The Tara Grinstead Mystery | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] when the Sun goes down in a pecan Orchard it's a little spooky it's a lot like being in a scary
movie they're Majestic in one sense but they are very creepy what happened in this Orchard
was [Music] senseless Tera grinstead and our best [Music] friends terara started wanting to be in
beauty pageants only to help her raise money for college her inspiration was to be a
[Music] teacher Tara was a very well-liked high school [Music] teacher the students loved her she was
young she was vibrant she was very passionate about what she did on October 22nd 2005 Tara began her
day doing exactly what she loved dressing up the little girls for the sweet potato pageant and
osilla after the pageant she went to a cookout the last thing I know she was on the phone went home and then nobody's
seen her since there were so many stories so much speculation the possibilities were
running through my head of what it could be my heart always hoped that she just needed a few days to herself and as the
days and the months and even the years went on I knew something had happened I covered this story for 12
years and hardly anyone thought this case would ever be solved in a town that is as small as it
is how could someone keep this a secret for so long I don't know so you call the police
department this is John Mulla I know who killed ter grinstead does anyone call you back
no hey man how come nobody wants to listen to me so many tips came in that some weren't followed up they never
actually called anyone a suspect or even a person of interest for nearly 27 years
with the Georgia be of Investigation I've never never encountered such a complex and difficult case we literally
got tips from all over the world then in 2017 a woman came forward with a remarkable story about her
boyfriend he said I can't handle it anymore and he starts telling me [Music] everything I made him take me to the
orchard you said right then we're going we're going [Music] and illa the word spreads in a church
pew at the restaurant over breakfast [Music] the 2005 disappearance of Tara grinstead
beloved teacher and local beauty queen mystified the people of osilla Georgia like Janice pul who lived just around
the corner from teraa is a big family we all wanted to do something that we could do to help
there were Flyers there were Billboards we had search efforts like nothing you've ever
seen Jen who ran a local web design company became an expert on the case keeping a close watch since Tera was
reported missing what were some of the theories as to what had happened to Tara there
were people who believe she ran away somebody has abducted her and holding her somewhere
hostage and the one we didn't want to think about was somebody killed her but who would want to harm this
vibrant 30-year-old woman Maria Woods Harbor grew up with Tara my best friend Tara grinstead was a beautiful person on
the inside and the outside she was radiant I mean she had the biggest smile she could tell you anything to make you
feel better this is where Tara grad lived in 2005 what emotional impact does this
have for you when you see this happen well it's very emotional I don't like to come very often she loved this place can
still see her standing at the door Maria says terara was determined to live her dreams from a young age
competing in beauty pageants to help earn scholarship money for college she was absolutely elegant on stage her main
goal was to win Miss Georgia or at least to get to Miss Georgia and she did hi and ter said Miss TI Tara didn't bring
home the Miss Georgia Crown but just competing was a huge achievement says Dana Wilder who grew up in osilla as
little girls we looked up to her she was famous after college Tera got a job at osilla Irwin County High School teaching
11th grade history she was a excellent teacher she was dedicated to making her students feel wonderful
and even when she no longer competed she helped other women like Dana break into
that world she just took me underneath her Wing she taught me the ins and out of interviews hair and makeup wardrobe
at night Tara studied for a specialist degree in school administration but other parts of her life hadn't come
together as she'd hoped personal side she was having a little bit of a rough time she was in
her 30s and not married and I think she was a little down about that Tara had a boyfriend for a long time and during the
summer of 2005 they broke up that boyfriend was Marcus Harper a former cop from osilla she obviously wanted to get
married it just wasn't what I wanted I definitely didn't want to settle down in small town America Marcus enlisted with
the Army Rangers and spent time overseas it was like a calling it was something I
felt like you know I had to do the couple broke things off but stayed in touch Tara really did want to get back
with Marcus she did not want to end it and she was very distraught this was the man she thought she'd build a life with
yeah she did she was seeing other people and I think she was just trying to move on in
a small town of illa everyone knew their situation it was part of town gossip that they had
gotten into an argument after Marcus had come back to town earlier than expected
that October but no one in osilla knew what had happened when terara seemingly vanished after leaving that Barbecue on
Saturday night October [Music] 22nd what time did she go home about 11:00 on Sunday Tara's mom called her
several times but Tera didn't answer and the next morning I got a call saying that I need to get to oilla
terara had failed to show up at school she would never do that she would never leave her
kids tera's car was parked in the driveway neighbors knocked on her door but got no
