GA - Tara Grinstead, 29, Ocilla, 22 Oct 2005 #1 *Arrests*

[sugarbritches]

If you dig deep and look into all Google searches, the boy, who had left his dog with Tara, is pretty close to TH's family/brothers.

 

[annoulzz]

I still dont get how she got home, changed and never turned on the lamp...

 

[sundrop]

Perpetrator turned it off

 

[southernmimi]

Perpetrator turned it off

Seems there would be fingerprints somewhere in her house...

 

[Dixie811]

The seat being pushed back does not necessarily mean someone else drove the car, of course. It's possible Tara dropped something while driving home-- (cell phone, lipstick, etc) that fell/rolled under her seat. When she pulled into her driveway and stepped out of the car she could have moved the seat back and reached down and grabbed the item.

OR maybe someone else did drive the car.

 

[digndoodle]

Tara made it home because she changed clothing from what she had on at the BBQ

OK, you have stated this before, How do we know she changed clothes from what she had on at the BBQ???.....to my knowledge she was never
seen nor has she been heard from since being seen at that BBQ......Please correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge no person on this earth
has come forth saying they know she made it home that same night, so unless someone received a phone call and knew for sure it was Tara, someone seen
her and knew she was home that is not actual proof to me.....Since her nor her body has ever been found how would we come to know what clothes she had on
except those that were at the cookout, from that point on, I don't feel anyone knows where or what happened to her after she pulled out of her friends driveway
I am very confused at this point by saying she come home, changed her clothes and left the ones from the cookout in her bedroom??? Please help!!!!

 

[digndoodle]

The seat being pushed back does not necessarily mean someone else drove the car, of course. It's possible Tara dropped something while driving home-- (cell phone, lipstick, etc) that fell/rolled under her seat. When she pulled into her driveway and stepped out of the car she could have moved the seat back and reached down and grabbed the item.

OR maybe someone else did drive the car.

All I know for certain at this time is that her cell phone was found plugged in the charger in her bedroom (in which no-one so far can figure out if this was a home invasion why did she not reach for it) and I would not know any reason she would be applying lipstick at this hour at night, she was on her way home from the sweet potato festival plus she went on to a cookout with some friends...I would assume at this point she would have been very tired and along with the seat being discovered back so far, we have that mysterious envelope also in her car with money in it and everyone said that just was not Tara to leave money lying around as it was
Personally I do feel someone drove her car, I have no clue how or when, but I'm totally confused at this point but strongly believe someone was in her car and drove it at some point and time

 

[sundrop]

Because people at the BBQ described what she was wearing and that clothing was found in her bedroom. Everything known about this or any case doesn't have to have a web link to be true. SMH

 

[RememberTara]

On Monday, 10/24/2005, Tara Faye Grinstead, a high school teacher and former beauty contestant, from Ocilla, GA, was reported missing after she did not report to work. Tara was last seen at 11:00 pm, on Saturday, 10/22/2005, when she departed a social gathering approximately six blocks from her home. Investigators believe Tara arrived home at some point, as her vehicle was parked in the carport of her home. Tara’s purse, containing her credit cards and identification, was missing, along with the keys to her residence and vehicle. Investigators suspect that her disappearance may be the result of foul play. It is assumed that she was wearing black sweatpants and gray "New Balance" brand tennis shoes at the time of her disappearance.

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/mis...selected-uid=9186a6c6549a4fdffc4c0f279f1871de

 

[RememberTara]

There must have been some information for law enforcement to make assumptions on what she was wearing. One of the teenage girls spent the day with Tara before the pageant. Perhaps she say an outfit on a chair or bed that was not there on Monday morning. Two of the first people in Tara's house Monday morning had been at the cookout on Saturday night. They would have been able to identify the clothes she was wearing Saturday. From what I have heard about Tara's house on Monday morning, several people were in the house before the scene was secured by LE. Some of those people were very familiar with Tara and may have provided insight as to what she could have been wearing.

 

[RememberTara]

Tara's brother-in law told me that Tara kept cash in her car for her commutes to class at night and trips to Hawkinsville. He said that they learned she had withdrawn the money at an ATM earlier in the week.

