Up and Vanished - The Trial Series: Confession

Episode Date: February 18, 2019

This week we dig into Ryan’s confession to the GBI - the drug use, the discussion board leak, and the bond hearing bombshells. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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questions or concerns about your gambling or someone else close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. It's kind of shed some light onto some things that was talked about previously, like those confessions that come out.

Him and I talked about that during our phone conversations. Then he told me he was on drugs, and he didn't remember hardly anything about it. He went up there and told me what Bo had told him. So he said he was going to go up there and tell that story or whatever. And then they asked him about somebody. Just threw him off guard a little bit. Do I think it's like what actually happened? You know, I don't know.

I really don't. I'd like to think it's not. Then again, I'd like to think, how can you make all this stuff up, you know? I'd say I think certain pieces of it may be true. I think certain pieces of it may not be true. He said at one point during it, he just told me, just ask Bo. You know, because he didn't know. He didn't know the go to bed. Where is Tara Grinstead?

From Tenderfoot TV in Atlanta, this is Up and Vanished, the investigation of Tara Grinstead. I'm your host, Payne Lindsey. Ryan Duke confessed to the murder of Tara Grinstead in the presence of the GBI on February 22, 2017. Since then, there have been so many questions. But a few months ago, in December 2018, somebody leaked Ryan Duke's confession on the Up and Vantage discussion board. For the first time, there was a story, from start to end, an account of what happened on the night of October 22, 2005. The very first official publication to release Ryan's confession was the Osceola Star. They printed it on December 4th, 2018. After that, the floodgates opened. Our team went down

to Osceola to talk to Luke Roberts, the current editor at the Osceola Star. We wanted to know what it was like to make that kind of decision. It's almost like a weekly thing here. I think I have gone about three weeks now without there being anything about this. I'm pretty excited about that. Everybody's about to add their wits in. There's still so much rumor and innuendo

connected to it and probably always will be that it doesn't even matter when it does end. There's certain things, blogs and things like that, don't have the same ethics that like, you know, true journalists have. So, where some people, you know, National Enquirer types or whatever, just to use an example, they can cross a line, you know, that proverbial line, and you know, dip a toe, hell, they can completely step over it if they want to. With us, I can tiptoe that line, but I can't dip a toe over there.

So with me, I mean, obviously if I have something verified with sources and stuff, that's fair game. The rumor and the innuendo is separating it sometimes becomes tricky. Obviously this thing's controversial here, and obviously because so little has been released there is sort of a the unknown and and you know what if this happened what if that happened you anytime you start buying into things like that though that's where like me personally I could get

steered off where I would cross a line so I don't worry about it just from an ethical standpoint that's just as long as we follow what we're supposed to do anyway, then there's no problem with it. But in my line of work with everything as it is, I can't guess. I can't hypothesize. It doesn't matter if 10 people tell me the rumor. I can put it out there in a way, but it's got to be worded in a way that protects me,

protects the publication, and protects really my reputation. Because, you know, if my name's attached to it, then it's going to be there. The confession, for instance, you know, that was released, and nobody really did anything with that for a couple of days. Well, we were the first people to actually print it and put it out there. The reason for that was I was able to confirm that. There's nothing that can be questioned with that.

You know, I've spoke with his attorneys and obviously they weren't excited about it being released. But, you know, I mean, I had somebody, a pretty high ranking official official Basically tell me that that was gonna come out anyway that doesn't harm anybody's case one way or the other You know whether it be the state, you know in their prosecution of the case or the defense and you know him getting his his rightful defense and granted There was somewhat of a roll of the dice with it because people are, they can't exactly comment on certain things. However, when you've been doing this as long as I, I've seen thousands of GBI documents.

