Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesFour years ago, the mother of a missing child appeared on Nancy Grace. Severe badgering ensued. On the day the interview was scheduled to air, the woman, a prime suspect in the disappearance, shot herself. Coincidence?
The family of the late 21-year-old Melissa Duckett certainly didn't think so, and filed a wrongful-death suit against the cable host. This week, Grace finally reached a settlement with the family.
What's the deal?
The HLN host has agreed to establish a $200,000 trust fund in the name of Melissa Duckett's still-missing son Trenton, who disappeared when he was two years old.
If he's found alive before his 13th birthday, in 2017, proceeds from the fund will transferred to him. If sadly the opposite is true, the money will be handed over to the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children.
"After four years of litigation and extensive discovery, the parties now agree that Nancy Grace, the producers of her program, and CNN engaged in no intentional wrongdoing in the course of dedicating a program to finding the missing toddler, as alleged in the lawsuit," Jay Paul Deratany, the lawyer representing the Duckett family, said in a statement.
A judge has yet to sign off on the agreement, but is expected to do so soon.