He went looking for her the night she disappeared and sparked the search for the woman when he alerted authorities the next day. The document claims that later, he used a payphone to see if shed pick up, and when she didnt, he was convinced that she was dead. NEW ELLENTON, SC -- CYNTHIA SUSAN DUKES DARR, 52, died Sunday, October 9, 2011 at her residence. AGENT GARY ROTHWELL: It is something we should've followed up, but we we didn't. As Jannis recalls, early on, suspicion focused on the men in Tara's life. Worried, he went to her house Sunday night and left the card after Tara didn't answer the doorbell. Bo told her they moved Tara's body to a pit, where it took two days to burn, destroying all evidence. Here's my number I'll do whatever has to happen for y'all to take me serious. Bones that were so degraded, no official cause of death could be determined. Brooke Sheridan: I had never connected with somebody and had fun with somebody like I have with him. AIKEN, SC - Vicki Heilig Dukes, 65, died Thursday, September 15, 2016 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. That was the last time Ryan Duke said he saw Tara Grinstead's body. Brooke Sheridan: That family's peace to me was more important than his freedom. 83 Peacefully passed away on February 23, 2023. Oregan Residents: Please note that in the State of Oregon, Funeral Board Rule 830-040-0000(3) requires our trade name include the identification of our funeral activity or function. Could he betray his friend? I am so sorry. Peter Van Sant: Was it an emotional moment for you to realize someone had been arrested after all that time? He denied that, but when asked why he lied to the GBI about killing Grinstead, Duke said, "I'm trying to make that right.". Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. Grief Support. View The Guestbook For Ryan Dukes of Aiken, South Carolina. We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. The weight of what McCullough says Bo told him became unbearable. Brooke says she was studying in Savannah to become a pharmacist when, in 2015, she came face-to-face with her online date. You need to own what you've done and confess," Sheridan told "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant in 2017. And then, an important discovery. DEFENSE: Mr. Duke, did you murder Tara Grinstead? Jannis Paulk: So, Bo was known in the community for being a little over the top, unfiltered. "Ryan Duke, the man in that chair, confessed to the murder of Tara Grinstead," prosecutor Brad Rigby said. But in the same sense, I always thought, "Well, it has to be.". GBI AGENT: Of all the people, why Tara, what's the connection? For years, Marcus Harper lived under a cloud some might say a thunderstorm of suspicion. He was the owner operator of Dukes Tax Service and Taxxman Payroll Solutions. But after he broke down to Brooke, she told Bo it was time to tell the truth. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. Jannis Paulk: Ocilla is a big family. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. Dana Wilder: I never thought it was somebody from our community. She was radiant. Ryan Duke Trial Day 7 Recap. Example video title will go here for this video. And the reason he knew she wasn't coming back, is because he had put load after load of wood on her body and burned her. According to it, he broke into Taras house to steal money to buy drugs but was surprised by her when she suddenly came home. Brooke Sheridan: I had to tell some I had to tell. 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. Therefore, on May 20, 2022, the jury only found him guilty of concealing a death he was acquitted of every other count. His lawyers demanded the case be thrown out as the statute of limitations had already passed before asking for the trial to be moved to another venue in Irwin County. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. GBI agents have also said DNA matching both Duke and Grinstead was found on a latex glove discovered in her yard. And for the first time, everyone heard Bo's own account when his GBI interview was played in court: BO DUKES [GBI video interview]: He told me he had killed Tara Grinstead. Prosecutors played that videotape of Bo's interview with the GBI. Prosecutors called friends and acquaintances of the Georgia teacher and beauty queen. Two years later, in March 2019, Bo was the first to go on trial. / CBS News, [This story previously aired on September 4, 2021. Ryan Duke said he didn't know what he was talking about or believe him at first. And why the f- would you do it here on my family's pecan orchard? Born in Columbia, SC, Mike was a son of Vera Ballentine Dukes and the late Ernest Kenneth Dukes. A full skeleton. No services are scheduled at this time. 