Then with the stories you hear, and then you make a couple calls, and maybe they don't say, yes, that's what it is, but there's questions that can be asked and answers that can be provided that lead you in the correct direction. And so I never wavered on that one. After we did that, it did start sort of coming out. You know, it being published on the Internet is different from it showing up in like a media organization. I mean, that angered some folks, but for the most part, folks were glad that we even went out there and did something like that.

something like that. For those of you who haven't read Ryan Duke's confession, I've asked Rob to read the manuscript verbatim. Keep in mind, this is a pretty long document, so we trimmed a few parts that were either redundant or less significant to the story. Also note that Ryan didn't give his confession in chronological order, so his story jumps around a little. On Tuesday, February 21st, 2017, at approximately 3.35 p.m., Special Agent Jason Shadel and Special Agent Madison Holland were located in Osceola, Irwin County, Georgia, for the purpose of attempting to locate and interview Ryan Alexander Duke. Upon knocking on the door, Special Agent Shadel

made contact with a white male who identified himself as Ryan Duke. Special Agent Shadel spoke briefly with Duke about the possibility of him coming to the Osceola Police Department for an interview regarding an older case which the GBI was investigating. At no time was Tara Grinstead's name ever mentioned during the initial meeting.

Duke was extremely nervous as his hands, feet, and lip began shaking and quivering. Duke seemed apprehensive about any interview on this date. On Wednesday, February 22, 2017, at approximately 12.52 p.m., Special Agent Jason Shadel and Special Agent Madison Holland were located at the Osceola Police Department for the purpose of interviewing Ryan Alexander Duke. It should be noted, Duke was brought to this location by his mother, Karen O'Neill, and stepfather William O'Neill voluntarily. Special Agent Shadel questioned Duke as to whether or not he was under the influence of any alcohol or drugs. Duke said he had taken a pain pill earlier in the morning. However, the taking of his medication did not impede his judgment or ability to provide any voluntary statements at that time.

Special Agent Shadel did not note any signs of impairment to Duke during the interview. Ryan's potential drug use during the confession has been a little controversial. We'll explore this more later on in the episode. has been a little controversial. We'll explore this more later on in the episode. Special Agent Shadel questioned Duke about his knowledge of why the GBI would want to talk with him. Duke responded by saying he knew the interview was concerning Ms. Grinstead. Duke then responded by saying, I was involved with it, man. Duke said he was a drug addict when Grinstead disappeared, and he used to break into

people's houses for money to support his addiction. Duke said he was drunk and high and possibly didn't remember everything, but he broke into Grinstead's house and was attempting to steal from her purse when he believed she came up behind him and may have even said something when he struck her with his fist. Duke did not mean to strike Grinstead, but he was just reacting and scared. Duke said he ran from her house because he was frightened. Duke said he was tired of living with himself and what he had done to Grinstead. Duke said it was easy to just pop the lock on Grinstead's door, which was how he entered

her residence. Duke said, I know I'm going to prison. I waive my rights to a lawyer. I'm willing to cooperate fully. Duke confirmed the timing of the incident at the time Grinstead went missing. Duke's parents did not know of the incident, nor did anyone else. Duke said again, Grinstead died when he hit her. Duke said he left after the initial incident with Grinstead, then returned alone.

Duke confirmed Beau Dukes assisted him in cremating Grinstead's body. Duke did not remember seeing or cleaning up any blood. Duke got to Grinstead's residence by stealing Beau's white Ford F-150 pickup truck and driving. Beau did not know Duke had taken his truck until several days later. Duke said the break-in and subsequent killing of Grinstead was a completely random act. Duke did not know it was Grinstead's residence until after the incident. act. Duke did not know it was Grinstead's residence until after the incident. Duke never had any contact with Grinstead, intentional or unintentional. Duke said he went back home, obtained latex gloves and a quilt blanket, then drove back to Grinstead's residence. Duke again said he was completely alone when doing that. Upon re-entering the residence, Duke said Grinstead's body was still laying on the floor.

Duke checked for a pulse on Grinstead, but could not locate one. Duke wrapped Grinstead's body into the quilt blanket and placed her into the back of Bo's truck. Duke did not remove any of Grinstead's clothing as Beau described in the interview, but Duke did confirm throwing Grinstead's purse and keys into a dumpster in Fitzgerald. Grinstead's body was driven to a field in Fitzgerald where Duke dumped it. Duke went home and told Beau what he had done.

