CNN host Grace sued over suicide

Relatives of a mother who committed suicide after CNN’s Nancy Grace aggressively questioned her about the disappearance of her son sued the network and the talk-show host Tuesday, accusing Grace of pushing the woman over the edge.

Melinda Duckett shot herself to death Sept. 8, one day after taping a segment on Grace’s CNN Headline News show in which Grace interrogated Duckett about her whereabouts on the August day that 2-year-old Trenton Duckett was reported missing. The network aired the segment after Melinda Duckett’s death.

Authorities, who said last week that they believe the boy is alive, have named Melinda Duckett as the prime suspect in his disappearance.

Jay Paul Deratany, the attorney representing Duckett’s estate, said Tuesday that Grace encouraged Duckett to appear on her show by saying the goal was to draw public attention to help find Trenton.

“It’s not just about the questioning, it’s about the misrepresentation with the knowledge that she was emotionally distraught,” Deratany said.

CNN Headline News declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, but expressed support for Grace.