A man who’s facing a potential life sentence in connection with the alleged murder of a high school teacher in Georgia testified in court this week that he previously gave investigators a false confession.
Tara Grinstead, a teacher from the Ocilla area, was first reported to have gone missing in October of 2005. Five years later, a probate judge was reported to have formally declared her dead. This month, the trial of Ryan Duke—who told authorities in 2017 that he killed Grinstead after breaking into her house—began in Irwin County.
In a video played for jurors last week, per a report from the Associated Press, Duke is seen telling Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents he “didn’t know what else to do” after striking Grinstead amid the claimed break-in. While on the stand on Tuesday, however, Duke asserted that it was actually his friend Bo Dukes (no relation) who killed Grinstead. In 2019, Dukes was sentenced to 25 years on multiple charges in connection with Grinstead’s killing, including counts of making false statements and concealing a death.
Asked around the 1:53:33 mark in the video above if he had taken “any kind of medications or drugs” prior to a 2017 meeting with an agent, Ryan Duke said he had. Specifically mentioned by Duke as substances he allegedly ingested during the time frame in question were morphine, Percocet, and “probably” Vicodin.
Asked about the meeting, Duke said he confessed to killing Grinstead but claimed he was not telling the truth at the time. As for why he took the blame, Duke claimed it was because he was convinced his friend would lie.
“I don’t think Bo will ever tell the truth,” Duke said Tuesday. He also claimed to not have knowledge as to how, exactly, Grinstead died, as well as said he didn’t initially tell the truth about the break-in or having fatally struck Grinstead.
Later, Duke admitted to having assisted in the disposal of Grinstead’s body and accused Dukes of having told him he killed her.
The body of Grinstead, who was 30 at the time of her 2005 disappearance, was never found. Earlier in the trial, however, GBI forensic scientist Ashley Hinkle testified that a glove found in Grinstead’s yard included DNA linked to Duke and Grinstead. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a forensic anthropologist also testified that human bone fragments “consistent with an adult” were also found.