However, Beau did not initially believe Duke. Duke said the glove located at Grinstead's residence after the incident should have his DNA on it, but Duke also said it may not because he didn't remember really using gloves during the incident. A couple of days after the incident, Duke told Bo again he killed Grinstead, and Bo still seemed reluctant to believe him. Bo again he killed Grinstead, and Bo still seemed reluctant to believe him. Bo drove Duke to the location in the orchard slash field where he had left Grinstead's body and at Duke's direction. Upon entering the orchard, Grinstead's body was still in the same location as where Duke

had left it. After asking for help, Bo assisted Duke with disposing of Grinstead's body. Bo and Duke obtained several truckloads of wood from a shed on the property and cremated Grinstead's body over several days. Duke said he had never hurt anyone else before or after Grinstead. Duke said he had been carrying around the guilt of what he had done for a long time now, and it had been carrying around the guilt of what he had done for a long time now, and it had been bothering him. Duke had multiple prior suicide attempts, which he claimed hindered his ability to remember certain events. Duke would not openly acknowledge he choked or strangled Grinstead as

Bo had described. However, Duke did say several times it was possible that it had happened. Duke stopped at the now G&G convenience store just down the road from Grinstead's residence and called 411 to connect him to Grinstead's home residence. No one answered the telephone when he called. It should be noted, the calling of 411 from a payphone was discovered by GBI agents in 2005 and had never been disclosed to anyone else in law enforcement or the media. The fact Duke knew about the telephone call was guilty knowledge only known by GBI in guilty persons.

Duke was hoping Grinstead would have been alive and possibly answered the phone. The time of the call was just about sunrise on that morning. After the phone call, Duke drove straight to Grinstead's residence. Duke described carrying Grinstead's body out of the house with his arms out front. It should be noted, Duke seemed to have a very emotional response to carrying Grinstead out of the house, crying and saying, she was so small. Duke said, I know I destroyed the family. I used drugs and alcohol to cope with what I did. I've been tired about this a long time. I was a coward, or I would have told this a long time ago, and I cannot take it back, and I am ashamed of my behavior and hiding

the lie. Duke called himself a dumbass kid who was just scared. Duke also said, I'm sorry for the pain I've caused. I took her life, robbed her of a chance to get married and have children, growing old, and she didn't deserve that, and there's nothing I can do to change it. This part of the interview with Duke was concluded at 2.19pm. It should be noted, Duke was afforded the opportunity to use the restroom and eat or drink, all of which he denied. The interview with Duke was resumed at 2.42pm. Duke was notified he was being placed under arrest. Duke acknowledged the fact that he was being arrested and said he expected it. Duke said, I could have lied, but my family and their children would have to live with this.

Duke said he didn't deserve any relationships anymore. Duke said, I killed her. It's my fault. anymore. Duke said, I killed her. It's my fault. Duke said he has anxiety and panic attacks now. Duke said the entire incident with Grinstead from start to finish took approximately six hours to complete. Duke directed Special Agent Shadel to turn into a drive with a white fence. North of Fitzgerald, Duke directed Special Agent Shadel to a corner of the pecan orchard. Duke saw two sheds on the property and indicated those were the locations of the wood they used to burn Grinstead's body. Duke pointed to an area near the northeast corner of the orchard and said it was the initial location where he dumped Grinstead's body the first time. was the initial location where he dumped Grinstead's body the first time. It should be noted,

the location area indicated by Duke as the first Grinstead dump site was identical to Bo Duke's description of the area when he was brought out there by Duke. Special Agent Shadel and Special Agent Holland exited the vehicle with Duke at that time. Duke attempted to show Special Agent Shadel the exact location. However, after walking around for several minutes, Duke was unable to point out the exact location. Duke said everything had changed too much for him to remember, and he had not been back to the location since Grinstead was burned. At the conclusion of the interview, Duke was booked into the Irwin County Jail and charged with the murder of Tara Grinstead.

