FITZGERALD, Ga.—Two weeks after a jury acquitted a south Georgia man of murdering a teacher in 2005—but convicted him of a lesser charge—the man was indicted on new charges in a neighboring county.
A grand jury on Friday indicted Ryan Duke on six counts including concealing a death, hindering apprehension of a criminal, concealing facts, and evidence tampering in the death of Tara Grinstead of Ocilla.
Grinstead vanished in 2005 and her disappearance from Irwin County remained a mystery for more than a decade until Duke’s 2017 confession.
But during a trial last month, Duke testified that his confession was false. Defense attorney John Merchant told jurors a friend, Bo Dukes, instead killed Grinstead. Dukes was convicted in 2019 of helping move and burn Grinstead’s body but was never charged with murder….