There were billboards. And the one we didn't want to think about was somebody killed her. Witness Randy Hudson owned the pecan orchard where Grinstead's body was allegedly disposed. They wanted the state to fund the expenses for people like private investigators and expert witnesses for Ryan. My truck was Luminoled photographs were taken. "He actually made the motion in the interview and put his hands up like this mimicking how he held her body," GBI Agent Jason Shoudel said. Lets find out. Brooke Sheridan: It was love at first sight. SHELLHOUSE RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC, Share your thoughts and memories with family and friends of Ryan, Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home, Inc. and Shellhouse-Rivers Crematory, Shellhouse Funeral Home/Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home/Shellhouse-Rivers Crematory. He was a graduate of Aiken High School and received his bachelor's degree from USC Aiken. She would never leave her kids. Peter Van Sant: And by Ryan saying to him, "Hey, buddy. GBI agent Gary Rothwell said GBI agents' reports included the names Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes in 2005. He was a graduate of A He said, "I don't know why he did it.". Before the sentencing, Connie Grinstead, Tara Grinstead's stepmother, told the judge that "for over 11 years we went to bed every night wondering where Tara was and every morning we woke up with the same question - where is she?". A native and lifelong resident of Aiken, Ryan was a son of the late Kenneth Michael Dukes and Vicki Heilig Dukes. The family of Tara Grinstead got a chance to address the jury before the judge gave Ryan Duke a maximum sentence after he was found guilty of concealing the body of Tara Grinstead. John McCullough: I can't explain it [emotional]. In 2005, the disappearance of beloved high-school teacher Tara Grinstead sent shockwaves through the town of Ocilla, Georgia. Ryan Duke's murder trial was scheduled to start Oct 4 in Irwin County, Georgia, but lawyers in the case met with Judge Bill Reinhardt Wednesday and agreed to delay the case due to rising COVID-19 . Peter Van Sant: How did you and Bo Dukes meet? ", Brooke Sheridan: He says, "I just want her family to know. A native of Concord, NC, Vicki was a daughter of the late David Leon and Mamie Rae. Duke says he didnt know Grinstead other than the fact that she was a teacher at the high school. In cross-examination, Rothwell added that he takes responsibility for the GBI lapse. Maria Woods Harber: Tara really did want to get back with Marcus. Bo Dukes shares details of what happened to Tara Grinstead with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. At his sentencing hearing, Tara's stepmother, Connie, expressed how Tara's family felt about Ryan Duke. I mean. He was a graduate of Aiken High School and received his bachelors degree from USC Aiken. Blogs; Online will; Shop. Ryan Duke was sentenced to 10 years in prison for concealing the death of Tara Grinstead. Bo confessed all of this to Brooke, who stuck with him. The defense had previously asked the judge to dismiss the case, an action that was quickly declined. Roland & Karol Kay Hoffman. As such, in the State of Oregon Preneed Crematory Sales and Services are conducted under the trade name Neptune Cremation Service. 5260 Daniel J. Enea, Manager. And then, an important discovery. Ryan Duke said he was afraid of Bo Dukes, who repeatedly told him not to talk about Tara Grinstead. "We will always hate what this defendant did to Tara and to the people who loved her," she said. that's where she set her roots. Obituary. Could he betray his friend? Jannis Paulk: It was Bo Dukes and Ryan Duke. He testified he could tell the body was a woman's, wearing a t-shirt and some type of jogging pants. A native and lifelong resident of Aiken, Ryan was a son of the late Kenneth Michael Dukes and Vicki Heilig Dukes. Brooke Sheridan: That family's peace to me was more important than his freedom. AGENT GARY ROTHWELL: We thought that that lead had been addressed by local law enforcement as unfounded and did not follow up. Finally, he cracked. Yet hes still facing outstanding concealment charges in a neighboring Georgia county where Taras body had been burned. Dana Wilder: She just took me underneath her wing She taught me the ins and outs of interviews, hair and makeup, wardrobe. Gary Rothwell [2008]: It appeared that Tara may have left on her own. Bo Dukes apologies to Tara Grinstead's family at his sentencing. Brooke Sheridan: I had never connected with somebody and had fun with somebody like I have with him. Ryan was born April 23, 1981. Back then, hardly anyone thought