 

[RememberTara]

Tara could have been in and out of her house on Saturday night before the Portiers saw the light or they could have already been in bed and missed the light.

 

[leilarose68]

i believe it was marcus, her ex-boyfriend.

my head spins with theories but i keep coming back to what's obvious.

marcus was a marine. he was very intelligent, clearly quite strong and capable. i think he totally could have carried out thje covert, intricate operation of killing and disposing of tara. tara's sister brings up... in a subtle but clear way, that she felt he was capable of a lot of things. i feel like.... there was a real darkness to their relationship that was never really discussed with anyone. tara was involved in pageants, a world of show, appearances and make believe. perhaps this extended to her own life as well. i get the sense that tara was really insecure and derived some self esteem from pageants. her low self esteem could have attracted her to someone as cold as marcus.

marcus is a scary character to me. and what's this about tara filing a complaint about his cop buddy he was supposedly riding around with the night tara went missing? when i look at him in photos there is something... removed about him. utterly detached. he looks odd in photos with tara... she seems so anxious yet poised and it's like he's in a separate photo. why do i get the feeling that he could go from totally vacant to full of rage in under 2 seconds?

i believe he might have planted the glove.... he could have gotten someone he knew... perhaps a fellow marine or a friend in town to wear it, to throw off the investigation (someone who wouldn't have gotten fingerprinted). he knew that it could possibly be what would clear him in the eyes of LE. i'm wondering how many of his friends, whether his father submitted DNA? all i'm thinking is that he undoubtedly was a crafty, resourceful person and could have pulled off this kind of tightrope act. when i think of the glove, all i can think of is GENIUS. would a criminal really have left the glove there under any circumstances unless it was deliberately planted? i don't think so. this was pure strategy.
it seemed like marcus was set up ina new life... but maybe he wasn't convinced that tara would leave him alone. maybe he was annoyed by her and burdened with the fact that she would be there, in the back of his mind, wanting him + maybe even stalking him in the future. he saw getting rid of her as a mission. he didn't want to have to deal with her ever again. he wanted ultimate control over her and her threatening suicide was freaking him out. if she were going to die, it would be on his terms.
i don't know how long he was planning to stay in ocilla for, but it's possible it was a power thing of being like... this is my town and i refuse to see you around. i refuse to have to deal with you in my life.

perhaps he went to her house... she was shocked but let him in. he said 'let's go for a walk by the lake' or something. 'let's talk.' he could have led her to believe there could have been some kind of reconciliation.
something else that struck me was how one of LE said that marcus' alibi was 'almost too good.' and i feel that it was. he made it airtight... he hit all the right spots for every second he needed to be accounted for. like a good marine.

of course, there's always the chance that heath had something to do w her disappearance. obviously he would have had the biggest motive in the world. and the fact that he called her SOOO many times could have suggested that he missed her OR it could have been overcompensation... trying to really make it seem like he just really really missed her. maybe suggests he was a bit unhinged. obviously his wife would have had incentive to play along. and, being a cop, he would have known how to really cover his tracks and make things seem like something else entirely. it seems clear that tara;s body was moved a couple of times.... a cop or a marine are the kinds of people who would have understood how to carry it out.

i mean, we're dealing with two people here who know the system... who are used to thinking strategically. i think either of them could have pulled this off. tara was taken by someone she knew... otherwise she would have made a scene. with both of these men she would have gone quietly. i know they both had alibi but nothing is for certain. tara grinstead had this crazy complicated love life---i think it's far more likely it had to do with that than some rando who was obsessed with her. i mean, marcus was in town and they recently had a confrontation. ***** was getting stirred up. i have a hard time believing one of these two most important men in her life wasn't involved somehow. why do i get the sense that there was an abusive vibe to her relationship with marcus and she was too down on herself to share with anyone?