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please contact connects Ontario at 1 8866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to any operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Hey, I'm Tom Power. I'm the host of the CBC podcast, Q with Tom Power. I get to talk to artists from all over the world, writers, musicians, actors, directors, all kinds of creative people. Thank you. to have these conversations. Cue with Tom Power. Available now on Spotify. During the Up and Vanish TV special, I spoke to Karen O'Neill, Ryan's mother, and she told me that Ryan had taken morphine the morning of his confession. Ryan's current defense team is particularly concerned about this fact. Here's the excerpt from the show so you can hear it from Karen's perspective. Keep in mind, this was all recorded when Ryan was represented by public defender John Mobley.

I've been talking to Ryan Duke's mother, Karen O'Neill, throughout my investigation. But a few days ago, she went silent. I'm hoping I can get her opinion when she sees me in person. The destination is on your left. You've arrived. Hey, Karen. Do you care if you talk to me about Ryan? complaint because he doesn't feel like his lawyer is really trying to help him. He said he thinks that his lawyer wants him to take a deal. And he said, mom, I didn't do this. I'm not taking a deal. And the more I learn about this, everything looks so bad.

What do you learn? I learned that the DA was in a conflict of interest because his son is friends with Bo. Bo's got him a sweet deal. He said, well, it's a career-making case. That's why he doesn't remove himself. Were there five people there that night, those guys? All I hear about is after. After what? Were there five people there that night, those guys?

After what? All of them? Where are you hearing this from? I'm only asking because I just want to know if it's true or not. I just want the truth out. You know what I mean? And I know you do, too. I know you do.

Well, it's not too late to tell the whole story. Yeah, it absolutely is, but he's scared to death. But now he's realizing that his friends had turned against him, and he knew how powerful they were. He gave up. Is it true that he was on morphine during the confession? Yes. How do you know that? He told me, he said, mama, I took one of your morphine. Why'd he take it?

He suffers from depression bad. And because he was so nervous and so scared, he thought it would help calm him down. I mean, if the indictment isn't true, then this is the time to tell the truth. He won't say anything at all. His lawyer told him to keep his mouth shut and don't say anything.

And I think that's bull right there. I really do. Why? Why can't he tell his side of the story? I think he should. I think he should, too. I mean, he should tell me. Exactly.

Well, Karen, let's talk. All right. We'll figure it out, OK? All right, baby. Thanks again. Thank you., let's talk. We'll figure it out, okay? All right, baby. Thanks again. Thank you. Thank you, Kane. You're welcome.

That was shocking. Karen confirmed what Zach told me, that there were several other witnesses to Tara's murder. And how reliable can Ryan's confession be if you wrote it under the influence of morphine? Following this interview, I wanted to talk to someone who could tell us more about the effects of morphine, scientifically speaking. Was this in fact problematic to Ryan's confession? There's two reasons people take morphine and other drugs, whatever it might be, to feel good or to feel better.

Some people take it to get high. Most people take it just to feel better. If it be pain, anxiety, depression, whatever. We live in a chemical culture. We promote the use of chemicals, better living through better chemistry, as I taught 25 years ago, and that hasn't changed. My name is Merrill Norton, and I am a clinical associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy.

Well, morphine is highly regulated. It is what we call a C2 narcotic, which means if a physician writes it, he's only going to write one script in his handwriting one time, nobody feels. Most people obtain prescription opioids by using somebody else's prescribed opioids. They'll go into someone's bathroom or whatever, pick up somebody else's bottle and they'll take the pills or whatever. So most of it is prescribed but some is obtained illegally. It causes nausea and vomiting, sedation, drowsiness. They tell you not to operate machinery or drive a car because of it. So how does taking morphine affect one's behavior? Well, normally it doesn't. That's why we give it. It doesn't change your thinking.