this case would ever be solved. Prosecutors do not expect to file murder charges against Bo Dukes. "He said he killed Tara," Ryan Duke said. He is preceded in death by his. Alfred A. Dukes NORTH AUGUSTA, SC - Memorial Services for Mr. Alfred A. Dukes, 75, who entered into rest January 4, 2015, will be conducted Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock in the Posey Funeral Chape The couple broke things off but stayed in touch. Mr. Dukes online guest book may be signed at www.shellhouseriversfuneralhome.com The family will receive friends from 6-8 PM Tuesday evening at SHELLHOUSE-RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, INC., 715 E. PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC Sign Guestbook Name: Tara's alarm clock was under her bed, and a bedside lamp was broken. Duke was convicted on the charge of Concealing a Death and was sentenced to the maximum punishment of . Peter Van Sant: Why would Ryan Duke have murdered Tara Grinstead? That's according to Lindsey Forshee, administrator for the Tift Judicial Circuit. Unless you are experienced as an estate executor, you probably should hire an attorney. Jurors also heard voicemails left in the home. DEFENSE: We know the State hasn't brought a single witness to tell you it was on the ground before Monday morning. He was the owner operator of Dukes Tax Service and Taxxman Payroll Solutions. The state and defense attorneys wrapped up their closing arguments earlier in the day. The two men drove about 200 yards up the road to where Tara Grinstead's body had been placed. Neptune Society is the largest provider of affordable cremation services in the nation. BO DUKES: As far as I know, he didn't know her. It just wasn't what I wanted. A wonderful man to know and to work with ,he told me about a month ago that he was enjoying taking care of his grand children God Bless. He then allegedly struck her with his fist and ran away. With no hard evidence, authorities couldn't make an arrest. The trial of the man accused of killing Tara Grinstead 16 years ago has been pushed back into 2022. The defense said Bo Dukes' attorney indicated his client would invoke the 5th Amendment if called to testify. GBI agents have also said DNA matching both Duke and Grinstead was found on a latex glove discovered in her yard. The funeral will follow at 11 oclock in the chapel with The Rev. The GBI was overwhelmed with tips at the time and this one slipped through the cracks. Survivors include his grandmother, Vera Ballentine Dukes; aunts, Cheri McGee (Wayne), Debbie Wallace (David), all of Aiken, Linda Tinney (Mel), Pepin, WI, Pamela Clark (Rick), Ridgeville, SC; uncle, Jeff Dukes (Debbie), Aiken. The two who were friends had similar sounding names but weren't related. He said they had talked about getting together that Sunday, but Tara never answered her phone. View Obituaries Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home, Inc. and Shellhouse-Rivers Crematory Ryan Dukes August 23, 1974 - April 26, 2018. He said Bo Dukes admitted to killing her. Bones that were so degraded, no official cause of death could be determined. And that was corroborated. Brooke says she kept encouraging Bo to open up to talk about this dark subject that was destroying him. Bo told Brooke that Ryan stole his pickup truck that night and used it to transport Tara's body to a remote part of a pecan orchard farmed by Bo's family. One of those always showing off and talking big and running his mouth. 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. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. Worried, he went to her house Sunday night and left the card after Tara didn't answer the doorbell. But there is no question that in her short and impactful life, Tara Grinstead touched people in rare ways even those who never met her, like John McCullough. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. "You should be punished according - not for murder, not for burglary, not for aggravated assault, because that's the way the system works. I mean, she had the biggest smile. Wide open space so the woods wouldnt catch on fire," Duke said while trying to find the location. Ryan was thus sentenced to 10 years behind bars, which he currently seems to be serving. Who you can trust with your life? After a few drinks, McCullough says Bo began talking about Tara. Ryan steeled himself before the verdict was read. View The Guestbook For Ryan Dukes of Aiken, South Carolina. He claims he realized this after she was dead. Ryan Duke said he decided to take the blame for Tara Grinstead's death in 2017 because he didn't think Bo Dukes would tell the truth. However, we had a glove, a latex