Praying for your family have strength. He recognized her from Irwin County High School, where he was a student, and she was teaching at the time. They wanted the state to fund the expenses for people like private investigators and expert witnesses for Ryan. Jannis Paulk: FindTara.com. He looked like a person who was ready to do the right thing, but his testimony on the witness stand only seemed coached, well-rehearsed and sought self-serving benefits. The defense questioned Duke about his life and relationship with Bo Dukes. Defense attorneys began to call witnesses of their own Monday when the state prosecutors rested their case after over a week of arguments. According to the court, Ryan Duke became ineligible for state funds when he chose to go with private attorneys rather than a public defender. If convicted of murder, Duke faces an automatic sentence of life in prison. The couple broke things off but stayed in touch. "Its been a 17-year nightmare for them," Irwin County District Attorney Bryce Johnson said. Rothwell took the blame for the GBI assuming local law enforcement determined information indicating Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes as persons of interest were "unfounded." You have funeral questions, we have answers. Jannis Paulk even created a website to help authorities collect information. Lets find out. Several agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also took the stand. Jurors also heard from a latent fingerprint examiner who came in 2017 to try to identify and confirm the prints found on a glove in Grinstead's yard. Ryan is the one talking about 411 getting connected to Taras house.". John McCullough: Yeah, Tara Grinstead, and said, you know, "missing.". Ryan then allegedly went back to her house to move her remains to the orchard using Bos truck. Visit our Support Center. According to it, he broke into Taras house to steal money to buy drugs but was surprised by her when she suddenly came home. Another former student, Bo Dukes, is now serving a 25-year prison sentence for lying to the GBI and helping Duke bury her body. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. BO DUKES [GBI interview]: We drove back into the back, and he showed me where her body was. And he said he threw his arms up just like this [shrugs her shoulders], "What are you gonna do?". Bo Dukes is serving 25 years for concealing her death, hindering the apprehension of a criminal, and lying to investigators. Bo confessed all of this to Brooke, who stuck with him. "It should be an opening when we cremated her. State and defense teams made their pitches to jurors and began examining witnesses. Tara's alarm clock was under her bed, and a bedside lamp was broken. Jannis Paulk: So, Bo was known in the community for being a little over the top, unfiltered. By her front door, they found a business card from a police officer in a nearby town. 28, 1957 - Feb. 10, 2023 Mr. John K. Dukes, Jr. entered into eternal rest on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. We know who did," defense attorney John Merchant said. Years passed, and the GBI said Tara Grinsteads case never "turned cold." Jannis Paulk: That they had been at a party bragging about their involvement in Tara's disappearance and that ultimately, they had taken her body out to a pecan orchard and burn it in a firepit. Ryan was thus sentenced to 10 years behind bars, which he currently seems to be serving. Jannis Paulk's former employee, Garlan Lott, told the court he had overheard that 2005 conversation between Ryan and Bo at a party in the same pecan orchard where Tara's body had been burned. It would be illegal for me to accept a fee for preparing that application on your behalf. At one. Ryan Duke has been sentenced to spend the next five years in prison for his part in concealing the death of Georgia teacher and former beauty queen Tara Grinstead. Authorities couldn't explain either, and collected them as evidence the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, known as the GBI, was called in. But if you're ready for this Bo had already been interviewed by the GBI a year earlier in 2016. Obituary. In addition to his parents, Ryan was preceded in death by his brother, Kenneth Jason Dukes, paternal grandfather, E. Kenneth Dukes; maternal grandparents, David Leon and Mamie Rae Lundsford Heilig and an aunt, Cindy Dukes Darr. And this time, the whole world seemed to be listening. It was part of town gossip that they had gotten into an argument after Marcus had come back to town earlier than expected that October. Back then, hardly anyone thought this case would ever be solved. In an exchange, the state asked Duke if he would lie when the stakes were high. He was a classic muscle car enthusiast with a passion for Chevy Impalas. John 3:16 Sending love and prayers for the Duke family! John K. Dukes, Jr. Mar. He eventually went to court in 2022, with the central defense being hed given a false confession in 2017, partially owing to the fact he was afraid of his former friend Bo. She had a lot of life ahead of her. and that's nobody's business, but in this case, it made it tough. After the defense