It doesn't change the way you function. But the thing about it is, normal doses, and that's why we keep them so controlled, it usually doesn't create the dysfunction in thinking and behavior. People can function with it in normal doses. But if you take high doses, then it can affect behavior in different ways. The one big behavior that it can affect is memory. And people don't remember, can't remember, have impaired memory and recall. Dysfunctional emotional response, which means under stress they would not

appropriately respond. They're either going to overreact or underreact. And that's huge in all kinds of circumstances. I'll put it this way. Attorneys will tell the defendant that confessions under the influence are not in their best interest. If the child judge discovers evidence that a confession was under the influence or extracted by coercive means, and it is not a product of rational intellect and free will, usually rules of the confession is not allowed. But that's a determination case to case to case. In this case, I can't answer that question because I don't know. That will be entirely up to the evidence produced by the defense and the evidence produced by

the state. And then the trial judge will make a decision of what is allowed. As I say, the scientific answer would depend on the dose. It would depend on the time the individual took the dose. It would be determined on the tolerance of the dose, and the thing about it is it would be having to do with memory. Can they actually remember accurate events that occurred? And then the other part of it would be their ability, under the influence, to tell the truth. Now, some people take certain psychoactive substances

like a truth serum, blah, blah, blah. But some people take it and they feel so bad about what they've done and what they've taken, they will deny that they've done it as a defense. Sometimes they will say things they don't need to tell people without advice from legal counsel. And that's what I will say about that. about that. Here's Tony Thomas again from WSB-TV. He and his team also covered the confession when the story broke. I wanted to know more about the intricacies of publishing the confession, especially since it was leaked. It wasn't just handed over by the GBI, knowingly. We definitely reported on it, and we waited several days before publishing it to verify. We wanted to make sure we had at least sources we trusted off the record saying, yeah, this is legitimate.

Because you've got to understand, this was not on GBI letterhead or anything like that. It was just a typed, written piece of paper. So we wanted to make sure we didn't fall into any trap of anything. But once we had that, yeah, we put it out there definitely. Calling source after source, anybody who might be connected or would have had any legitimate reason to see this piece of paper at some point in the process. We got one or two people who were, who said, yeah, you know, more of it was, yeah, you wouldn't be wrong if you reported this. Or, you know, I can, yes, this is what the normal GBI inter-department discovery type papers would look like. So it gave us the confidence to go on

and out there. Because this did not come directly from a GBI agent or a former GBI agent or one of the lawyers. This was just put up on the internet purportedly from that file. It took us a couple days. We had two or three reporters. It wasn't just me tracking everything we could down and finally we were confident enough to go out there with it. I don't think it changes the way we'll be covering the trial or the way I view it. It confirms a lot of stuff I had been told and gathered off the record that's now out there in the open. They used this chance to really nail down Jason Shadel, the GBI agent, on what exact evidence he had. Why did they zero in on Ryan?

agent on what exact evidence he had, why did they zero in on Ryan, and I thought one of the key takeaways was when the agent finally admitted, after being questioned and questioned, that the only firm thing linking Ryan Duke to the murder was his confession. In this clip, you'll hear Ryan's attorney, Ashley Merchant, at the bond hearing this past Monday, February 11th. can't happen. All you've got is evidence of a disposal after the fact, correct? If you take out Ryan's statement, then we have evidence of disposal and the connection to Tara. Okay. Just one moment. That's the whole crux of the defense case. This is all going to come down to, what do you believe about that confession? Was Ryan drunk, out of his mind, scared of Bo, telling them whatever they wanted to hear, so Bo didn't come after him, and he was only repeating what he had heard other people say?

Or was he getting it off his chest? Was this something that had laid on him for years, and he finally had had enough, and he was just opening up and telling the truth. That's going to be the key question for the jury. And all this evidence that they have can go either way. We'd seen the GBI summary of it, which is the GBI's interpretation of the interview and everything. We had never actually heard exactly what Ryan said. We had never actually heard exactly what Ryan said.