response the osilla police were called and entered Terrace home right behind them was
Maria what did you see when you walked into her house I wasn't quite sure what I was going to walk in and see her Den
was exactly the way it always was and there were a few things on the floor like a hair dryer and then her bed was
unmade like she had been in the bed Tara's purse and keys were missing her cell phone was charging next to her bed
Maria noticed something out of place Tara's alarm clock was under under her bed and a bedside lamp was broken and
then there was something else so when I came back out of the house I saw right here right out from
the front door there was a latex glove on the ground on the ground also found was a business card from a police
officer in a nearby Town authorities couldn't explain either and collected them as evidence the Georgia Bureau of
inv investigation known as the gbi was called in it is one of the most extensive investigations undertaken by
the gbi back in 2008 I spoke with special agent Gary Rothwell it appeared that Tara may have left on her own
however we had a glove a latex glove that we couldn't explain so that gave us a stronger indication that something bad
had happened the gbi tested that glove and found not only tera's DNA on it but the DNA profile of an unknown
male the case generated hundreds of tips over the years Janice pul even created a
website to help authorities collect information find tera.com I built a message board because I
thought that there was a good chance that whoever knew what had happened to her would potentially come and say
something as Jenis recalls early on suspicion focused on the men in tera's life she was
dating I think more than people realized that she was dating and that's nobody's
business but in this case it made it tough rumors swirled about that cop whose card was found at Tera house he
was a family friend married with kids who said he'd gone by that Sunday night and left the card after terara didn't
answer the doorbell he had an alibi but the Whispers continued there were several people several men who got a lot
of scrutiny for a long time another was a former student who claimed he and Tara
had been secretly seeing each other but when questioned about her disappearance he had an alibi and was never charged
then there was Tara's ex-boyfriend Marcus Harper somebody pulled me to the side and they
were like listen you know uh there's been some things said bringing up your military past bringing
up how you're trained to kill Marcus always maintained his innocence but remained Under Suspicion investigators
chased down dozens of leads across the country but tips emerged that led right back to the high school where terara was
a teacher and perhaps someone who had sat in her classroom I never thought it was
somebody from our community but in the same sense I always thought well it has to be
[Music] for years Marcus Harper lived under a cloud some might say a thunderstorm of
Suspicion he was the talk of osilla Georgia and none of it was good you know what they're saying at the local grocery
store and at the local restaurants they don't think that it's getting to someone
who's my family or my friend not going to shy away to the fact that I was I was bitter police never called him a ECT but
Marcus was more closely investigated than anyone in The Disappearance of his former girlfriend terara grinstead I was
swabbed for DNA my truck was luminoled photographs were taken had to tell my alibi you know or where I was at who I
was around and that was [Music] corroborated year after year passed with no arrest but back in 2005 authorities
either missed or ignored a tip that may have solve the case just weeks after terara vanished at a party In This Very
pecan Orchard one of Janice P's employees told her that he had overheard two young men tell a disturbing story
that they had been at a party bragging about their involvement in terra's disappearance and that ultimately they
had taken her body out to a pecan Orchard and burn it in a fire pit it was a shocking state
did he have names of who these two men were who claimed they had killed terara it was Bo duk and Ryan
Duke the two who were friends had similar sounding names but weren't related at the time Ryan Duke and Bo
Dukes were 21 years old Ryan worked at a Plastics manufacturing plant while Bo would occasionally work at his family's
pecan Farm both had been students at Terrace High School we shared that tip with the local sheriff's
department that tip went nowhere and it wasn't the only one overlooked it just brings up a lot so
it's kind of crappy right now I'm sorry John McCulla says he is still haunted by
painful memories of being ignored by investigators 14 years ago this really affects you though talking about this
Mulla now a manager at a water company in Texas had met Bo Dukes at army boot camp in
2006 so two Southern Boys Meet in Oklahoma in the army yes and you guys hit it off yeah and we were pretty
close Dukes invited Mulla to osilla to spend Christmas with his family it was a year after tera's disappearance as they
were driving around town a billboard caught his eye and and it had this very you know attractive woman on it Tera
grinstead yeah Tera grinstead and said you know missing the two then went to a party after a few drinks Mulla says Bo
began talking about terara he was like yeah do you remember that bulletin that you had asked me about with that girl on
it and I was like yeah and he was like I know what happened Mulla wasn't ready for what Bo
would say next he had told me that his friend accidentally strangled her and he needed help getting rid of
the body so that way there was nothing to find stunned as he was Mulla was in a dilemma could he betray his friend his
fellow Soldier the kind of guy you want to share a foxhole with right you can trust with your life right the weight of
