According to local news reports, a Georgia man who acknowledged murdering a former beauty queen was acquitted for her murder on Friday.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a jury acquitted Ryan Duke of first-degree murder on Friday in Irwin County after he claimed that he murdered high school teacher Tara Grinstead back in 2005.
He was instead convicted of hiding her death and sentenced to ten years, according to the newspaper.
On the stand, Duke said he lied about his confession because he was under the influence of marijuana and was scared of his buddy Bo Dukes (no relation), who he alleged was Grinstead’s actual murderer.
Shortly after Dukes was arrested in 2017, he and Duke were arrested for their role in the case.
According to Duke, he broke into Grinstead’s home for drug money and when she discovered him, he assaulted her. Authorities said he had knowledge of the crime that was not previously made public.
“I don’t feel like I deserve to be free to breathe,” Duke wrote in his 2017 confession. “I can’t begin to comprehend the pain I have caused to her family and loved ones.”
Duke indicated to the jury that Dukes told him he murdered Grinstead in October 2005 while on the stand. The AJC reported that Dukes admitted to assisting with the burning of the corpse.
The ashes of a female were collected in February 2018 from the site where she was burned alongside other human remains. Because her body had been severely burned, only bone and teeth fragments were discovered, but not enough to obtain DNA.
Tara lost her life,” said Connie Grinstead, Grinstead’s stepmother. “And that left a hole in our life that can never be filled. We will feel the pain of this loss for as long as we live.”
The prosecution is seeking a maximum of ten years in prison for Duke, who has already served five years behind bars.
Grinstead’s sister Anita Gattis said ten years in jail for Duke isn’t enough.
“16 years. 6 months, and 27 days,” Gattis told the court that’s how long Grinstead has been gone, according to TV station WMAZ. “The maximum he can serve for concealing the death of another is 10 years. That’s only seven years less than the sentence I and the rest of Tara’s family and friends have experienced due to his revolting and villainous action.”
