'It Gives The Victims A Little Bit Of A Voice': Monica Denise On VH1's 'Infamy: When Fame Turns Deadly'

(CBS Local)-- VH1 is the place to be tonight because a new series called "Infamy: When Fame Turns Deadly" premieres Monday night at 10pm EST/PST. The series is hosted by musician and Grammy Award winner Monica Denise and the eight episodes of the show feature celebrity cases where fame and notoriety turn fatal.

CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith caught up with Monica to preview the series, discuss her love of true crime and relive some of the best moments of her career.

"I am very excited. I am a true crime fan myself and as a young girl I would look at everything from Unsolved Mysteries to America's Most Wanted," said Denise. "Infamy is parallel to those shows in some respects, but what I really love about Infamy to be honest with you is that it gives the victims a bit of a voice. We take you inside who they really were, not just what sport they played or what their livelihood was. We take you where they're from. We let you see the people who they loved most. One thing that I also love is we actually speak to those who are actually mourning the loss of these incredible people."

The first episode of the series focuses on the death of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright. The 7th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft played in the league for over a decade and was shot to death in 2010. Denise hopes this episode and the others provides more context to stories people have known and talked about for years.

"One of the most surprising things is that there can be so much hatred towards you coming from someone you don't even know," said Denise. "There are certain cases where it was a robbery gone wrong. That level of pain that has been inflicted on kids and moms and sisters and brothers. Then, the flip side of that is we can actually be married and in love at one point and then you take my life. That's just something that I just can't fathom. It's hard to digest some of these stories. I do appreciate the fact that infamy allowed me to really speak to their legacies and who they were in a respectful manner and still tell the story at the same time. We definitely answer most questions and that was definitely a goal of mine and all of the Infamy staff and the VH1 staff. We didn't want you to watch and episode and feel like you have been left hanging from a cliff."