what Mulla says Bo told him became unbearable 2 months later in February 2007 aulla says he called three police
departments in Georgia including osilla where he left a voice message saying this is John
Mulla I know who killed t grinstead or had a part of it it was told to me when I was in
Georgia here's my number I'll do whatever has to happen for y'all to take me serious I just got off the phone with
another department that had didn't do incredibly Mulla says no one returned his calls this is the murder of Tera
grinstead and there was seemed to be little interest is that right very little interest but Mulla was determined to get
the truth out he called the state's top law enforcement agency heading the investigation the gbi I mean nobody ever
called me back ever even whenever I reached out to the gbi which is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation how many
times did you call the gbi over what period of time and you still didn't get any I would say from the year of 2007
until 2016 I would probably say I reached out nine or 10 times to the gbi why do you think investigators ignored
you I have no idea maybe because I'm a nobody I don't know Janice pul also spoke to the gbi in
2008 as the agency was reviewing the case and she told them about her employees tip 3 years earlier regarding
Bo dukes and Ryan Duke so I sat down with an agent and we just went through everything but again as far as she knew
it went nowhere terrorist family could do little but pray for a breakr they've had a
really hard time I can't imagine the loss of a child but I think it's taken a lot of toll on them mentally and
physically then more than 11 years after terara disappeared this woman Brook Sheridan came out of nowhere with her
account about not only Bo Dukes but his friend Ryan Duke Ryan woke him up and said I killed Tara grinstead
[Applause] [Music] she was charismatic determined beautiful personality what would anyone's motive be to kill Tera
grinon I don't know in 2017 more than 11 years after terara vanished Brook Sheridan came
forward with a potential answer this was her first television interview I had to
tell some I had to tell there was no other option and what she had to say implicated a man whose name had
repeatedly been given to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation how did you and Bo Dukes meet we actually met on Tinder
Brook says she was studying in Savannah to become a pharmacist when in 2015 she came face to face with her online date
it was love at first s Bo Dukes comes from a prominent family that owned a huge pecan Orchard in the
osilla area and what is it about him that you love he has a beautiful mind he is extremely intelligent Janice pul who
knows the family paints a different picture of Bo so Bo was known in the community for being a little over the
top unfiltered one of those always showing off and and talking big and running his
mouth Bo got in big trouble while in the Army in 2012 he was charged and convicted of stealing more than
$150,000 worth of military supplies and Bose spent more than 2 years in federal prison he confessed all of this to
Brooke who stuck with him I had never connected with somebody and had fun with somebody like
I have with him but she says Bo was often Moody I said you have to talk to me he's very shut shut off emotions
feelings he doesn't talk about as their relationship evolved Brook sensed that something seemed to be
eating away at B it was something very dark and I I chocked it up to you know serving his time in the military and
Brooks says she helped pull bo back from taking his own life he had talked about
that yes and you weren't going to let that happen no Brooke kept encouraging Bo to open up
to talk about this dark subject that was destroying him finally he cracked he said you've heard of the teror grand
stad case I was like yeah he said my room killed her his roommate and close friend was
Ryan Duke why would Ryan Duke have murdered Tera grinstead he said that's something that
only God and Ryan know he said I don't know why he did it but there was more Bo told Brooke about
his own involvement in the crime saying and I helped him burn her body I was I felt like I was going to be
sick I didn't know who I was staring at I didn't know who he was Bo told Brook that Ryan stole his
pickup truck that night and used it to transport Tara's body to a remote part of this pcan Orchard that was owned by
Bo's family and Ryan looked at Bo and said it's your truck your family's land and he said he threw it threw his arms
up just like this what are you going to do and by Ryan saying to him hey buddy this is your truck and this is your
family's land basically that was interpreted by Bo as a threat that you're we're Partners now in this yes Bo
told her they moved Tara's body to a pit in the orchard where it took 2 days to burn destroying all evidence I kept
thinking about her family and I couldn't sleep at night now it was Brook's turn to be
tormented by a terrible secret I had to tell some I had to tell there was no other option weeks later she called the
gbi to turn in the boyfriend she loved that family's peace to me was more important than his
freedom but if you're ready for this Bo had already been interviewed by the gbi a year earlier in
2016 they contacted me tell me what you know that was after investigator finally
reached out to John McCulla I'm glad somebody's finally listening so I talk to him tell him
everything I know but back then Bo denied everything with no hard evidence authorities couldn't make an arrest but
after he broke down to Brooke she told Bo it was time to tell the truth I said you need to confess you need to own up
to what you've done and confess what does B say he says I just want her family to
