Nancy Grace and Hailey Dean have a lot in common.
They’re both driven legal eagles dedicated to their work, yet also caring friends devoted to their loved ones.
They both know the agony of having a fiance murdered, and are propelled by the tragedy to seek legal justice for crime victims.
But while they both dig for answers behind complicated murder cases, only Dean finds closure on a regular basis. Grace has a lot of loose ends.
Oh, and Dean's a fictional character - based on the life experiences of the famous prosecutor turned cable-news host and author. Grace's latest Hailey Dean mystery to be adapted for the screen is "Deadly Estate," airing at 9 p.m. Sunday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
“With Hailey there's a neat ending and you know why and you know what happens in the end,” Grace said during an interview. “Real life isn't like that. Court isn’t like that. It’s messy”
“Deadly Estate” sets Hailey on the hunt for answers after a friend goes missing during an estate sale. The movie is satisfying for adult mystery fans but not inappropriate for younger viewers
“I love working with Hallmark - they really are like a big family,” Grace said. “I don't have to hide it away from the children.”
Her twins Lucy and John David are 9 now, and never watch the news. Only seldom did they ever see their mom's HLN show, and only for limited segments when there was a teachable moment in the offing. She gently explained in kid-appropriate terms what happened in 1979 to her then fiance Keith Griffin when they were about 4, to underscore why toy guns aren't allowed in the house.
Today, having decided to sunset her long-running HLN show to focus on her podcast and other projects, she says people approach her regularly for help investigating cold cases.
“It happens everywhere - at Walmart, at Kroger,” she said. “It’s not that some investigator puts their feet up - they're overwhelmed.”
She can relate.
“I would come in from a murder trial and there would be a stack of 150 new indictments,” she said, recalling her days in the Fulton County DA’s office. “I really do think they're trying.”
After all her years traversing the legal system as first a grieving fiancee, then a prosecutor, commentator, television host and author, a few cases still nag at her. Years ago, though she stopped beating herself up to get behind each defendant to try to suss out the motives behind their crimes.
“Of course some defendants are certifiably mentally ill, but I don't think they're all crazy,” she said. "I don't know the commonality. I think that’s beyond my understanding. I spent the first five years prosecuting wondering why? Why would you cause so much pain? After five years of beating myself up wondering why, I was like you know what? Stop. I've got to show he did it beyond a reasonable doubt and I'm going to leave the rest up to the Lord.”
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