 

[leilarose68]

right. but i still think the men tara was most intimate with are the top suspects (even if they have alibi). yes, it could have been a stalker situation, but that is far more rare, especially if there weren't past incidents where she rejected men who were clearly quite upset about it.
i mean, would she have left her house for a man she just casually knew, and not made a scene about it?

i know you're right. there are so so many possibilities. it just seems like when there's a kind of confrontation before someone's disappearance with an ex-boyfriend, no less... idk.

 

[leilarose68]

i think tara may have been acquainted with domestic violence so when marcus entered her home and pushed her around a bit, causing the lamp to fall, etc. it was something she was used to + she was still willing to go with him, perhaps? perhaps there was some part of her that felt like they could still work it out? or she was just so thrilled he still wanted to talk to her that she didn't care?

i know this is all speculation but there is so much.... sadness and dissociation in tara's eyes. she just strikes me as the kind of person who really goes all out to show the world she's 'fine' when she's a total mess inside.
and i haven't seen a single picture of marcus that shows any kind of warm emotion. there is something very off about him.

 

[sugarbritches]

If you dig deep and look into all Google searches, the boy, who had left his dog with Tara, is pretty close to TH's family/brothers.

Sorry guys. I meant to say "MH's family/brothers" not TH.

 

[sugarbritches]

I agree. I think she was "crazy" for him. And I mean no disrespect when I say that. But speaking form experience, I have been in a relationship with someone abusive and with a personality disorder. They honestly can make a sane person crazy. It happened to me and she and I lead parallel lives. I am a teacher and know some of her friends. Now that I am out of that situation, I am back to normal. But when you are in it, as she was, it is total hell. It is all you can do to keep it together.
I think Tara poured her life into MH and when he called it off, she lost it. But, I know it was never a clean break. I think he knew what he could get from her and used her for it. IMO he would call her and she would come running. Then, the next day act as if she was a stranger or "crazy"...as he has portrayed her in the media. I think all of her other relationships were to help her mend her broken heart. The officer in Perry probably provided some sort of stability or even respect. Though he was married, this may have made her feel "she was worth" it for once. I am so sorry she had to deal with MH.
I have several people I feel could have done this...but I always come back to the "one".

 

[annoulzz]

Well this now makes sense. I was in a relationship situation similar to that and it is no fun at all... its an exhausting draining experience. And when you are in it you can "act" all normal to the outside world but feel like a million broken pieces inside. Maybe her cop friend did provide a safe haven for her and protected her in some way because he knew something was going to happen to her?

 

[sugarbritches]

Well this now makes sense. I was in a relationship situation similar to that and it is no fun at all... its an exhausting draining experience. And when you are in it you can "act" all normal to the outside world but feel like a million broken pieces inside. Maybe her cop friend did provide a safe haven for her and protected her in some way because he knew something was going to happen to her?

I don't think Perry cop knew that something would happen, but he worried about her in general. He knew she was upset the night before and when he couldn't reach her, knew at that point something wasn't right. Which would explain his calling non-stop and showing up. She placed a call to him that was concerning and then next thing he knows, she fall off the face of the earth. He knew MH was involved due to her state of mind the days leading up to her disappearance.

 

[leilarose68]

I don't think Perry cop knew that something would happen, but he worried about her in general. He knew she was upset the night before and when he couldn't reach her, knew at that point something wasn't right. Which would explain his calling non-stop and showing up. She placed a call to him that was concerning and then next thing he knows, she fall off the face of the earth. He knew MH was involved due to her state of mind the days leading up to her disappearance.

i mean, what are the odds that some rando abducted and killed her at the exact time MH was back in town + had a blowup argument with her? MH was obviously no dummy + knew that he'd be suspect number one. so he planted the glove. he surmised it would totally throw off the search and distract the investigation and it accomplished just that!

i get reeeeallly bad, controlling, psychopathic-ish vibes from MH and i think his 'too good' alibi is just that. i believe tara was a very insecure, vulnerable, sweet person + she attracted someone bad in MH. he speaks about her as an intelligent, controlling person would... he is quick to portray her as crazy. to discredit her experience as a sane, feeling woman.

i'm wondering what her cop friend had to say about MH. tara could have hidden the abuse from the world... i feel like she suffered certain things silently.