know I'm going to just kind of leave it open the floor to you and just tell me about you knowing about Tera Bo then
told the gbi all the grizzly details you can still see yeah body yeah just kind of like Char yeah the day after Bo's
confession his one-time friend Ryan Duke was arrested nearly 12 years after tera's disappearance Ryan did you do it
on February 23rd 27 Ryan Duke appeared in court charged with tera's murder I received a phone call and the
voice on the other end of the phone said brother your 12 years of hell is over we
have made an arrest investigators say Ryan confessed to killing grinstead according to notes of Ryan's
confession which were written down by the gbi and later leaked out Ryan told investigators he was a drug addict and
quote broke into grinstead's house and was attempting to steal from her purse when he believed she came up behind him
he struck her with his fist Duke did not mean to strike grinstead but he was just
reacting and scared Duke said grinstead died when he hit her and remember that latex glove found
at the crime scene a DNA sample from Ryan du was a perfect match was it an emotional moment for you
to realize someone had been arrested after all that time yes I cried for days couldn't sleep for
days it was very hard to grasp and the next month Bo Dukes who years earlier had sat in tera's class
was arrested and charged not with murder but with concealing a death hindering the apprehension of a criminal and lying
to investigators 2 years later in March 2019 Bo was the first to go to trial this case is about B's lies it's about
those concealment that his best friend Ryan had killed Tera gston and then they both burned the
B and for the first time everyone heard Bose's own account when his gbi interview was played in
court told me that he had killed Terry and he asked me to help him get rid of her body but was Bo
telling the whole story I don't believe Ryan could have done it all by himself [Music]
[Music] [Music] in March of 2019 in a County Courthouse about 30 miles from where beloved
teacher and beauty pageant Mentor Tara grinstead was murdered Bo Dukes went on trial on charges relating to covering up
her death prosecutor Brad Rigby this case is about both those lies lies that lasted from
2005 the 2016 Bo is facing a maximum 25e sentence so he went to trial hoping jurors might
show Mercy for a man who had already confessed to his role in the crime today's day is February prosecutors
played that videotape of Bo's interview with the gbi he recounted what Ryan told
him the day after terara disappeared told me that he had killed Tera Grandad I didn't believe him I thought
he was M leave me alone when Ryan repeated his story to Bo a couple of days later again
I I didn't believe him he asked me to come with him out to to the P which so with Ryan Duke behind the wheel the two
men took Bo Duke's pickup truck and drove out of town on the this highway and pulled off on this dirt road and
this is a pecan Orchard that's owned by Bo Duke's family the two men drove about
200 yards up this road to where Tara grinstead's body had been placed we drove back into the
[Music] B and he showed me where about was of all the people no connection why Tera what's the connection as far as I
know they didn't know the agent asked Bo his first reaction when he went to the orchard
with Ryan so you immediately see this in your like what in the hell did you do yeah and why the would
you do it here on about family's B ored I mean what did he say help me then gave his account of moving and then
burning her body which began on a Wednesday and took 2 days so by Friday there's nothing left
no spell your first and your last name for the court uh John JN last name Mulla it was now time at the trial for Bose's
one-time Army buddy John McCulla to finally tell his story of Bose's confession and this time the whole world
seemed to be listening the exact location didn't tell me but had made the comment of you know we took her to the
middle of the pan Orchard and burned her body he testified calmly but inside was
still seething at Bow if there wasn't multiple police officers that were inside the courtroom on the day that I
testified on the stand I probably would have ripped them apart with my hands but Mulla wasn't the only witness
who gave details about Tara's death do you swear from T for this Janice PK's former employee Garland lot told the
court he had overheard that 2005 conversation between Ryan and Bo at a party in the same pecan Orchard where
tera's body had been burned he wasn't sure who said what the statement that I recall
was we killed and burned her body basically any doubt in your mind however that you heard these two people laughing
about killing and burning terr's Dead's body no Garland says after he reported this
to Janice pul he was never formally interviewed by anyone from law enforcement sounds like you're saying
you assumed it was handled by I assumed it was handled by law enforcement yes and in this trial agent Gary Rothwell
finally explained what what happened with those tips we thought that that lead had been addressed by local law
enforcement as unfounded and did not follow up in cross-examination Rothwell added that he takes responsibility for
the gbi laps it's something we should have followed up but we we we didn't it took a jury less than an hour
to convict Bo Dukes on all charges his hope for Mercy was dashed at his sentencing terara
grinstead's stepmother Connie addressed the court 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 and bod Dukes himself spoke directly to tera's family ter said
family I'm truly sorry your long suffering has been unimaginable Bo was sentenced to 25
years in prison but Maria and others still have questions as to what really happened and
