Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - JUSTICE! Beauty queen teacher Tara Grinstead murdered, body burned on pecan farm - inside the trial of Bo Dukes

Episode Date: March 22, 2019

More than 13 years after Tara Grinstead vanished from her Georgia home, the first trial related to her murder is conducted. Bo Dukes, the man who admitted he helped his friend, Ryan Duke, burned the beauty queen and teacher's body in a pecan orchard, was in a courtroom to face justice. Nancy Grace looks at the trial with a panel of experts including Dr. Maurice Godwin, the forensic pyschologist and private detective whose work was crucial to solving the case, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, Atlanta lawyer and juvenile judge Ashley Willcott, psychologist Caryn Stark, and Crime Stories reporter Robyn Walensky. Private investigator Vincent Hill also joins Nancy from the Wilcox County courthouse. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'm an 11th grade history teacher at Irwin County High School, and I just completed my first year teaching and I loved every bit of it. Tara Grinstead's disappearance from her home in Osceola, Georgia in 2005 made no sense to her friends, family and police. I knew something was wrong.

I knew that it was serious. I knew that something beyond her control had happened. In what became the largest missing persons case in Georgia history, investigators interviewed more than 100 people, friends, ex-boyfriends, anyone who had any relationship with Tara. In nearly 27 years with the Georgia Beard investigation, I've never encountered such a complex and difficult case. You are hearing our friends at CBS, that's Peter Van Zandt, talking about one of the biggest missing persons cases ever in the state. And a case that has hung over the heads of a small Georgia community when a brilliant high school teacher and beauty queen, Tara Grinstead, goes missing seemingly without a trace. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us with a big, big bombshell today. The case going forward on the man that police say burned Tara Grinstead's body for days until there was nothing left but ash. And I'm certainly going to be going to a forensics expert about how you burn down teeth and bones until there's nothing but ash. With me, an all-star lineup, Vincent Hill, cop turned PI, author of Playbook to a Murder, is at the courthouse. Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author, Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Dr. Maurice Godwin, special guest joining us, private investigator who worked Tara's case 13 years. Judge, lawyer, anchor at AshleyWilcott.com. Joining me, Ashley Wilcott, renowned psychologist out of Manhattan, Karen Stark at KarenStark.com. To Robin Walensky,

CrimeOnline.com, investigative reporter, author of Beautiful Life, CSI Behind, Casey Anthony Trial. Robin, did you ever think we would finally get to trial? Because there were times I did not. Yeah, I've been watching this case for years, and I agree with you. Whoever thought we would get to this place? But, you know, thank goodness for a glove that was found and DNA that was inside. And what's so odd, and I'm going to go straight out to Vincent Hill standing by at the courthouse. Vincent Hill, DNA was in a glove found in front of tara grinstead's home which was i recall touring her home with her mother and it

was absolutely beautiful but there were things out of place in her bedroom there was a necklace broken on the floor there was a a broken and out of place post on her four poster bed. Things were disarrayed. Her car, she was one of those neat freaks that kept the car perfect like it had just been bought. Even smelling new was covered in mud on the outside. And the driver's seat was pushed back to allow a man to drive. And even though there was DNA in in that latex glove that rubber glove they couldn't match it up the whole time the alleged killer was right under their noses in

the form of a duke d-u-k-e and a dukes d-u-k-e-s no relation that were her students tell me what's happening in the court vincent neal Jurors actually heard testimony about that glove, that latex glove that one of the GBI agents said was about five feet from Tara's front porch. And they had a forensic biologist who testified about how she used Tara's toothbrush to match her DNA to that glove, as well as they collected an unknown at the time male DNA.

And we heard testimony, Nancy, that over 200 people were tested for DNA. Joining me at the courthouse, Vincent Hill, cop turned PI and author. Vincent Hill, tell me about the jury. Who's on the jury? Nancy, the jury's made up of seven women and five men. They're very attentive of what's going on in the case. They're watching Bo Dukes during the testimony. They're actually watching videos and watching GBI demonstrate, Nancy, how they actually went about excavating the fire pit where they believe Tara Grinstead's remains were found.

