When 2-year-old Trenton Duckett disappeared in the midst of a bitter custody dispute on Sunday, August 27, 2006, the consensus was that his mother, Melinda Eubank Duckett murdered him as a final act of revenge against his father, Joshua Duckett. Since that time, Melinda took her life, law enforcement searched the Ocala National forest, and conspiracy allegations have permeated various online communities as individuals from all walks of life come together to proffer their own theories regarding Trentons disappearance. In a sense, participants appear to be metaphorically infected with the custody bug--that thing which flourishes within the adversarial climate that is part and parcel of custody battles--where warring parents file DCF complaints and dig up dirt to impugn the opposing partys fitness as a parent. Sadly, one need not look far nor dig very deep in the case of Melinda Marie Eubank Duckett.

On Monday, November 13, 2006, another witness came forward claiming to have seen Melinda Duckett several times on Sunday, August 27, 2006. First, with Trenton, and later, without him.^[1] By Tuesday, November 14, 2006, and with news of a pending press conference that was rumored to announce increased and expanded efforts, came the news of Melindas homemade pornography videos--information that law enforcement, DCF, and the media were privy to from the onset of the investigation.^[2] By Thursday, November 16, 2006, various message boards and chat rooms were buzzing with invectives after Steve Huff revealed a picture allegedly depicting Melinda with Trenton sitting in a stroller in the background during a porn shoot. The picture may or not be authentic. It has been modified several times. Regardless of the photos origin, it is child pornography and web site host, Eric Taylor of Coral Springs, Florida, may well find himself facing more than FTC violations^[3] before the year is through.

By Friday, November 17, 2006, allegations that Ms. Duckett was under investigation for stealing ten thousand dollars from the Bank of America was displayed in a CNN news ticker during the Nancy Grace special on Melinda Duckett.^[4] With the latest revelation some are no doubt scratching their heads wondering if things can get any worse for the recently deceased mother. Probably. We do, after all, have yet another Nancy Grace special. She was originally scheduled to air her show for two days but decided to extend it another day.^[5] Ignoring her rather poor attempt to brush aside her earlier proclamation^[6] we are now told that law enforcement believes Trenton is alive.^[7] This does not deter the woman on a mission--though no one is quite sure what that mission is--as she steadfastly clings to her initial theory that "Trenton could not have possibly been taken through his bedroom window"--Rockefellers 10-inch slit^[8] turned 32-by-10-inch u-shaped cut and the latent prints found on the window sill, notwithstanding.

The Ducketts, of course, have not escaped public scrutiny as various individuals, myself included, have found documents involving everything from James Ducketts incarceration on death row for the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee^[9] to allegations that his then wife, Carla Massero, destroyed evidence relating to the 1987 unsolved murder of Polk County teen, 14-year-old Jennifer Weldon.^[10] There are also questions of Joshua Duckett making numerous unsubstantiated allegations, including but not limited to claims that "Melinda held a knife to Trentons leg and threatened to break his neck." The latter allegation was questioned due to the recantation of earlier accusations along with Joshuas attempt to file an injunction against his mother--both resulting in credibility problems.^[11] There are no psychological evaluations in the DCF files for Joshua Duckett nor was there any real information regarding his child support payments.^[12] Otherwise put, the lens of public scrutiny was unable to uncover anything that suggested in any way whatsoever that Joshua Duckett was involved in Trentons disappearance.

Even so, the "Trenton Duckett Trust Fund" has most certainly raised more than a few eye brows. For some, that is. The official Trenton Duckett blog notes, "The reward fund needs to grow to at least $100,000 in order to entice someone to come forward with valuable information leading to Trentons safe return."^[13] In September 2006, Nancy Grace reported the trust fund was at $10,000.^[14] It is known that "Sinfully Sweets" donated $5,000 sometime in mid-to-late September.^[15] There are also claims that Nancy Graces producers donated $2,000 to the trust fund and reports a month later indicate that the fund is hovering at or near $15,000.^{[16] [17]} Shortly after Lauren Ritchies article near the end of October,^[18] some began making quite false allegations that the Eubanks squandered the money their church raised--a claim that some saw as an attempt to deflect public scrutiny away from the Trenton Duckett Trust Fund. A simple call to Central Florida Crimeline could have easily put the church donation rumor to rest.^[19]

As for the Trenton Duckett Trust Fund, if it is true as has been alleged--that the Ducketts are using the donations to cover living expenses and pay off bills--one is left with rather a bad taste. Indeed. The idea of using the disappearance of this precious little boy to garner support and money is beyond the pale. While we may expect low-life charlatans, such as Brian the self-proclaimed psychic to prey upon the naive, when victims family members do so, they open themselves up to justifiable criticism. By Monday, November 6, 2006, and to deflect the criticism, there was even talk of merging the funds.^[20] Since some are reporting that the reward fund is now $21,000--an amount that indicates the funds may have been merged--and no verifiable information has been forthcoming, another call to Central Florida Crimeline may be in order.

Then again, perhaps Ms. Grace will take a break from her theatrics and let the public know if the funds have been merged. After all, a sweetened pot may very well be enough to compel someone to come forward with reliable information regarding Trentons whereabouts. Or, she can continue titillating her audience by dancing around the issues that involve everything from misinformation (i.e., the screen, timeline, car seat, etcetera) to revealing new and increasingly sordid, yet irrelevant details of Melindas life, all the while ignoring the fact that the families and friends from both sides of the Duckett-Eubank feud will at some point be left to deal with the cancerous and festering sore that has been quite publicly ripped open.

In retrospect, the Duckett-Eubank feud was a train wreck waiting to happen. And to my mind all involved in that mess should be ashamed of themselves. Regardless of who said or did what, when or where. DCF should have removed Trenton Duckett from both the Ducketts and the Eubanks and placed him with a family that would have cherished that precious little boy rather than fighting over him like he was nothing more than a piece of property. All that aside however, the question remains. Where is Trenton? If he was abducted, as Melinda claims--which is a very real possibility in light of the company she was keeping--the chance of him being alive is slim to none. Young males have the lowest survival rate when it comes to stranger abduction. Likewise if Melinda spirited him off with an individual other than family or longtime friends. After all, for the stranger, Trenton poses an incredible liability.

There is, of course, the other possibility. That being, that Melinda did in fact kill Trenton--whether by accident or on purpose. If that is the case and in consideration of time passed, the tragic case of Trenton Duckett may very well be relegated to the annals of unsolved crimes along side the JonBenet Ramsey case. If, on the other hand, Trenton was spirited away with a family member, the chance for his survival has increased tenfold. I for one have admittedly long hoped that the latter is the case. For, of all possible scenarios, such presents the highest probability that Trenton is indeed alive.

In the end, it really does not matter what any one of us might think. All the coulda, shoulda, wouldas in the world will not turn back time. And when and if, Trenton Duckett is found, those of us whose hearts have been captivated by the precious smile of that sweet little child can wander off to pass judgment on the actors in the next tragedy. Or, we (as in the universal we) could take a lesson from this story that is unfolding on the public stage of life: Our children are not a commodity. They are living breathing little humans who will one day grow to have children of their own. And it is up to each and every one of us to teach them through modeling the gift that is family, life, and love.

Documents:
Crime map
911 Calls, DCF, Legal, Graph, and Myspace