whether Bo's statements were true as Bo told it Ryan did The Killing and all I did was help him dispose of the body I
don't believe that she points to discrepancies between Ryan's version of events and
Bose Ryan told the gbi he killed terara by striking her later he said it was possible that he choked her but Bo says
Ryan was certain about what happened he jumped on her while he was she was in bed and and strangled her right there in
her bed and there were other inconsistencies one said she had clothes on the other said
she did not it's kind of odd isn't it very Maria believes those discrepancies may have a Sinister explanation that Bo
Dukes had more to do with tera's murder than either he or Ryan have said I believe that Ryan and Bo Duke were both
in this together and she's not alone in believing Bo Duke's help burn a body not
just to protect his friend you believe that Bo did this to protect himself oh absolutely even with Bo Dukes behind
bars for 25 years for his role in covering up Tera grinstead's murder some people involved in this case believe he
played a much larger role Maria Woods Harbor thinks Bo was with his friend Ryan here at tera's house the night of
her murder I think Bo had more to do with it yes so too does this man forensic investigator Maurice Godwin who was
hired by tera's sister in 2006 I'm headed to Tera grinstead's house where she disappeared back then Godwin canvased
tera's neighborhood and found two teenagers who said they saw strangers outside tera's house the night she
disappeared they saw two men on the right side of a terrce bedroom windows to the right side of her
house said it was just dark it was dark but two men were standing out here by that bush by that bush and who do you
believe those two men were bow and Ry police have never corroborated that sighting Godwin speculates Tera was
targeted by the two men but not for money do you believe this was a planned sexual attack absolutely I believe they
sexually assaulted her in that bedroom which is why Godwin believes Tara's body ended up in the pcan Orchard
and they had the burned body in order to D destroy a forens evidence Maria has also concluded that sexual assault was
most likely the motive they both went in her house they both assaulted her and they both planned
it in public statements Bose attorney has denied that but Maria believes that Bo was just as involved in Tara's death
as Ryan allegedly was if you look at Bose's history since that happened yes I definitely
believe that Bo had more to do with the planning and the execution Maria is referring to an incident where Bo Dukes
was arrested for rape and kidnapping while he was free on bond before his trial in the grinstead case the Warner
Robins Police Department says on Tuesday afternoon Dukes brought two women to the
house and threatened them with a firearm he pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial everything narcissistic everything
revolves around what he wants and when he wants it but Janice pulk continues to believe what Ryan told the gbi do you
believe Ryan Duke acted alone I believe what he said he did Ryan's confession where he admitted killing
Tera suggests his trial will be an open and shut case but in yet another twist in this baffling murder Ryan's attorneys
have said publicly that he will recant his confession at his upcoming trial claiming he was high on drugs and place
all the blame on Bo I have been told that Ryan's defense team will argue that he gave a false confession and that Bo
was actually responsible for terra's [Music] death for all that has transpired since
2005 closure is still elusive for everyone involved where I've had to come to a conclusion that I'm just going to
have to live the rest of my life not no one but there is no question that in her
short and impactful life Tara grinstead touched people in rare ways even those who never met her like John Mulla I
can't explain it and wish I could have been there whenever it happened so that way I could do
[Music] something she's been an inspiration she had a lot of life ahead of her she
brought great things to irvan County high school and I would hope that eventually the word terara grinston will
be a bright spot cuz she did bring a lot of good things to osilla osilla was tera's life that's where she set her her
roots and that's where she wanted to stay and where she wanted to [Music] be 48 Hours don't miss an episode
[Music]

A former beauty queen vanishes. One man said he had answers. Why didn’t anyone listen? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Tara Grinstead's disappearance leads to shocking confessions and arrests after years of investigation in Osilla, Georgia.

Key points

The Disappearance of Tara Grinstead. Tara Grinstead, a beloved teacher and beauty queen, vanished without a trace in 2005.
A Shocking Confession. Years later, Bo Dukes confessed to his girlfriend about Tara's murder.
Arrests Made After Years. Ryan Duke was arrested for Tara's murder after confessing to investigators.
Bo Dukes on Trial. In March 2019, Bo Dukes went on trial for covering up Tara Grinstead's murder. Prosecutors played a videotape of his confession, revealing shocking details about the crime.
Confession and Doubt. Witnesses testified about overhearing Bo and Ryan discussing Tara's murder, raising questions about their involvement. Bo's attorney denied any wrongdoing, but doubts linger.
The Search for Truth. Despite Bo's conviction, many still question the full story behind Tara's murder and whether he acted alone. The case remains complex and unresolved.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

How could someone keep this a secret for so long?

Reflecting on the mystery of Tara's disappearance.

2:30WatchFeb 27, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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