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.". In March 2019, in a county courthouse about 30 miles from where beloved teacher and beauty pageant mentor Tara Grinstead was murdered, Bo Dukes went on trial on charges relating to covering up her death. Peter Van Sant: This really affects you, though, talking about this. DEFENSE: What was his expression, his demeanor when that happened? Dr. Fred W. Andrea III officiating. At night, Tara studied for a specialist degree in school administration, but other parts of her life hadn't come together as she'd hoped. Search by Name. On Monday, the state rested its case, but not before calling GBI agents and a forensic specialist to the stand. There are reports of him being put under suicide watch a few times, yet nothing too serious came out of the incidents. Jannis, who ran a local web design company, became an expert on the case keeping a close watch since Tara was reported missing. he's very shut shut off emotions, feelings he doesn't talk about. "We think the jury got it right, and we are very, very happy with the result," Defense Attorney Ashley Merchant said. Browse Troy local obituaries on Legacy.com. The family will receive friends Thursday morning, May 3rd beginning at 10 oclock at Shellhouse Rivers Funeral Home. I know who killed Tara Grinstead or had a part of it. 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. Bo says Ryan then repeated that a couple of days later. They laid out the evidence collected at Grinsteads property just following her disappearance. And in this trial, Agent Gary Rothwell finally explained what happened with those tips. Of the six charges, Duke was found guilty of one count of concealing Grinstead's death. Ryan is the one talking about 411 getting connected to Taras house.". I didn't know who he was. Duke said he never took Grinstead's belongings to police when he tried to return them. Yet hes still facing outstanding concealment charges in a neighboring Georgia county where Taras body had been burned. May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow. Ryan said he was afraid Bo would hurt him or his family. And it was about to get even more unsettled when at Ryan's murder trial he took the stand and recanted his confession, saying it was really Bo Dukes who killed Tara. 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: John McCullough: I would say from the year of 2007 until 2016 I would probably say I reached out nine or 10 times to the GBI. "That is a question that has bothered me for years," he said. However, we had a glove, a latex glove that we couldn't explain. was dedicated to making her students feel wonderful. Universal. Friday, a jury found Ryan Duke not guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary connected to the death of Georgia beauty queen and teacher Tara Grinstead. Maybe because I'm a nobody. The state went through photos and evidence, including a glove found at the home with the DNA of Grinstead and a man. And he was like, 'I know what happened.". Peter Van Sant: And what is it about him that you love? When the court denied this request, they took it to the Georgia Supreme Court, which said that they did not have jurisdiction over it, and the matter was sent back to Judge Reinhardt, who had originally presided over the case. I was a drug addict I'd been drinking. Visit our Support Center. Jannis Paulk even created a website to help authorities collect information. This DNA test was taken two years before defendant Ryan Dukes recorded confession. In Ryan's interview with the GBI, he said he had hit Tara, but Bo said Ryan told him otherwise: BO DUKES [GBI interview]: He jumped on her, while he was she was in bed and strangled her right there in her bed. On March 1, 1969, he met Sandra Hageman on a . Tara was. She says the lawyers discussed pushing the trial into next March, but Judge Reinhardt hasn't signed an order confirming that. He is extremely intelligent. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. Dr. Fred W. Andrea III officiating. AIKEN, SC - Kenneth Michael Dukes, 66, died Thursday, March 30, 2017 at his residence. Aiken, SC RYAN DUKES OBITUARY Ryan Dukes Aiken, - MICHAEL RYAN DUKES, 43, died April 26, 2018. Ryan Dukes Obituary Remember Ryan Dukes. Years passed, and the GBI said Tara Grinsteads case never "turned cold." They burned her body. Marcus Harper: It was like a calling. AIKEN, SC MICHAEL RYAN DUKES, 43, died April 26, 2018. Jannis Paulk: We shared that tip with the local sheriff's department. BRAD RIGBY | PROSECUTOR: This case is about Bo's lies, lies that lasted from 2005 to 2016. He testified calmly, but inside was still seething at Bo. Duke also admitted to taking her purse and keys and leaving a glove at the residence. Duke said he was on drugs at the time he broke into Grinstead's Ocilla home and doesnt remember how exactly he killed her. And this time, the whole world seemed to be listening. "Its been a 17-year nightmare for them," Irwin County District Attorney Bryce Johnson said. John McCullough: I have no idea. Ryan Dukes said he started to see Bo Dukes more often after he was discharged from the Army for being AWOL. Sympathy Ideas. 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. Soon after his arrest, Ryan Duke was indicted on the charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and concealing the death of another, to all of which he pleaded not guilty. Jurors also heard voicemails left in the home. At one. He was a graduate of Aiken High School and received his bachelors degree from USC Aiken. In an exchange, the state asked Duke if he would lie when the stakes were high. Please join us in Loving, Sharing and Memorializing Ryan Dukes on this permanent online memorial. "There was a profile that matched a toothbrush of Tara Grinstead and there was an unknown male profile," Hinkle said. "It should be an opening when we cremated her. See the viral video from Bo Dukes' sentencing below: Georgia Supreme Court rules Ryan Duke can use state funds for defense in Grinstead case, Tara Grinstead case: Bo Dukes reports to prison for 25-year sentence, The trial was scheduled for October, but lawyers met this week and agreed to delay the case to spring 2022, Lent List: What is most often given up, and how you can find substitutes, Major water leak keeps Dublin City Hall closed, March kicks off by continuing the warm stretch, small rain chance. Ryan Dukes Aiken, - MICHAEL RYAN DUKES, 43, died April 26, 2018. Ryan Duke took the stand Tuesday and immediately denied murdering Grinstead, claiming he didn't know how she died. Ryan Duke said he thought Bo Dukes was playing a joke on him, until he saw her corpse. Maria Woods Harber: She was such a good person She just didn't deserve it. 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. Ryan Duke alibi: Tara Grinstead murder suspect now says he was asleep Caption Continuing Coverage By Alexis Stevens, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution March 14, 2019 The man accused of killing a. The defense questioned him about increasing drug use and alcohol consumption leading up to the time Grinstead went missing. DEFENSE [closing arguments]: Bo Dukes should be on trial for the murder of Tara Grinstead, not Ryan. It's kind of odd, isn't it? Bo confessed all of this to Brooke, who stuck with him. His hope for mercy was dashed. Roland & Karol Kay Hoffman. Rothwell said the GBI never followed up after their names appeared in an investigative summary. The Associated Press contributed to this story. The case generated hundreds of tips over the years. His former roommate and close friend was Ryan Duke. He could have at least told us that, but he didn't. And as they were driving around town, a billboard caught his eye. Ryan Duke at his first court hearing after his arrest in February 2017, charged with Tara Grinstead's murder. 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. It was a year after Tara's disappearance. Superior Court Judge Bill Reinhardt said. Michael Dukes of Aiken, South Carolina April 10, 1950 - March 30, 2017. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. "We will always hate what this defendant did to Tara and to the people who loved her," she said. 28, 1957 - Feb. 10, 2023 Mr. John K. Dukes, Jr. entered into eternal rest on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. Tara's cell phone was charging inside the house. Maria Woods Harber: Yes. After the defense rested their case, the state got the last opportunity to present witnesses as a rebuttal. McCullough said he called authorities but they never followed up. A man named Ryan Duke was accused of the crime. Then, there was Tara's ex-boyfriend, Marcus Harper. Peter Van Sant: What were some of the theories as to what had happened to Tara? But when questioned about her disappearance, he had an alibi and was never charged. "I hope Mr. Duke lives the rest of his life begging God for forgiveness every day from his dying breath," she said before asking the court to give him the maximum sentence. Both Duke and Grinstead was found on a latex glove that we could n't explain take to! 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