rested their case, the state got the last opportunity to present witnesses as a rebuttal. Bo Dukes told investigators his friend, Ryan Duke, confessed he had accidentally killed Grinstead and needed his truck to transfer her body. And Bo Dukes himself spoke directly to Tara's family: BO DUKES: To the Tara Grinstead family, I'm truly sorry. Marcus Harper: Somebody pulled me to the side, and they were like, "Listen, you know, there's been some things said bringin' up your military past, bringin' up how you're Trained to kill" . He went looking for her the night she disappeared and sparked the search for the woman when he alerted authorities the next day. And what she had to say implicated a man whose name had repeatedly been given to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors do not expect to file murder charges against Bo Dukes. For those who loved Tara Grinstead, Bo Dukes' 25-year sentence for covering up her death was only partial justice. They argued Duke was not responsible for her death but solely helped Bo Dukes dispose of the body, alleging that Bo Dukes was the mastermind behind the crime. "That was a presumption that we should have never, ever made, but it happened, and it's my fault," Rothwell said. I definitely didn't wanna settle down in small town America. Born on January 20, 1989 in Easton, Bryan is the son of Kathy Elburn Dukes . AGENT GARY ROTHWELL: We thought that that lead had been addressed by local law enforcement as unfounded and did not follow up. ", GBI AGENT to BO DUKES: I'm gonna just kinda leave it open the floor to you, and just tell me about you knowing about Tara . Somebody has abducted her and holding her somewhere hostage. The defense was up first and focused on the inconsistencies in the state's presentation. On Sunday, Tara's mom called her several times, but Tara didn't answer. Ryan Duke took the stand Tuesday and immediately denied murdering Grinstead, claiming he didn't know how she died. 2023 Neptune Society. And that's where she wanted to stay and where she wanted to be. But I think it's taken a lot of toll on them mentally and physically. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. AIKEN, SC - Vicki Heilig Dukes, 65, died Thursday, September 15, 2016 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. He was a graduate of Aiken High School and received his bachelor's degree from USC Aiken. However, the family eventually hired a private investigator. Another video shown shows Duke leading investigators to where he says he dumped and burned her body. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. DEFENSE: Mr. Duke, did you murder Tara Grinstead? Aiken, SC RYAN DUKES OBITUARY Ryan Dukes Aiken, - MICHAEL RYAN DUKES, 43, died April 26, 2018. Jurors also heard voicemails left in the home. All rights reserved. BO DUKES: As far as I know, he didn't know her. I can still see her standing at the door. IRWIN COUNTY, Ga. - An emotionaltrial in Irwin Countyconcluded Monday with a judge sentencing Ryan Duke to the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison - with five years already served. Tara's car was parked in the driveway. Duke said he left the home in a panic but came back to remove the body. The GBI was overwhelmed with tips at the time and this one slipped through the cracks. Connie Grinstead argued that the family pleaded and begged for any news about Tara for years and that Duke's "silence was deafening.". I was high. For all that has transpired, there's one question that troubles Maria Woods Harber: what really happened to Tara on the night she disappeared? Superior Court Judge Bill Reinhardt said. So, he went to trial hoping jurors might show mercy for a man who had already confessed to his role in the crime. The defense had previously asked the judge to dismiss the case, an action that was quickly declined. Another video shown portrayed Duke leading investigators to the pecan orchard he claims he took the lifeless body. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. John McCullough: He had told me that his friend accidentally strangled her and he needed help getting rid of the body so that way there was nothing to find. Ryan Duke had told investigators in 2017 he killed Tara Grinstead and helped burn her body. Ryan Duke said he didn't know what he was talking about or believe him at first. Sending condolences & deepest condolences to the Dukes Family. It's kind of odd, isn't it? He lived most his life in Aiken and worked as a procedures writer at the Savannah River . The talented signer was named Miss Tifton and competed in the Miss Georgia beauty pageant. I am so sorry. JOHN DUKES OBITUARY John Lewis Dukes John Lewis Dukes, 64 of Monroe, Louisiana, an automotive service writer, passed away Sunday, April 19, 2015. Ryan Duke said he drove toward a pecan orchard, owned by a relative of Bo Dukes. More than an hour into his testimony, Ryan Duke described the moment Bo Dukes led him to Grinstead's body. Went to Elementary to high School with John sending Condolences to the Family in my Prayers. That was the last time Ryan Duke said he saw Tara Grinstead's body. 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