TARA GRINSTEAD MURDER CASE

Trial begins in 2005 killing of teacher in South Georgia.

Ryan Alexander Duke repeatedly confessed that he killed South Georgia teacher and former beauty queen Tara Grinstead, a prosecutor said Monday.

“He confesses with his words. He confesses with his writings. He confesses with his actions by walking them out there and showing them where he burned the body,” J.D. Hart said during opening statements. “He confessed with his knowledge of the phone call. And he con- fesses with his DNA and his prints on the glove.”

Duke was coerced into his confession, according to a defense attorney. Ashleigh Merchant told the jury there is no evidence he is responsi- ble for killing Grinstead.

“Ryan did not harm Ms. Grinstead, and at the end of this trial you will agree with us,” Merchant said.

Grinstead, 30, was reported missing in October 2005 when she failed to show up to teach her Irwin County High School history classes. She had spent part of the weekend helping girls prepare for a beauty pageant, the same one she had previously won.

A mas s ive search was launched to find Grinstead, whose face appeared on billboards as her disappearance became a national news story. The reward for information grew, but no trace of her was found.

Then in February 2017, the GBI announced an arrest in the cold case. After being questioned for several hours, Duke was arrested. He confessed, according to the GBI investigators. But later he changed his story and said he didn’t kill Grinstead, but was involved in covering up her death.

Bo Dukes, who isn’t related to Duke, was also charged in the case. In March 2019, Dukes was sentenced to 25 years in prison for concealing Grinstead’s death. Dukes initially claimed he didn’t know anything about the disappearance and death of Grinstead. Months later, he confessed. He didn’t kill Grinstead but helped dispose of the body, according to evidence at his trial.

Monday morning, prosecutors began calling witnesses in the case, including Grinstead’s father and a woman who was at the teacher’s home the last day she was believed to have been seen alive. Rhett Roberts, a fellow teacher, told the court Grinstead stopped by his home after she attended the beauty pageant. It was the last time he saw her.