Nancy Grace talks hometown ties, Tara Grinstead case ahead of Fox Nation show debut

Nancy Grace is set to launch a true-crime show on Fox Nation, the Fox News streaming service, early next month.

Grace, a Mercer University graduate and Macon native, will bring her hit podcast and SiriusXM radio show, “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” to the streaming service beginning March 9. She will also host a special on Fox News called “American Kidnapping: Elizabeth Smart” on March 15.

Grace recently spoke with The Telegraph about the partnership with Fox and, among other things, her love of her hometown.

She also weighed in on developments in recent years surrounding the vanishing of Ocilla teacher and beauty queen Tara Grinstead, whose 2005 disappearance captured international attention and was frequently featured on Grace’s nightly show on CNN’s Headline News.

How are you feeling about this new streaming venture?

It is like the evening news when I was growing up — either you sit around at 6 o’clock or you’re going to miss it. It is not like that now. In fact, my children the first time they saw a commercial they were like, “Mom, I don’t like this.” I said, “It is called a commercial, OK?” … I am very heartened that a big network like Fox cares about missing people — children that are being mistreated, unsolved homicides — a fight that I have been fighting for a very very long time.

You have presented major cases to your audiences in the past, specifically the Grinstead case. From your perspective how has that case changed over the years?

I remember at the very beginning that I felt very sure that the Tara Grinstead case would be solved quickly. Boy, was I wrong. It seems as if the killer was hiding in plain sight. Typically, co-defendants or witnesses find it very hard to remain quiet and keep their mouths shut. But it happened in this case and that is why it took so long to crack.

Was it strange or surprising that the suspect ended up being someone who wasn’t even on the radar at the time?

It was very surprising. In retrospect, ... male students of hers that had been in the high school should have been looked at. But at the time that didn’t seem feasible. It didn’t make sense. The witness or co-defendants stayed quiet for so long, that is virtually unheard of.

For normal people, it would seem that guilt would play a part in it, is that not the case in a murder like this?

I think for regular people, who have a conscience, the guilt can become overwhelming. I believe that and I have formed this opinion over literally thousands of cases that killers, predators don’t think like we think. They think like a wolf or coyote or a predator out in the wild. When you see a little bunny hop across your path I am sure your first instinct isn’t to chase it down and tear its neck out with your teeth. You might want to hold it or pet, that is about it. Predators don’t think that way. They look at other people as prey. I don’t think guilt factors into a confession. I think that they brag or they blab but certainly not out of guilt.

Do you think podcasting and streaming is a chance to connect with a younger audience?

Before now I think it was believed that streaming was for the new generation. Streaming is now everyone’s vernacular. … Fox Nation is offering such a wide variety. You can get also sorts of awesome programming on Fox Nation and I am proud to be a part of it. So while streaming has been viewed as only for the younger generation, I think that very soon that streaming is going to cross all physical barriers.

What can fans expect from this show on Fox Nation?

I think we should make it very clear that I am not the star of “Crime Stories.” The case is the star — the crime victims, witnesses, the police, the investigators, the local reporters, the families, friends, loved ones — they are the stars of “Crime Stories.” What viewers will get is the truth about ongoing criminal activity, ongoing cases, breaking crime news that is happening in everybody’s backyard, what is the latest and how can we stop it.

How do you feel about using your platform to make an impact?

I don’t know what impact I may or may not have had on other people, but I do know this: The impact that these crime victims and their families have had on me is profound. I really consider it an honor and a privilege to get to speak with people who don’t always to get to speak for themselves. Whether they are too afraid or timid or maybe they don’t have a way to speak out or maybe they don’t know how to speak. I consider it a real privilege and a real honor to get to be their voice. I had that privilege as a felony prosecutor for 10 years in inner-city Atlanta and plan to carry the same message to Fox Nation as I carried to each and every jury that I spoke to in a courtroom. And that is that I want — a true verdict. I want justice and I think that the viewers do, too.

How does it feel being from Macon to be able to potentially shed light on local cases as well?

One of our very first cases I plan to cover is an unsolved homicide out of Warner Robins, Georgia, that we cover on Fox Nation. It means a lot to me because I grew up in rural Bibb County not even inside the city limits of Macon. And to think that I could help someone that is a stone’s throw away from home means a lot to me. I mean, I have been to a lot of places, a lot of courtrooms, a lot of courthouses. I have investigated cases all over the country. But there is no place like home.

What has the support from Macon, Mercer and Middle Georgia meant to you over the years?

I never would have made it to the finals of “Dancing with the Stars” if not for Middle Georgia. I can say that much right now, I certainly didn’t get that far from my dancing ability. My hometown friends hung in there with me and I will never forget it. I owe Middle Georgia and all the people and all the teachers from John H. Heard Elementary School, all the Sunday school teachers at Liberty United Methodist Church, everybody in the Rutland community, everyone across Macon and Middle Georgia that came out and supported me. I owe them so much. I have never forgotten that. I am here and standing on the shoulders of my town.