So that was a pretty powerful point in testimony inside that courtroom, Nancy, when they were watching the GBI agent actually demonstrate how he was able to find those bones. Well, tell me, how was he able to find the bones, Benson? Yeah, Nancy. So he used a tool. He called it a rod, and that's basically what it looks like. And it goes into the ground and it hits on what they believe to be bones and they actually had buckets inside the courtroom as well as the actual photographs from the scene in the pecan orchard where they had the buckets that were marked and they showed the buckets that had bones they actually showed bone fragments and teeth, again, which they believe belong to Tara Grinstead.

Wow. To Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert. Joe Scott, how do you match teeth back up to the person for a DNA match? Well, you have to be able to go in and find what's referred to as viable pulp in the tooth itself to drill into it. If it is viable still, Nancy, you mentioned early on that they had attempted to render down her body through heat over a protracted period of time. And sometimes even though the teeth can be the final encasement of DNA, they can be compromised if the outer shell of enamel is cracked and the teeth are worn down. So it's a daunting task.

Well, I just don't know if they can get DNA out of it this much later. Let me go back to Vincent Hill joining me at the courthouse. Vincent, could they make a DNA match from Tara's teeth? Or had they been so badly burned, you couldn't do it? From what I understand, through testimony, Nancy, it been so badly burned you couldn't do it? From what I understand through testimony Nancy it was too badly burned to determine if those remains were actually Tara Grinstead but I believe the GBI is going on the statements between both Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes that hey we burned her remains here therefore GBI is pretty certain based on that that those are

Tara Grinstead's remains. Well, let me go to Ashley Wilcott, judge, lawyer. You can find her at AshleyWilcott.com. Ashley, here's the thing. Of course it's Tara Grinstead's teeth. What other human teeth are you going to find out in the pecan orchard in the exact spot where this let me just say idiot who goes along at best who goes along with disposing of this teacher's body and i'd like to know why she was butt naked lying there dead at the time he saw her but of course it's her teeth who's other who else's teeth could

it be ashley oh I agree with you completely. And so here's the tragedy in this case. Not only that it happened, but when you put all the evidence together, of course it's her teeth. We have statements. Remember, they played in court an audio statement made by Bo Dukes admitting to where the body was buried. And like you said, Nancy, it's the same place where they found those teeth. You know, back to you, Vincent Hill, joining me at the courthouse,

the Tara Grinstead trial underway. Right now, the man who admitted he helps dispose of the missing teacher's body after his classmate strangles her dead, says it took two days for her remains to burn until there was nothing left but ash. But they did find the remains of teeth. Vincent Hill, how does Bo Dukes explain his involvement?

Nancy, he says that Ryan Duke called him and said, I effed up and I need your help. I need to use your truck. And then he goes on to say that he saw Tara Grinstead's naked body. He said the only thing she was wearing was a belly ring and he saw bruises around the neck. And he and Ryan loaded her body into the truck and took it out to that field to dispose of it. And he talked about in that video statement he gave to GBI that they burned her body for over two days. Okay, you know what?

Let me ask some pointed questions. Vincent Hill, when did Duke say he first saw Tara Grinstead's body? That was after Ryan called him. I believe he said it was on that Sunday evening. And Ryan called him. He saw the body. The body was naked. He talked about how Ryan told him he had dumped her purse and her identification in a dumpster at a convenience store. And they then loaded her body into his truck, took it out to the pecan field and set it on fire for two days. Take a listen to our friend at WSB, Craig Lucey. That soldier testified

that he reported to police multiple times that Dukes told him that he was involved in hiding the body of Tara Grinstead. He took the stand for a long time today, wiping away tears at times and said Bo Dukes told him during Christmas break that he had messed up and he needed his help. You had made multiple repeated calls to local law enforcement. Yes, sir. That is John McCullough on the stand Tuesday in a Wilcox County courtroom in South Georgia. He went to basic training with Bo Dukes, the man accused of OF TARYN GRINSTED'S BODY IN 2005. MCCULLOUGH TESTIFIED ABOUT A CONVERSATION HE HAD WITH BOW DUKES, AND HE TRIED REPORTING

IT OVER AND OVER. I COULDN'T GET NOBODY TO LISTEN. HE SAID HE FINALLY CALLED THE GBI, WHICH LED TO THIS RECORDING. HE ASKED FOR THE TRUCK, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT DUDE WAS UPSET, YOU KNOW, AND SAID, HEY, MAN, YOU KNOW, I accidentally killed her. That's what the buddy told Bo, I accidentally killed her? Yes. McCullough testified that Bo Dukes told him his friend Ryan Duke killed the former beauty queen.

You know, he killed that girl on the bulletin board in a candy bar in my truck, and, you know, he was upset. Then he said something even more disturbing. He was like, you know, it takes over 1,200 degrees to burn human bone, you know. And he said that a couple of times. In that interview, Dukes tells investigators that Ryan Duke is the one that killed Grinstead. Apparently, he broke into her house and strangled her on her bed, then used Bo Dukes's truck to dump her body on a pecan farm owned by Bo Duke's uncle. Here's WMAZ reporter Chelsea Beamfor. Duke says that

Ryan took him to that site where the body was dumped three days after it happened. He takes you to this wheelchair and is the body covered up with anything? Is it clothed? No, it was not clothed at all and it wasn't covered up with anything. He was standing face up, pitting his knee out of his ass. Now, Bo also tells investigators in the interview that he felt compelled to cooperate during their 2017 meeting because he had been keeping this a secret for a long time and it had begun to weigh on him. Dukes denied any involvement in the case during a 2016 interview with the GBI. Now though Bo told investigators that he felt like he couldn't talk to a therapist, he later admits in the interview that he told at least a half dozen people about his involvement in the case including his ex-wife and a cousin.

On trial right now, a man admits he helps dispose of a missing teacher, a beauty queen, working on her master's degree, naked body, after his long-ago high school classmate strangles her dead, saying it took two days for Tara Grinstead's remains to burn until there was nothing left but ash. At the courthouse, Vincent Hill joining me now to the expert who's worked on the case for over 13 years, private investigator Dr. Maurice Godwin. Dr. Godwin, thank you for being with us. I mean, when I look at Bo Dukes and Ryan Duke, they're like two idgits. I know. I mean, and to think, after all these years, what it boiled down to was Ryan Duke breaking into Tara Grinstead's home with a credit card. I mean, I can do that for Pete's sake. Credit card or driver's license. And goes in looking for money for drugs. It was never more complicated than that, Dr.

Godwin. That's right, but I believe Bo was there with him. Tell me what you believe happened. I believe Bo is more involved in this murder. I just don't think the UBI can place him in the house and that's one of the main problems and they just can't prove it well tell me what you think happened based on the testimony we're hearing I think Ron went into the house I think he confronted her and it was something that's not been mentioned yet is that her landline corolla's phone was found in the bathroom along with a pair of panties found in the bathroom i think that ryan was chasing her and she was trying to hide hide in the bathroom and he pushed on the door and got her out of the bathroom and beat her and killed her, and then got the truck, got her, put her in the truck,

and carried her back to Ben Hill County, and then got both. That's what he's saying. To Ashley Wolcott, judge, lawyer, anchor, Ashley, it's, it's, I don't know really how to say it. How did this stump police and GBI for so long? I mean, they were in her class. They left DNA in a plastic glove in the front yard. Listen, you know, I support law enforcement a thousand percent. However, having said that, there's an admission by a GBI agent that says, you know what? These two individuals' names were associated with this case some time ago, and he assumed local police had chased it down. They hadn't.

And so there were some oversights, and I think that's why this had not been tracked down sooner and solved sooner. Well, what I don't understand to Dr. Maurice Godwin, who's been on the case over 13 years, if their sole intention was to go in to steal things to get drug money, why was she naked? I don't think robbery was the motive. I think it was sexual assault. And I think her body was destroyed to cover up any forms of sexual assault and I think she was her body was destroyed to cover up uh any forms of sexual assault to Vincent Hill joining me in the courthouse what about that Vincent yeah you know Nancy I thought that as well but however Bo Dukes during his uh video statement to the GBI said he asked Ryan was raped the motive from Ryan said no it wasn't that he was just going there to get stuff for drugs but

that could be a viable point Nancy that her body was destroyed to get rid of the evidence of a sexual assault. To Robin Walensky also on the story crimeonline.com investigative reporter crime online you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news what about it Robin? Yeah I personally believe that there was a sexual assault because why else would you be burning this woman's body? You're burning the body to cover up any DNA evidence that was left after he most likely attacked her. Keep in mind, Nancy, you know, we talk about her as a beauty queen. Look at her picture. Look at her face. She was so beautiful, very fit, very thin, wore always wore program. She was meticulous about her things and she was

meticulous about her grooming. Take a listen to opening statements in that courtroom. This case is about Bo's secret. Bo's secret that he kept for Ryan. It's about his secret that he helped Ryan destroy, burn, and dispose of her body. The secret that he kept here in Wilcox County when he spoke with A.J. Shedell on June 15, 2016.

This case is about Bo's lies. Lies that lasted from 2005 to 2016. It's about Bo's cover-up. It's about Bo's concealment that his best friend Ryan had killed Terry Grinston and then they both burned the body. It is about Bo's pecan wood and his family's pecan orchard that burns hot at 1200 degrees. Where it burned the bones, burns the flesh, and burned the bones to ashes. After you've heard the evidence in this case, state will approve of you beyond reason that this defendant is guilty of all wrongdoings. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

Did he say that they burned the body? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It sucks. Well, I remember when you called it in, you were like, you know, I don't know if this is true or not. You know, I need to get this off my chest. You've been, you know, because you told me that you saw something on the Internet and you looked it up and you were like, wow, I thought that case would have been solved way back then, and it wasn't. That's what prompted you to call the first time. You know, I mean, I originally, I originally called, you know, way, like way before just to, Hey, you know, what, what, what's going on with this and, you know, stuff like that, you know, and that was probably in, uh, 2008 ish or late in February in 2008, not police Bo in 2008 and now? Police department. Do you remember who? What police department? I want to say it was the one that was in Osceola. It was either Osceola or Fitzgerald but it was a local police department and I was just asking questions and then it kind

of went to nowhere and then I was just like okay well I'm gonna get things things nobody wants to talk to me. There you hear on the stand a former army buddy of Bo Dukes, John McCullough, under oath, saying Bo Dukes told him about covering up Tara Grinstead's murder back in 2006, and he went to police. Nothing happened. Straight out to Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, weigh in. Hey, Nancy, let me tell you something. If you're talking about burning a body, this is an 1,300 degrees to 1,800 degrees of sustained

burning over a protracted period of time. That's where the natural gas supply in an oven, literally, where the body is rendered down. Now, you've got these guys outdoors in an open pit. Now, just like the prosecutor had said a moment ago, they're using pecan wood, and pecan wood burns very hot. But still, you've got this open source, so you're bleeding energy. They would have had to stay out there for a long protracted time to render her body down. And you know what else, Nancy? This case reminds me of another very, very famous case in Georgia criminal history going back decades and decades. Murr and Coweta County. That's a seminal case where a man had to have his hired men tend a fire for two to three days to burn and render down a body to get it to the point where they could dispose of it.

Another case like this happened in Georgia. To Karen Stark, psychologist, you can find her at karenstark.com. You know, Karen, we're all talking about the temperature to burn a body, the forensics aspect of this. It's really inside baseball to experts. But what this boils down to is this beautiful young history teacher who is a mentor to other girls a beauty queen working on her master's degree was brutally I believe raped and murdered in her own home minding her own business. And Karen, it has upset me no end to hear other people

on air, and I will not name names because it's not about them. It's about her suggesting she had gone to some big party that she had broken up with her boyfriend and she was single and ready to mingle and got drunk or high and ended up dead. I hate that. I hate it. I hate it. Because on top of everything else that has happened, people are dragging her name through the mud. And as it turns out, she was home alone after a barbecue put on by school officials, came straight home and went to bed.

That is what happened, Karen Stark. This is a typical case of blaming the victim. They eliminated being able to do that in court a long time ago when they used to talk about the way women dressed, remember? Oh, yeah. And how it was too provocative. And here we go with somebody, a beautiful woman, who really was a mentor to other girls, who did good deeds,

and she was, I believe with you, raped, punished, killed, because she was beautiful. And everyone is trying to put the blame on her and her lifestyle lifestyle which makes absolutely no sense it's horrendous to dr maurice godwin private investigator has worked on the case over 13 years what's your take on what's happening in court well i don't i think the evidence the dna on the glove touch dna or as far as is concerned, they can't rule him out.

But as far as Bo is concerned, he admitted to burning the body, so he admitted to being there. So I think the evidence is strong for conviction in Bo's case. To Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Robin, who is on the jury tell me about jury the jury selection there are seven women who've been selected in five men and from all accounts they are paying attention you and i have been to trials where you have people that are not taking notes i can can remember very clearly at the Casey Anthony trial,

some of the jurors looked lost in space, if you will. But I really believe that these jurors are paying very close attention to the testimony. They watched that videotape police where he lets it rip and he you know details his involvement in the case and from all accounts the jury this particular jury is paying attention and taking notes let's take a listen to the gbi confession of tara grinstead's former student, right on 129. Did he use a purse? Sure.

Anything else, were there clothes? I can't remember what he said about the clothes. Whether he left them at our house or, well, I can't remember exactly. And he never told you why he did it? I mean... No, he never... Why, huh? Never said why or... And he never told you why he did it? I mean, why earlier?

He never said why or... I mean, even to this day, he's never disclosed why? No. So he stops at the lodge amount before he goes to the orchard. Keys, purse, maybe clothes, I'm not sure. Then drives to the orchard. He said he's only been there a couple times. Robin Walensky, I mean, he couldn't be more clear about what happened.

You know, Nancy, here's the thing. Bo Duke's in this GBI confession. He actually puts himself at the pecan orchard. His uncle owns the property. He had been there a couple of times. And he actually says that he sees Tara's naked body face up with bugs on it, with actual ants crawling on her. He takes you to this wheelchair, and is the body covered up with anything?

Is it clothed? No, it was not clothed at all. And it wasn't covered up with anything. It was like face up and some meat on your ass. Okay, but you could like just see it unless you... I mean, if you were walking by, you'd see it, but, like, just... Like, if you were walking over here,

you probably couldn't be able to see it, right? No, I can't. I mean, but if you were... It wouldn't be too far away, you could see it. Okay. I mean, maybe two rows over. And you said he was laying face up? Yeah. Did you know who was laying face up? Yep.

Did you know who it was by looking at the bottle? Yeah, yes. I mean, he had already told me who it was. I guess I was already expecting that. And you had it for a class still resembling her? Yeah, I mean, it was discolored. I mean, I guess

wanted to put a little bit of finance on it. A Georgia man admits he helped dispose of a beautiful young teacher's body after his long ago high school classmate strangled her dead, saying it took two days for her body to burn until there was nothing left but ash.

That's Beauduc's gut-wrenching testimony talking about being out in the middle of a pecan orchard and seeing Tara's body face up with ants crawling on her. I can only imagine what her mother, her wonderful mother, is going through hearing this testimony about her little girl. Because, you know, I tell the twins they're not taller than me, but they, John David is, and Lucy's getting there, but they're my babies. I can't even stand when they get a scrape on their knee, much less hearing this to judge, lawyer and anchor and mom, Ashley Wilcott. What about it, Ash? Yeah, I completely agree with you. And here's the thing. Dukes is charged with three different counts, two counts of making false statements, one count of hindering the apprehension of a criminal and one count of concealing a death. I think, and I've been following the trial, listening to the testimony, to me, the video that you just

played and that the jury has seen would convict him of these things. So it's a really interesting case to hear. What is this defense going to possibly argue? Take a listen to our friends at WFXL Fox 31. The Georgia Bureau investigation was called in on day one. Gary Rothwell and his team at the GBI are now handling the investigation. We didn't have any sign of forced entry. There's no sign of struggle, but that's not to say that, you know, something could have happened. Investigators then began trying to account for Tara's movements that Sunday night. It culminated in her attending what we would refer to as maybe a barbecue with some friends of hers not too far away from her house.

And she left that barbecue shortly after 10.30 and has not been accounted for yet. Before that barbecue, Tara stopped at a beauty pageant in Fitzgerald. Noah Griffin is one of the pageant organizers. He remembers seeing his friend that day. It was one of the things I was asked, you know, did she seem depressed? Did she seem upset? Not to me at all. I mean, she was very just like everyday Tara.

Advising in beauty pageants was one of several responsibilities Tara juggled on top of being a full-time teacher. She done pageants. She coached girls. She done hair. She done makeup. She was a student at night. I mean, you know, she was just always on the go.

Question, why do you believe Karen Stark psychologist, karenstark.com, anyone would go along with a scheme to dispose of a lady's naked body, plus a teacher that taught you in high school. Why would you go along with that? It makes you wonder how much he really was involved. To me, anyway, Nancy, it seems as though maybe she was his teacher. She was his teacher, but perhaps he had a crush on her all these years. Maybe both of them were really interested in molesting her or trying to have sex with her and something went wrong. I just can't imagine that he would just say, sure, let me help you dispose of this body. I'm a good friend. It makes no sense. Take a listen to that GBI confession played for the jury. I asked him exactly what had happened.

He told me later that night, after everybody had gone, the driver had gone to sleep. He drove the fish trailer, drove to the house, and he said it was late, very late that night. He didn't use the credit card to get into the front door. He jumped on her while she was in with it and strung her right there. And then he had moved her body with a truck. I don't know if it was front seat or back seat. He was a truck.

Yes. He was using my truck. He didn't have if it was front seat or back seat. You were there? Yes. He was in my truck. He didn't have a big little tub. And then he driven back to Fisher over the stopping at the at that at that dumpster behind the road, right?

Okay. And then to the orchard. He had only been there a few times. I'm surprised he didn't go out and play. Well, there you hear from the horse's mouth. Because, you know, a cop can testify to it. A witness can testify to a confession. But in this day and age, so many times juries, they just don't believe it.

I remember arguing to juries with me, my partner in crime, Jackie Howard, here in the studio. Alan, joining me from L.A. Alan, I've argued a million times to a jury. What do you want, a video? Well, I don't have a video. But in this case, they had the confession on audio and video. And I believe that that is what turned the tide, because they could see he wasn't beaten into a confession, tricked into a confession, forced into a confession. He gave the confession freely. And I believe that is why we have a verdict today. Well, he said that he wanted to get this off of his chest, that it was a big burden

for him to carry all that dozen or so years. And so he got the chance to do it with a GBI agent. But I think he was hoping there would be a plea deal that would keep him out of prison. But of course, keep him out of prison. He spoiled Duke. I mean, what did you drink, the defense Kool-Aid? Keep him out of prison? What do you mean he spoiled it? He had a plea deal. He told the truth. He was cooperating initially with the GBI,

and there was the anticipation he was going to get this deal. But, you know, he messed it all up. I mean, good grief, this guy actually went on the run just a couple of months ago on a rape charge. And sodomy, I might add. Let's don't leave the sodomy out of that yeah you know what that messed up his whole deal he had a deal in the works he would testify in exchange for a lighter sentence then he goes on the run he jumps bail he allegedly commits a rape and a sodomy while he's on the run and so the whole deal was off. And as a result, the deal was off for lenient treatment and the state had this confession.

So in my mind, that's what turned the tide, Alan Duke. Yes. And what is interesting to me and I know to you, after all of these years of wondering what happened to Tara, we got new information on what happened. And now this is just like the pregame because in two weeks from now, we have the Ryan Duke murder trial and it will all come out. Long story short, for those of you just joining us, there is a verdict in the Tara Grinstead case. You know, I understand that the head of the government in New Zealand is not saying a word about the name of the mass shooter. I feel the same way about the cases I tried and covered. I never refer to them as the quote OJ Simpson case. I refer to it as the Nicole Brown case because it's all about the victim.