And in this evidence in the bond hearing, the GBI agent sat on the stand and read the written confession. Ryan wasn't going back and forth. I mean, he was very specific about how remorseful he was, what happened, and that he did it. Somebody went to the G&G convenience store in downtown Osceola. This was back 2005. Still some pay phones around. Somebody went to the phone, dialed 411. And that was, probably still is, a service you can call, ask for somebody's phone number.

And if it's public, they give it to you and they can connect you. Somebody went to that pay phone, asked for Tara Grinstead's house, called the house, was transferred to the house. It rang. Nobody answered. In his confession or statement, Ryan says he did that to check and see, maybe even hoping that Tara wasn't dead and she'd answer that phone. Prosecutors say they had never released that. They knew somebody called, made that phone. Prosecutors say they had never released that. They knew somebody called, made that phone call. And they, during their investigation, had rounded up that information. But they had never released that, never talked about it publicly. Only a key core of investigators knew they had that. So they say when he came in and said that phone call, boom, that means he knew something on the inside. They think that's only something the murderer would have known.

Defton's team says he was thinking about going helping with the cover-up. He had nothing to do with the murder. He was just making a call to see if she was there or if anybody was around. And that's when he went over and maybe helped move the body. Key piece of evidence depends which side you're on. And then, Tony told us about another bombshell from the bond hearing. It was hard from the back of the courtroom. There was no audio system working in that courtroom, so it's hard to hear.

I think on a lot of people, it slipped right by. I was sitting in one corner of the courtroom. Ryan, Duke's family and friends were on the opposite side. You could hear a little gasp, and that's right from them. They definitely caught it. I don't know that everybody else necessarily caught it. So that summary, though, was, and I'll just use the word leaked, that was put out to the public, correct?

Correct. As far as I know, it was, yes. Okay. And you investigated that. Who actually did that, correct? Yes. And who were you able to determine did that leak in? According to the search warrant that I did to Gmail, it was Bo Dukes. It turns out Bo Dukes himself leaked the confession on our discussion board. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it's not the first time he's posted on there.

I guess I just thought he had better things to do. It had been suspected quite a bit, because who else outside of the law enforcement community would have had access to that except people in the lawyers involved and the participants. It was interesting. It was a planned drop, I think, by the prosecution to say, yes, we have been investigating this and here's what we know. But it was definitely met with, yeah, that's right, by the Duke side. I was surprised. Last

I had heard, they were trying to figure it out, but didn't know. It'll be interesting to see where that goes and if anything is done with it. You know, if you talk to people who are involved in all this stuff, they will allege Bo has always been active in the background, you know, leaking stuff, kind of trying to sway things his way. So I guess in that respect, maybe you shouldn't be surprised, but that it would apparently come directly from him, yeah, I was surprised by that, if that's in fact what happened. That'll be one of the key things, part of this trial.

Who do you believe? You know, is do you believe? Is it Ryan now? Is it Ryan on that afternoon when he walked in voluntarily and sat down and the first words out of his mouth according to the GBI agent was, "'I know why I'm here, I did it.'" Was he telling the truth or was he drugged up? That's the key to this whole thing. After months of wondering how the confession leaked,

it turned out to be the other party involved. In my mind, each day that goes by, the more this becomes Ryan versus Beau. This is Beau Duke's file. It's not nearly as large. His is stacking up now, but Ryan's is definitely the biggest thing, especially as we've seen over the past two days. We also talked to Emily Forrester at WALB in Albany, Georgia.

