know more about the trooper that thought he saw Trenton in a car... but wasn't allowed to chase the car.....

I hope you're right.

How was NG with Josh?  Was she tough with him?
I'm just curious....

[mrs. red]

Well I watched Nancy Grace last night because they had the dad on the show....

and he said that he thought that maybe, just maybe Trenton is still alive because he said that Melinda was so detailed that she would have never said as he grows in her note  - unless maybe there was the chance he was still alive....

I would like to know more about the trooper that thought he saw Trenton in a car... but wasn't allowed to chase the car.....

I hope you're right.

How was NG with Josh?  Was she tough with him?
I'm just curious....

She fawned on him... she  was saying how sweet it was that he said he still had feelings for her... that he always would...

but he also mentioned that there was major bad blood between the two of them...

[Jacqueline]

Ducketts' marriage rocky from the start

BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER

 OCALA - It began innocently. Teens Melinda Eubank and Joshua Duckett liked each other. But things changed. Melinda got pregnant and a saga filled with accusations and lies began.

That drama ended on Sept. 8 when 21-year-old Melinda Duckett shot herself in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun - in despair or guilt over the disappearance of her son, Trenton.

Joshua Duckett remembers their first meeting vividly.

It was on New Year's 2003. The then-South Sumter High School student was with a group of friends at The Villages Spanish Springs Town Square. There was another group of girls also hanging out there. But one in particular got his attention. She was a petite girl, just 4-foot-11, with a cute smile. He didn't approach her that night.

Instead, the next day, his friends, who saw her again, got her phone number and passed it to Joshua, who called the following day.

"I thought she was somebody to hang out with," he said. "We both liked the same things. We basically just hit it off. I was into cars and she was too. It kind of went from there."

Melinda Duckett didn't know a lot of people. The 17-year-old had recently moved in with her grandparents, Bill and Nancy Eubank in The Villages. Before that, the native South Korean lived with her adoptive parents in Lockport, N.Y.

"We hung out a lot together and in her senior year, she moved to my school [South Sumter High, from The Villages High School]. Then she got pregnant and everything went downhill from there," Joshua Duckett said.

"I remember she was very outgoing. She liked to have fun. But the longer we were together, the more jealous she would get. It was like we were together too much."\

RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS
The problems started on a Nov. 28, 2004, trip to a motocross event where Joshua Duckett was scheduled to race a dirt bike.

After a stop, Melinda learned that Carla Massero, Josh's mother, had earlier given Trenton a bath.

According to an Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office report, Melinda Duckett assaulted and bit Massero on her right forearm.

Melinda admitted to the deputy that she had bitten Massero because "she was mad because Trent was her son and she wanted to take care of him." The deputy also saw marks on Melinda's arms and body. She told the deputy they were "self-inflicted." Melinda admitted to having psychological problems and said she was adopted. She told him she "had thoughts she could not control" and "hated people."

Massero did not press charges against Melinda but made her agree to go to counseling.

But exactly one year later, Massero changed her mind and contacted the Okeechobee Sheriff's Office, stating she wanted to press charges.

On Nov. 31, 2005, Massero also wrote a letter to Gov. Jeb Bush, saying her daughter-in-law was violent.

"The mother . . . not only has a history of self-mutilation, but also has made several threats on Trenton," she wrote, telling the governor of her attack in 2004 and about an incident where Melinda left her son stranded in Ocoee after an argument.

She also accused Melinda of performing "oral sex" to get information from two Bushnell police officers.

She ended the e-mail with a chilling sentence: "I am afraid for Trenton's life and I don't want him to end up yet another story in the news."

Saturday, Massero told the Star-Banner: "I didn't have anything against her. I was just trying to get her some help."

Other records show:
¥ In April 2005, Joshua Duckett told the Sumter County Sheriff's Office that Melinda was "squeezing, shaking and threatened to harm their son." The Department of Children & Families and Bushnell police found no evidence of abuse.

¥ In May 2005, DCF gave Joshua Duckett custody of Trenton for a time. Records at the Lake County Clerk's Office, which later were removed by clerk administrators, showed specifics in a case plan and indicated Melinda and Joshua were ordered to attend parenting classes.

¥ On June 13, 2005, Joshua wrote a letter to the court, stating he fabricated allegations about Melinda.

¥ Melinda Duckett was awarded sole custody on May 23 of this year.

¥ On June 14, Melinda filed for divorce and on July 3, she said in a sworn statement that she had received a threatening MySpace e-mail from Joshua.

Leesburg police later said that she sent the e-mail. She had access to his logon, police said.

UNDERSTANDING MELINDA
Depending on who you talk to, Melinda's character varied from a caring, hardworking mother to a young woman who suffered from severe mood swings and tantrums.

Miriam Chevalier, owner of It's a Kid's World day care in Fruitland Park, told the Star-Banner she remembers Melinda as a "smart" and "private person."

"It's always hard to tell with anybody. She seemed like a very good parent. She was always there when we needed her or called her," Chevalier said.

Trenton had been going to the day care since he was an infant.

"Sometimes I would call just to tell her Trenton had two diapers left, and she would leave her job and bring diapers right away," Chevalier said. "When she came in I would say, 'Melinda, you didn't have to come now. It was for you to bring them tomorrow.' "

Joshua Duckett described his estranged wife as a wreck.

"I don't think a relationship should be based on a schedule. I'm a spontaneous person," he said. "She was the type to have everything planned out. She would write everything in a book.

"Everything had to be planned out and in order . . . She would plan to go to the movies three months in advance. And if it didn't work out she would get mad."

Her grandparents declined to comment for this story, but in an earlier interview with the Star-Banner, Bill Eubank described his granddaughter as a loving, dedicated mother to his great-grandchild.

Chevalier said she only saw Melinda upset once.

"I can tell you she's a very strong person. As far as emotions, she held it all in. She kept it together," Chevalier said. "I only saw her tear-eyed once. She was going through some stuff . . . They were going through some custody battle."

In her MySpace blog entitled "Move On," Melinda talked about setting her expectations too high in a relationship and how she sought perfection. She talked about being free.

"You trusted a rogue that follows defiance, and somehow attempted to make an alliance," she wrote about herself. "But I can not be tamed to what you want, I run around with attitude to flaunt," Melinda wrote in her last blog before Trenton went missing.

In another entry, Melinda talked about her struggles.

"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 . . . forced me to jump through legal and emotional hoops."

At the same time, she appeared to understand life's lessons, even if it was just a worthwhile goal.

"True love stays there through the obstacles and hardships. If that person makes you so mad, you can't stand it, you take the time to compromise with the situation, and work through the problem. You help each other learn life's lessons and you never leave their side."

Mabel Perez may be reached at mabel.perez@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4106.

[Mere]

Jacque.....this is such a disturbing case....thank you for following it and giving us updates......I pray that this child may be with someone....yet
I don't think anyone would hold him after all that has happened....Mere

[Jacqueline]

Jacque.....this is such a disturbing case....thank you for following it and giving us updates......I pray that this child may be with someone....yet
I don't think anyone would hold him after all that has happened....Mere

Its so disturbing and sad.

No MeMere, I can't see after all this why or how anyone could hold on to him still.....

[sharon]

Maybe she sold him. Or whoever she passed him to sold him.

I know that's horrible -- but it would mean he was still alive

I'm trying to hold onto that thought -- that's he's alive.

Melinda definitely sounds bipolar or 'personality disorder'. It sounds like life just wasn't smooth for her in any way.

Jacquie -- have you heard anymore about what the police found? I remembering hearing 'blood' -- but then I didn't hear anymore about it or any confirmation. Was it just rumours? I keep hoping.

[mrs. red]

Jaq... thanks for posting all the info on this ... y'all I just keep hoping and praying that he is alive.... but the more times goes by .. maybe someone has him is taking wonderful care of him and is giving him a wonderful life that kids so deserve and they just think that at this point, he is better off just not knowing..... and if not found then he'll not remember...

[Jacqueline]

have not heard any more about the blood they mentioned earlier...

This poor child.

[Jacqueline]

Records: Experts critical of parents
Court-ordered evaluation says Ducketts were unfit, another saw child as pawn.BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER
 
OCALA - Trenton Duckett was loved and cared for by his parents. But the 2-year-old was used as a pawn by both parents months before he went missing, according to court records released Thursday.

"When they [Melinda and Joshua Duckett] are angry it appears the child has been used as a pawn to exercise power and control over which ever is the absent parent," said a child custody evaluation, dated July 29, 2005.

"It is obvious that both parents love their child," wrote Ruth Harvey-Gilligan, child custody evaluator. The report then calls Melinda and Joshua Duckett "impulsive and immature as it relates to parenthood and their relationship."

The evaluation was among 549 pages of courts documents released as part of a court order allowing members of the public to examine the case. The Star-Banner and the Orlando Sentinel asked for the records to be released.

Just over 2,200 pages of records were also released by the Department of Children & Families late Friday afternoon. Those documents also released per Sumter County Circuit Judge Williams "Bud" Hallman III's order are being reviewed by the Star-Banner. Those documents were released after Hallman ruled Trenton's best interest would be served if records were opened.

Trenton has been missing from his mother's apartment in Leesburg since Aug. 27. Initially police focused on Joshua Duckett who, at the time, did not have custody of Trenton, but later shifted the investigation to Melinda Duckett.

Leesburg police said Melinda Duckett did not cooperate with them, refused to take a lie detector test, and that on the day Trenton went missing had trashed several of Trenton's toys, baby photos and a sonogram. Melinda Duckett committed suicide on Sept. 8. Days later, the police named her the prime suspect in her son's disappearance.

Court records indicate that during the 16-month DCF investigation into the young parents, Joshua Duckett made four separate allegations stating Melinda had threatened to harm their son.

In one allegation, Joshua claimed Melinda would make their son cry over the phone saying she would hurt him. In another, he accused Melinda of threatening to break Trenton's neck. DCF found the allegations made by Joshua Duckett to be "unfounded."

Melinda Duckett made two allegations against Joshua and his family.

Melinda lost custody twice - once when she was involuntary committed to a mental health facility for 24 hours - when Joshua claimed she threatened to hurt their son.

Joshua Duckett, however, would later recant his story. On June 15, 2005, he withdrew all allegations against Melinda. He wrote a letter stating: "I want to state that my former fiancee, Melinda M. Eubank, is not crazy and is not nor has she ever been an unfit mother."

Joshua Duckett went further to state that his mother, Carla Massero, who was at the time taking care of him financially, was "directing" and "influencing" him into making the accusations.

Melinda Duckett got full custody of Trenton on May 23 after completing her case plan, which included counseling, parenting classes and a psychological exam. Joshua Duckett never completed his case plan, which included similar requirements, in addition to domestic violence classes.

Thursday, Joshua Duckett told the Sentinel he "was coerced to sign the document by Melinda and her family-law attorney, Kimberly A. Schulte."

Court appointed Guardian ad Litem Barbara Nolan was assigned the Duckett case. In October 2005, Nolan wrote a report stating she felt neither parent was fit to have Trenton.

In her report, she accused the couple of fighting excessively and not giving their attention to their son.

"I have reservations about the ability of Joshua and Melinda Duckett to control their emotions during times of stress and disappointment. They both appear immature and naive. The parents are focused on each other and their son . . . is being left out of the family circle."

Nolan also said in the report, Melinda Duckett has called her twice to "berate" her about her findings.

When assigned a case plan, however, Melinda Duckett took it seriously. In the court file, there are Melinda's handwritten assignments from various counseling sessions, including a certificate of completion for a parenting class. Joshua Duckett also has a certificate for completing a required course.

The file also notes the couple went to counseling at First Baptist Church in Leesburg.

In one of their sessions, the counselors wrote notes that are surprisingly different than those written by the case worker: The notes dated Aug. 24, 2005, said: "Melinda and Joshua appear to be very open in their discussions with us. We feel they want to be the very best parents they can be."

[Jacqueline]

It's now been five weeks since Trenton Duckett was last seen, but there's new information this morning

Two-thousand pages of DCF documents were released, revealing Trenton's mother Melinda Duckett was abused as a child in New York state, before her grandparents became her legal guardians when she was 17.

Her grandmother says in state records that Melinda Duckett left her adoptive parents in New York because she was "mistreated."

Another part of that record says Duckett was molested by a cousin when she was four years old.

Duckett was South Korean and was adopted at four years old. Investigators say she committed suicide last month, two weeks after her son Trenton disappeared. She has since been named the primary suspect in his disappearance.  




For more information tune to Central Florida News 13. Only on Bright House Networks.

Copyright © Central Florida News 13. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Jacqueline]

LEESBURG -- Police released a new detail Monday they hope will lead to missing 2-year-old Trenton Duckett -- a receipt that shows the boy's mother, Melinda Duckett, visited a gas station in south Leesburg the evening before she said her son was snatched through a bedroom window.

This new piece of evidence from Aug. 26 slightly shrinks a gap in the timeline of events leading up to Trenton's disappearance.

 Investigators learned that a previously unknown credit card issued to Melinda Duckett was used to buy gas at 5:25 p.m. that day at the BP station at U.S. Highway 27 and County Road 48.

The pump used did not have surveillance video available.

Previously, the gap in Duckett's whereabouts began when she and Trenton left her grandparents' house in The Villages about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26.

The gas purchase may indicate she drove south from The Villages, according to police, who are adding south Lake as an area she may have traveled.

Duckett's unwillingness to cooperate with authorities before she killed herself Sept. 8 complicated investigators' efforts to find Trenton.

Detectives want to re-create where the 21-year-old mother and her son went during the 24 hours before she reported him missing.

Erin Cox and Lauren Ritchie of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

 

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