And this is about Tara Grinstead. Well, Bo Dukes, who did not take the stand to defend himself during his trial, the jury heard plenty of him, including two conflicting conversations with a GBI investigator. After hearing him confess on the stand, it took that jury less than one hour to convict Duke on four counts, including two counts of false statement, hindering apprehension of a criminal, and concealing the death of another. That death, the beautiful, the talented Tara Grinstead. And in the last hour, Bo Dukes sentenced to 25 years behind bars. And can I say, number one, that's too light.

And number two, that's just a pit stop on his trip to hell. It was a remarkable sentencing hearing, hearing too today with Connie Grinstead. That's the stepmother of Tara Grinstead speaking for the family. And let's listen to it. October 2005 was the beginning of one of the most painful journeys that I think any family could ever be faced with. And the defendant was right in the middle of it. We know he wasn't charged with Tara's murder but for over 11 years he watched all of us who loved her suffer unimaginable pain and heartache as we frantically searched for her and prayed that by some miracle we might find her

alive. He watched innocent people's lives turned upside down because they were falsely accused. He watched whole communities in turmoil because Tara was missing, Osceola where she lived and worked, her hometown of Hawkinsville, and even areas beyond. What he didn't see was the fear in the eyes of the young children in our family who were afraid to even go outside and play because they thought if somebody took Tara,

they might take me too. What he didn't see was my elderly mother who lived in an assisted living home and who would sit every day with her face in her hands, worried and upset because we couldn't find Tara. When the workers would ask her what was wrong, she would say, I'm just so worried about Tara. My mother had a stroke and died 28 days after Tara disappeared. The workers in that home told me they fully believed the stress of Tara's disappearance brought on that stroke that ended her life in a matter of hours. I wasn't even able to be with my mother during the

last days of her life to comfort her because we were out looking for Tara, doing everything we needed to do to find her. So I have to live with that sadness every day too that I could not be there for her at a time when she needed me the most. What he didn't see was the days and nights that we were so overcome with grief we could barely function. The sadness that I still see in her daddy's eyes over losing his little girl breaks my heart. And while all of those situations I just described were taking place, he did nothing. He just went on living his life not caring about the pain he had caused to others. He knew she was never coming back. He could have at least told us that,

but he didn't. 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. He tried to make sure there would be nothing left of her. What kind of person does that to another human being? He underestimated how much she meant to so many people, and he underestimated her family and her friends and the fact that we would never give up. Tara was a wonderful person. She was a great teacher. She always tried to help her students reach their full potential. She was a hard worker and still a student herself.

She had accomplished so much in her young life but she still had dreams and goals that she was working towards. Now all we can do is hold her dreams in our hearts because we will never see her fulfill them. His selfish, evil acts have hurt so many people and changed our lives forever. But our words here today, and even what the court of public opinion thinks of him, should not really be what matters most to him. What should matter the very most is what God sees

when he looks into his heart. Tara's dad and I respectfully ask that this court give him the maximum sentence. And then, Beauduc's, the man convicted of burning Tara's corpse, then keeping quiet about who killed her, addressed the court. To the Tara Hriste family, I'm truly sorry. Your long suffering has been unimaginable. My actions are cowardly, callous, and cruel. I was more interested in self-pity and self-preservation than doing the right thing for Tara and for you. I pray for your forgiveness. I apologize to those who were cast in a cloud of suspicion for so long. Reputations with their friends and family destroyed.

I can never undo that damage and I sincerely apologize to the local communities. I'm sorry for the years of uncertainty of suspicion and mistrust placed even on law enforcement community by my actions. I apologize to my own family, to my mother, to Brooke Sheridan and to her family. My actions and failures I'm responsible for alone. I failed Tara Grinstead. I failed her family. I failed the local community. And I hope these proceedings have given some closure to the many people hurt by my actions, and I want each of you to know that I am truly remorseful. And I expect we'll hear from both Dukes again next month as the murder trial for Ryan Duke begins in Osceola, Georgia.

And as Alan Duke just told you, in two weeks, the actual killer in my mind, Ryan Duke, is on trial for murder. May they both rot in hell. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.