OCILLA, Ga. — The jury considering Ryan Duke’s fate will continue its deliberations Friday. Duke is charged with killing Tara Grinstead more than 16 years ago.
Earlier Thursday, jurors heard closing arguments in Irwin County court and discussed their verdict for just over four hours. In that time, they asked the judge two questions before telling Judge Bill Reinhardt they were done for the day.
"Ryan took the stand and sat in that chair and told you what he knew. He told you what happened. He didn't have to do that,” said defense attorney, John Merchant.
"As he tortured and lost the soul of Tara Grinstead, he still tortures the souls that are present here today,” said prosecutor Brad Rigby.
Attorneys for both sides used strong language to try and persuade the jury. The defense went first and reminded the jury of who did *not* testify during the trial.
"Bo Dukes should be sitting in that chair, not Ryan. Bo Dukes should be on trial for the murder of Tara Grinstead, not Ryan,” said Merchant.
Duke’s lawyers raised questions for the jury, recalled all the inconsistencies in the timeline of when Grinstead went missing, and how former GBI agent Gary Rothwell said the Grinstead case file was so massive it was hard to make sense of it.
"I'm sure the state is going to stand up and talk about the volume of evidence in this case. It's not about the volume of evidence, it's about the quality of the evidence,” said Merchant.
Meanwhile, the state’s closing focused on a key piece of evidence – Duke’s confession.
“The defendant admits in his statement that he murdered her, that he killed her, and he left. I struck her, I hit her with my hand,” said Rigby.
They replayed several portions of the confession and emphasized Duke voluntarily came forward in 2017.
"I hit her. I didn't mean to… it was purely reactionary, but I mean I didn't know what else what to do. That's the only reason I didn't come forward before. I can't lie, I can't live with myself, I'm so sick of this stuff,” said Duke in his confession.
Both sides hope it will be their words that stick with the jurors.
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