GA - TRIAL OF Ryan Alexander Duke & Bo Dukes - Tara Grinstead, 29, Ocilla, 22 Oct 2005 *Guilty/Not Guilty*

Bo Dukes to stand trial again for concealing death of Ocilla teacher, beauty queen Tara Grinstead



I can't access this article - maybe it has a court hearing date in it?




They mention a June 22nd or June 23rd trial in the youtube video. Charges are Hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, concealing a death of another & tampering with evidence.

@Stina_108 - this ^^ will be happening in Ben Hill County - Case #17CR-189 & also he has a case pending in Houston County re the rape charges of 2 ladies on New Year's Eve. Houston County #2019CR053334-1 thru -12

TIA if you can find anything on these cases for Dukes.
 
Bo Dukes to stand trial again for concealing death of Ocilla teacher, beauty queen Tara Grinstead



I can't access this article - maybe it has a court hearing date in it?




They mention a June 22nd or June 23rd trial in the youtube video. Charges are Hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, concealing a death of another & tampering with evidence.

@Stina_108 - this ^^ will be happening in Ben Hill County - Case #17CR-189 & also he has a case pending in Houston County re the rape charges of 2 ladies on New Year's Eve. Houston County #2019CR053334-1 thru -12

TIA if you can find anything on these cases for Dukes.
I suppose this is why the ADA said they needed to photograph the bone fragments as the actual fragments were needed for another trial?
 

District Attorney Brad Rigby says Dukes' trial could start as early as June 22, but it's likely to begin June 27. This time, the trial will be in Ben Hill County.

Bo Dukes is already serving time after he was sentenced in Wilcox County in March 2019. This upcoming trial will focus solely on the crimes he allegedly committed in Ben Hill County in October 2005.
 
Update!!


Ryan is facing new charges in Ben Hill County

They list 4 charges:
six new charges against Duke, including concealing the death of another, hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, concealment of facts & tampering with evidence.

Do you know "what" the other 2 charges are? Do you have access to the Ben Hill County court site? If so, any hearing dates for Ryan?


I have for Bo - trial either on 6/22 or 6/27.
 

June 7, 2022

Atlanta-area attorneys for Ryan Duke are expected to file motions to dismiss a new indictment against their client.

Duke was found not guilty of murdering former teacher and beauty queen Tara Grinstead last month. But on Friday, he was indicted on new charges.
[.....]
Just days after an Irwin County jury found Duke not guilty of murder, a new indictment in a neighboring county accuses him of several more crimes including concealing a death and tampering with evidence in the 2005 death of Grinstead. They are crimes he admitted to on the stand in his murder trial.
[.....]
Thomas asked Holloway about the rules against charging someone twice in the same crime.

“You can commit the same crime over and over again in repeated ways,” Holloway said.

Holloway said since the crime allegedly happened in a different county, the same charge can be filed again.

Duke’s Atlanta area-based attorneys are expected to try and get the indictment dismissed, accusing prosecutors of waiting too long to file these latest charges.



Unfortunately no dates in the article for his next hearing....
 

6/9/22

Earlier this week, Duke was indicted on six counts for concealing Grinstead’s death, hindering apprehension, tampering and lying in Ben Hill County.

[..]

Duke’s defense team is making public several internal investigative reports it says shows authorities were told about the two years before their arrests -- as early as Nov. 8, 2005--- as volunteers were still searching for Grinstead.

“There were reports in 2005 when they searched (the) orchard. There were reports in 2006, in 2008, in 2016, in reports in early 2017,” Merchant said.

Prosecutors argue that because statute of limitations were halted or tolled during the pandemic, they still had just enough time to file these new charges.

A judge will likely set a hearing sometime this summer on the new charges and if they should be dismissed.
_____________________


Both Tara's home and the RD's trial were located in Irwin County. For some reason, I was under the impression that TG's body was first hidden in Irwin County orchard before BD/RD returned to burn the body but maybe the entire orchard is located in Ben Hill County.

On the face of the indictment, I have to agree with the defense that the new charges by a quickly assembled grand jury seem like revenge-- especially after the prosecutor's questioning of the defendant, RD, on the stand (see video at link), and also the response to jurors inquiry during deliberation about charges in Ben Hill County being time-barred. MOO


Tony Thomas
@TonyThomasWSB

Breaking : GBI digging in a Ben Hill County for the remains of Tara Grinstead. Authorities say some "evidence" has been found .
Image

12:09 PM · Feb 28, 2017·
 

I have no access to this article....

From the link dated 6/16/22:

OCILLA, Ga. — A state board decided not to grant parole to Ryan Duke after he was sentenced this month for concealing the body of Ocilla teacher Tara Grinstead.

Duke was found guilty of concealing Grinstead's death but was acquitted of murder charges. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
Duke has already served five years, the ruling by the board means he will serve the remaining five years of his sentence.

The other suspect in the Grinstead case, Bo Dukes had his trial pushed back in Ben Hill County.

The Ben Hill Court Clerk's office said the soonest the [Bo Dukes] trial can begin is in late September. It was initially reported it could happen as soon as June 22.

@Niner
 
Up and Vanished

Category: True Crime
Up and Vanished was created by Atlanta filmmaker Payne Lindsay. Season 1 of the podcast explored the 2005 disappearance of beauty queen and high school teacher Tara Grinstead from her home in Ocilla, Georgia. The cold case was the largest case file in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s history, with no arrests in 11 years.

Listen to the podcast on the Up and Vanished website, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
 
Just bumping up to see if any court dates have been set for these 2?

I know Bo's trial is supposed start late September - any June court dates? Like the ones that were mentioned for trial to start - like 6/22 or 6/27. I'd look but can't access Ben Hill County - here's the case #17CR-189.

He also has this one: Houston County #2019CR053334-1 thru -12 / that is the 2 ladies on New Year's eve 1/1/19 assaults.

and Ryan's case in Ben Hill County #22-CR-113

TIA if anyone can help! :)
 

August 10, 2022
Ryan Duke, the man who was acquitted for the murder of Tara Grinstead in May but currently serving time for concealing her death, will appear in his first hearing this month on his newest charges in Ben Hill County. Douglas Now recently spoke to Duke's defense counsel Ashleigh Merchant, who stated they were prepared to challenge the indictment, one they claim is time-barred due to the four-year statute of limitations.
[.....]
On June 30, a second motion was filed seeking the disqualification of Hart and Rigby from presiding over any prosecution in the case. The motion accused both Rigby and Hart of "violating their statutory and ethical duties in bringing the charges in Ben Hill County knowing they are time-barred" and claimed they were "necessary witnesses" to Ryan's plea in bar.

The motion states that on June 8, Ryan filed a Plea in Bar seeking dismissal of the indictment "in its entirety" due to the statute of limitations and said their team was "still investigating the conduct of the district attorneys given that the state represented in the indictment that the crime was unknown until February 19, 2017."
[.....]
On July 5, a hearing on Ryan's newest charges was held in Ben Hill County, with his counsel waiving his arraignment.

"We were not expecting any of this. We were all focused on parole, so it was definitely a big shock, but we're ready to challenge this," Merchant stated.

On August 30, Ryan will appear in court in Ben Hill County for his Plea in Bar at 9:00 a.m. DouglasNow will cover the proceeding and report the details that week.

Currently, Ryan is being held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, GA.
 
I am on vacation & leaving quite early tomorrow - so posting this now.

Tuesday, August 30th
*Plea in the Bar Hearing (@ 9am ET) - GA - Tara Faye Grinstead (29) (Oct. 22, 2005, Ocilla, still missing) – *Ryan Alexander Duke (21 @ time of crime/38) indicted (6/3/22) & arraigned (7/5/22 waived) with concealing the death of another, hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, 2 counts of concealment of facts & 2 counts of tampering with evidence & lying. Ben Hill County
Found not guilty 5/20/22 of murder, but guilty on concealing a death. Sentenced to 10 years.
6/3/22 Update: Duke, the man acquitted in the death of Tara, is facing six new charges in the case. On Friday, prosecutors in Ben Hill County presented six new charges against Duke, including concealing the death of another, hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, concealment of facts & tampering with evidence. Though Duke has already been convicted of concealing a death in Irwin County, he can still face the same charge in Ben Hill County. The six charges come with a maximum of a 45-year sentence if Ryan is found guilty.
6/6/22 Update: Atlanta-area attorneys for Ryan Duke are expected to file motions to dismiss a new indictment against their client. Duke was found not guilty of murdering Tara Grinstead last month. But on Friday, he was indicted on new charges. Defense attorneys for Duke have filed their response to a series of new charges in the Tara Grinstead case accusing the State of revenge prosecution. A judge will likely set a hearing sometime this summer on the new charges & if they should be dismissed.
6/16/22 Update: Duke denied parole. A State board decided not to grant parole to Duke after he was sentenced this month for concealing the body of Ocilla teacher Tara Grinstead. Duke was found guilty of concealing Grinstead's death but was acquitted of murder charges. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Duke has already served five years, the ruling by the board means he will serve the remaining five years of his sentence.
7/5/22 Update: On June 30, 2021, a second motion was filed seeking the disqualification of Hart & Rigby from presiding over any prosecution in the case. The motion accused both Rigby & Hart of "violating their statutory & ethical duties in bringing the charges in Ben Hill County knowing they are time-barred" & claimed they were "necessary witnesses" to Ryan's plea in bar. The motion states that on June 8, Ryan filed a Plea in Bar seeking dismissal of the indictment "in its entirety" due to the statute of limitations & said their team was "still investigating the conduct of the district attorney. On July 5, a hearing on Ryan's newest charges was held in Ben Hill County, with his counsel waiving his arraignment. "We were not expecting any of this. We were all focused on parole, so it was definitely a big shock, but we're ready to challenge this," Merchant stated. On 8/30/22 Ryan will appear in court in Ben Hill County for his Plea in Bar at 9:00am. Currently, Ryan is being held at the Georgia Diagnostic & Classification State Prison in Jackson, GA.
 

Sept. 2, 2022

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The man convicted of concealing the death of an Irwin County teacher and beauty queen in Wilcox County was denied a new trial.

Bo Dukes appealed his March 2019 conviction on Wilcox County charges for the death and disappearance of Tara Grinstead.

Dukes’ lawyers said the trial court should not have admitted his confessions and statements to investigators during the trial. In his appeal, Dukes’ lawyers also argued that his convictions should have been merged during sentencing.

The court said they found no error in Dukes’ trial or sentencing and denied a new trial or change of his 25-year sentence.
 

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