glove that we couldn't explain. In 2017, Brooke Sheridan came forward to the GBI saying that her boyfriend, Bo Dukes, told her that he had helped his friend, Ryan Duke, cover up Tara Grinstead's murder. They burned her body. Somebody has abducted her and holding her somewhere hostage. And wish I could have been there whenever it happened so that way, I could do something [emotional]. Brooke says she was studying in Savannah to become a pharmacist when, in 2015, she came face-to-face with her online date. However, the family eventually hired a private investigator. Garlan says after he reported this to Jannis Paulk, he was never formally interviewed by anyone from law enforcement. The defense called him to the stand and, with his attorney standing next to him, he responded to each question with, "Under the advice of my council, I will be invoking my 5th Amendment right not to provide testimony today.". Your family's land." We know who did," defense attorney John Merchant said. Share. Stephen S. Dukes, 61, of York Haven died Sunday, November 21, 2021 at Select Specialty Hospital, Camp Hill. And he said he threw his arms up just like this [shrugs her shoulders], "What are you gonna do?". Peter Van Sant: One said she had clothes on, the other said she did not. Please join us in Loving, Sharing and Memorializing Ryan Dukes on this permanent online memorial. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer. Another former student, Bo Dukes, is now serving a 25-year prison sentence for lying to the GBI and helping Duke bury her body. Peter Van Sant: What would anyone's motive be to kill Tara Grinstead? For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. Combined services will be held at Antioch M.B.C., 2033 W. Congress Ave. on Saturday March. Marcus Harper: She obviously wanted to get married. Ryan Duke came into the picture of the Tara Grinstead case when he was charged with her murder in 2017, twelve years after her sudden disappearance. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.nationalcremation.com/location/irving- for the Drakes family. That was the last time Ryan Duke said he saw Tara Grinstead's body. It was somethin' I felt like, you know, I had to do. They think the community can heal, pointing the finger at Bo Dukes for the murder. And this time, the whole world seemed to be listening. Tara Grinstead was a 30-year-old history teacher at the Irwin County High School in Ocilla, Georgia, when she was reported missing on October 24, 2005. AIKEN, SC MICHAEL RYAN DUKES, 43, died April 26, 2018. You need to own what you've done and confess," Sheridan told "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant in 2017. Ryan Duke testified he saw Tara. And he was like, 'I know what happened.". GBI AGENT: So, you immediately see this and you're like "what in the hell did you do? For those who loved Tara Grinstead, Bo Dukes' 25-year sentence for covering up her death was only partial justice. BO DUKES [GBI interview]: Again, I didn't believe him he asked me to come with him out to to the pecan orchard. As Jannis recalls, early on, suspicion focused on the men in Tara's life. 2023 FOX Television Stations, jury found Ryan Duke not guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary, state and defense attorneys wrapped up their closing arguments. Speaking in court before Ryan Dukes' sentencing, Anita Gattis said her sister's disappearance threw her family into ''an out-of-control spiral'' that they've never escaped. For around 6 years, Tara Grinstead dated Marcus Harper, a former Ocilla cop who joined the Army Rangers. The jury heard the confession Duke made in 2017. JOHN MCCULLOUGH: The exact location, he didn't tell me, but had made the comment of, you know, we took her to the middle of the pecan orchard and burned her body. In 2017, more than 11 years after Tara vanished, Brooke Sheridan came forward with a potential answer. He recognized her from Irwin County High School, where he was a student, and she was teaching at the time. Ryan Duke said he thought Bo Dukes was playing a joke on him, until he saw her corpse. I didn't know who I was staring at. Browse Troy local obituaries on Legacy.com. Ryan William Drakes Obituary. The two then went to a party. Tara's car was parked in the driveway. / CBS News, [This story previously aired on September 4, 2021. "What happened in this orchard was senseless" says Woods Harber of her best friend. On Friday, two key witnesses took the stand: the forensic biologist who tested the glove found at Tara Grinstead's home and the forensic anthropologist brought in who helped find Grinstead's buried remains. 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