Arrest Warrants Provide Clues but Leave Questions
(NOTE: This article was written for publication in The Ocilla Star, but since I wrongly speculated about the charges in my previous blog post, as I had not yet read the warrants, I thought this needed to be posted here as well. This and plenty more about the Tara Grinstead case will be included in the March 1 edition of The Ocilla Star. Those of you out of the area can read online editions at theocillastar.com)
The charges against Ryan Alexander Duke present at least some clues into what is alleged to have happened during the murder of Tara Grinstead.
When the Georgia Bureau of Investigation held its press conference Thursday, Special Agent in Charge JT Ricketson gave very few details beyond announcing that Duke was charged with Grinstead’s murder.
A bond hearing for Duke was held later, and four criminal charges were announced against him through arrest warrants sworn by GBI Special Agent Jason Shoudel. The charges were murder, burglary, aggravated assault and concealing death.
The GBI has remained very tight-lipped about the details of the murder as it continues its investigation, but the arrest warrants themselves shine some light on the circumstances.
An Irwin County Grand Jury will decide April 12 whether to indict Duke on the charges.
Background: Grinstead’s last known location was a barbecue on the night of Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005 at the home of Troy Davis, who was the former Irwin County school superintendent. Davis was interviewed in a recent episode of the “Up and Vanished” podcast and said he walked her out of his home about 11:15 p.m. Davis said she told him she was going home to put on her pajamas and watch a video of the Miss Georgia Sweet Potato pageant. Earlier, Grinstead helped contestants prepare for the pageant and she also attended the event.
After Grinstead left the barbecue at the Davis home, she was never seen publicly again. All of the Duke arrest warrants indicate crimes alleged to have been committed on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005, so some time after midnight, at Grinstead’s small home on West Park Street in Ocilla.
Burglary: Duke was charged with burglary Thursday, and although people may typically think of burglary as a crime in which someone breaks-in to a home or a vehicle to steal things, burglary can also apply when someone breaks-in with intent to commit a felony other than theft. The burglary arrest warrant indicates theft was not the motive for the burglary Duke is alleged to have committed.
The warrant states that Duke “knowingly, intentionally and willfully” entered Grinstead’s home without authority to commit aggravated assault and murder. This suggests that speculation about a “burglary gone wrong” where a perpetrator entered the home to rob it, encountered the occupant and killed her is incorrect. The warrant indicates an intention to commit murder and aggravated assault, not robbery or theft.
Murder: Duke was charged with murder under Georgia Code Section 16-5-1, which is a crime that can be punished with the death penalty or life in prison, making it probably the most serious charge in Georgia law.
Unlike some other states, Georgia does not have degrees of murder. So-called “crimes of passion” where sudden anger leads to an unplanned death sometimes result in the serious but lesser charge of manslaughter.
But Georgia actually has two different types of murder charge under 16-5-1, and the two types are typically known as malice murder and felony murder. Sometimes, accused offenders are charged with both.
Malice murder is applied when someone is alleged to have caused the death of another person with “malice aforethought.” Malice murder often includes premeditated murder, in which someone planned to commit the crime ahead of time.
Felony murder is a murder charge that is applied when someone causes the death of another person during the commission of another felony. For instance, someone might rob a bank, run over someone while fleeing the robbery and be charged with felony murder, even though they did not plan to kill the pedestrian with “malice aforethought.”
The murder warrant does not directly spell out whether malice murder or felony murder is accused against Duke, but the text of warrant may be suggestive. The warrant states that Duke committed murder “when he did knowingly, intentionally, and willfully during the commission of a felony, that being burglary, caused the death of Tara Grinstead.”
No mention is made of “malice aforethought” in the warrant, which along with the inclusion of burglary in the text, suggests Duke may be charged with felony murder.
However, if the charge is not malice murder, it seems to suggest a logical conundrum, as the murder charge relies on the alleged burglary, but the burglary charge partly relies on the alleged murder. If Duke broke-in to Grinstead’s home to commit murder, as the burglary warrant indicates, that would suggest he planned to commit murder, which would seem to necessarily include malice aforethought, yet malice is not claimed in the murder warrant.
Aggravated Assault: Aggravated assault is a charge which includes when someone tries to assault someone with intent to murder, rape or rob them. It also includes attempts to use a deadly weapon or other objects to cause serious bodily injury or strangulation.
The aggravated assault warrant alleges that Duke “used his hands in an offensive manner, and with the intent to, and did, cause serious bodily harm to the person of Tara Grinstead.”
Although the aggravated assault charge can include acts that involve weapons, there was no mention of a weapon in the arrest warrant. Only hands were mentioned as alleged instruments of harm.
Concealing Death: Duke was charged with concealing death, which is a felony offense like the other charges he faces. The concealing death warrant states that Duke willfully removed “the deceased body of Tara Grinstead” from her home “with the intent to conceal her death and discovery.”
If the allegations are true, this charge is the reason Grinstead’s case was, for more than 11 years, a missing persons case rather than a murder case.
Where her body was taken is still not publicly known.
Terrific article/blog. I am learning so much , thank you, Dusty...
ReplyDeleteThis article ended up getting the gears turning inside my head! I looked up the GA codes to see if I could try to interpret them. I found GA Code 16-7-1 (b) and it states that burglary in the first degree, "...when, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he or she enters or remains within...". Notice the part that says, "to commit a felony OR THEFT". I still believe he entered her house with the intent of theft, not murder. Im not sure if my interpretation of the GA Code is correct but if I'm right; I'm curious to know if Dusty Vassey got his information from a source close to the case or maybe a lawyer who interpreted the arrest report more proficient than myself.
ReplyDeleteThe arrest warrant alleges that Duke broke in to commit aggravated assault and murder. It mentions nothing about theft, but I'm aware theft can be the motive of a burglary. It's probably the most common motive.
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