She listened to the whole bond hearing. I listened to it all day, except for the few moments I had to step away and get ready or, you know, write something up. It was extremely interesting to hear a lot of the new stuff that we hadn't ever heard before, had no clue existed. We got a lot more details as well about the confessions between Ryan and Bo. We learned more about the timeline of when they were each interviewed, when they were each charged. They talked a lot about what Ryan had told the GBI, and that confession that was released was addressed a lot as well. Everything was kind of laid out that had been in that confession that was released, but one of the big things we learned was the GBI agent said he investigated how that was released

and found out that it was a Gmail account connected to Bo Dukes. And I think for some people that may not have been a surprise, but I think for some people it could have as well. As far as I understand, there wasn't anything illegal done as far as that goes. I think they had addressed it as well in court. My initial thought as well was, that's illegal, how can you do that? But it wasn't. As long as, you know, it was obtained legally, it wasn't illegal for it to get leaked. It took us a few days actually because the GBI would not

corroborate it for us. It took me a couple days actually to even get a copy of it because it was taken down off of the Up and Vanish board. So it did take me a couple days to get it. It also took our management a couple days to run with it because I think it incriminates him. Obviously, it's a confession and the responsible journalist in all of us is innocent until proven guilty. There's a reason that confession was not out in the open in the beginning. And it's part of his fate in the court system. It's not ours to take as truth.

If it was filed with the court, we would have probably gone with it. But the circumstances around it, we did take a couple days. And eventually, one of our reporters did do a story about it. But she kind of bullet point, here's what it said. We don't know if it's true. And kind of said, we don't know if it's true at the beginning. We haven't been able to corroborate it. But the DA's office says this, and the defense says this. And we presented both sides. And I think we did it responsibly as journalists with our integrity intact. It's interesting that we've got the merchants being Ryan Duke's defense attorneys because they are experienced and they have forwarded the case a lot, in my opinion, as far as the timeline of the trial and everything.

They have been very, very defensive of Ryan Duke. They've made it clear in the media, to the public, to the judge, that they don't believe his confession. They also, in my opinion, have made it clear they think the confession is all the state has. It'll be interesting to see what the state brings to the table and what the defense's response is. I think a lot of people will be glued to their live stream when it comes to this case, if it begins April 1st. The biggest thing to me is the whole confession, is how the jury's going to accept that and consider that. My question is, and as a journalist I'm not technically supposed to question this,

but how does that play into whether or not Ryan is guilty? I think that's something the jury's going to have to consider. It's not my job to have an opinion on who did what. It's not my job to have an opinion on whether or not these two were even involved in the first place, nor who had what role. But I do. I have an opinion.

I discuss it with my family, and my best friend listens to it. Her mom, her husband, his mom, everybody, my extended family, they all listen to it. And they have a similar opinion as me, but it's not my job. It's my job to get the facts right and see, along with everybody else, how it plays out. As if things couldn't get any crazier, on January 1st, 2019, Bo Dukes broke the law yet again in what seemed to be his last twisted hoorah before facing

the facts. He then ran from the police, leading to a four-day manhunt. We'll cover that in our fourth trial series episode, but next week we'll be doing a Q&A, so please call us at 770-545-6411. 545-6411. Again, that's 770-545-6411. Any questions that you have about the case, we'll try to answer them. Thanks, guys. See you soon. It was going pretty smooth.

Just a trial was all I had left and everything, and I be damn bow had to get up and do this stuff here. My phone was blowing off. Man, it was blowing up. and everything and I be damn Bo had to get up and do this stuff here. My phone was blowing off. Man, it was blowing up. And then it just all started back. It's just never ending.

It's just like the day that they arrested Ryan. That's what it felt like with Bo. People send me pictures of them towing his car out of the driveway and stuff like that. It's just, it was unreal, really. Oven Vanished is an investigative podcast produced for Tenderfoot TV by Payne Lindsay, Mike Rooney, Christina Dana, and me, Meredith Stedman, with new episodes every Monday. Executive producers Payne Lindsey and Donald Albright.

Additional production by Resonate Recordings, as well as Mason Lindsey. Voice over by Rob Ricotta. Our intern is Hallie Badal. Original score by Makeup and Vanity said. Our theme song is Ophelia, performed by Ezra Rose. Our cover art is by Trevor Eiler. Special thanks to the team at Cadence 13.

Visit us on social media via at Up and Vanished, or you can visit our website, upandvanished.com, where you can join in on our discussion board. If you're enjoying Up and Vanished, please tell a friend, family member, or coworker about it. And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening.