Revelation

Revelation

  3:03 AM    Unknown

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Photo: A truck passes on Highway 129 on February 28, 2017, near the pecan orchard I believe was searched in 2005.

Revelation

I wish I was as brave as that guy on Up and Vanished.

But I'm a coward.

Last week, I wrote a blog entry revealing some facts I've agonized over for weeks now. I'd already weakly stated some of these facts, or at least hinted at them, but I'd never solidly said, "I believe this happened." At least not on my blog or in the newspaper.

I hinted at it hard in the last blog entry I posted about the Tara Grinstead case, as I was worried that someone was trying to keep it covered up. I still am, but even then, I stayed mostly quiet.

Like a coward.

Then I wrote what I wrote last week, a blog entry I started on the one-month anniversary of the day the arrest of Ryan Duke was announced in Tara's case. I spilled the beans, or most of them, enough of the beans to cook a bowl of chili, if not the whole pot.

But I didn't post that blog entry. The one with the beans. The one with the revelation.

Because I'm a coward.

Well, that's not the only reason. Thursday and Friday of last week were quite hectic for me because I was headed out of South Georgia. I conducted a long interview with a cool couple who moved from the Virgin Islands to the deep country to be maybe the smartest, hippest farmers I've ever met, and then I had to hurriedly write the story based on the interview before I left town. I had to pack and charge my batteries.  I had to get my head and face shaved so I didn't look like Animal from the Muppets.

You see, my brother, Dylan, got married in Walhalla, South Carolina, Saturday. That's about a 4-and-a-half hour trip from my hometown of Irwinville. My sister and I were leaving Friday afternoon, and that trip compressed my time so much that if it was coal it'd be a diamond by now.

Thursday, although my worry and contemplation had culminated in a decision to make a revelation in my blog, I had other concerns, too. I wanted to make a better version of a song I made for Dylan and his new wife, Amber, when their son, my nephew, Samuel passed away last year. The song, "Sammy," is written in honor of that little angel of a kid, but the song itself was originally composed with a threadbare chord progression with very little music because in an eerily similar circumstance, I didn't have the time to make a complete song because my sister and I were rushing to get to South Carolina for the funeral.

So, I made some improvements to the song Thursday and Friday. But even then, I didn't share the song with my brother or sister-in-law. Weird. "Sister-in-law."  I've never said that before. I've never had a sister-in-law. That's kinda cool.

I don't know why I didn't share the song. Maybe it's because I think the threadbare version was better, more raw and less polluted. Maybe it's because I worried that I would stir up sad emotions during a joyous occasion.

Maybe I'm just a coward.

And likewise, I didn't share the blog entry I wrote, the one with the revelations. I finished it, somehow, in the midst of all I had to do over those two days, and I think if I had maybe an hour or two more, I might have worked up the courage to post it.

But I didn't, and it weighed on me all weekend.

The thought that kept coming back to me is what someone wrote to me recently. It was one of the people who gave me money to buy a newer car (which I still haven't done, though I have started looking). When he sent me a check, he left a note that said, "Keep 'em honest."

And I can be a coward all I want when it comes to asking girls out or driving long distances or being too afraid to open my door because there are wasps flying around it. I can be a coward when it only affects me, but by accepting those checks, by accepting your praise and encouragement, I have created an obligation to those of you who want me to be an upstanding truth teller.

I can't be a coward for you.

So I decided that when I came home, I would post some version of that blog entry. I decided I would make my revelation.

But being the only redneck in South Carolina without a cell phone, I went almost 3 days without Facebook access, and I didn't know Judge Melanie Cross ruled on the gag order Friday after I left town. So when I got back to Irwinville, I was instantly distracted trying to sort out what the new gag order meant. For the record, I think it's a definite improvement, but you can read more about that in this week's Ocilla Star.

Of course, I was exhausted after a long trip, so I crashed into bed early, but then I woke up early on Monday, too. I locked myself into overdrive mode. Even though Monday is my busiest day as the writer for The Ocilla Star, as it's not uncommon for me to work 20 or more hours on a Monday, I was determined that I was going to stay undistracted and get my work done as quickly as possible so I could get some of my other work done at home later.

But circumstances are just witchy sometimes.

Because today, the friendly, talkative internet guy was installing new wires and equipment, which was distracting. And just when I thought I had finished my writing, the chief showed up with two weeks of police reports. The power went out twice in Ocilla because a big tree limb fell on a power line. That set me back, and it got even worse because after the power outage, my computer started taking nearly 2 minutes to save, and when your work on news pages autosaves every 5 minutes, that means you can work only about 60 percent of the time.

That's how I normally work, about 60 percent of the time, but since I was in a rush my nerves were fraying, especially when a certain thought entered my mind.

Nearly two weeks ago, when the judge held a hearing on the gag order in Tara's case, Payne Lindsey interviewed me for the Up and Vanished podcast. In that podcast, I spoke some about the revelations I was scared to make. I wasn't sure exactly what I said to Payne, but I knew it was something he might put in an episode, and the new episode was due to premiere that night, Monday night.

I didn't want to scoop myself.

But circumstances ground on through the night and I finished with my Ocilla Star work about halfway through the latest episode of Up and Vanished. I was relieved because my name was not mentioned, and there weren't even any unidentified voices in the background that were actually me, as has happened once or twice before. But then, Payne introduced me, and I cringed.

I cringe a little every time I come on Up and Vanished because I talk so fast and sound like I've got my nose stuck in a door I slammed shut to keep from getting stung by wasps, but this time was special because, as I've noted, I was really scared about making these revelations. There are a variety of reasons why.

First, I'm scared of cops, in general. Some of them I consider to be friends, even good friends, but when push comes to shove, I wouldn't either push or shove them because I don't want to go to jail. I also don't want to cross cops because I don't want to come home to find a planted bail of marijuana on my front porch. Maybe that's why I keep so much garbage there.

But aside from my probably irrational fear of law enforcement officers, I have a certain responsibility to my community, and this revelation could be bad for my community. A Chamber of Commerce expert that recently spoke to the local Chamber told a story about how she convinced her local reporters to keep a story quiet for some time, at least months, because it was better for the community.

But was it, really? Surely it was to her because she got what she wanted, which was more than 2,000 new jobs for her town. But if I lived in her town, which I don't, but if I did, I would have a hard time trusting the local press if I knew this story.

How can we, as reporters, decide which truths are worth hiding? I don't think that ethically we can, not if something is important. We can ignore a comment a county commissioner makes about his pastor at a meeting because it's not important to the public at large, but if that same commissioner said he illegally gave the pastor county money to build a home for orphaned children, I think we have a responsibility to tell it, even if it was for a good cause.

If the press is important at all, then it is important that the press be trusted, and I think both are important. Look at our country right now and how trust in the press is eroded, and it's scary, frankly. Look at the confusion and anger and fear in our world right now, and a lot of it started with dishonest journalism.

We have to be honest, and like my benefactor told me, we've got to "keep 'em honest."

When I talked to Payne that night after the gag order hearing, I told him about when I first started working for The Ocilla Star and how I encountered some push-back from local leaders. There was an attitude in Ocilla of trying to keep everything positive, and I wasn't entirely afraid to stand up and point out when something was wrong. That seemed to be a bit unusual for this small town, and some folks didn't like it. They still don't.

But to me, pretending that everything is positive is like someone who is dying of cancer but they won't get treated because they won't even admit anything is wrong. A person who won't fix his ills will die from them, and a community, especially a small town, is much the same way. If we don't fix our problems, they will continue to ail us.

That is the most important and necessary job of a journalist, pointing out what needs to be fixed, and this revelation may point out something that needs to be fixed.

So when I listened to the podcast tonight, and I heard myself make the revelation, I instantly felt relieved. All the anxiety and worry poured from me. I even felt proud.

And I thought, I wish I was as brave as that guy on Up and Vanished.

Me.

Just to be clear, the revelation I've been talking about is the fact that I believe very strongly that law enforcement received and followed up on a tip about Ryan Duke and Tara Grinstead in 2005, only weeks after she went missing.

I won't reveal everything I've heard about that tip, but I have heard the meat of the story from at least two people whose stories mesh perfectly with each other and whose honesty and integrity I do not doubt. I believe what I say about this tip to the very edge of certainty.

My sources do not want to go on the record, at least not yet, and I certainly don't blame them. I wish I could tell you everything I know, but I can't without compromising the identities of those who wish to remain anonymous.

Here is what I wrote last week but was afraid to post.

Remaining questions

Believe it or not, as I write this, it has been exactly one month since the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Ryan Duke in the Tara Grinstead murder case.

Of course, February is a short month, but we've learned a lot in this short month, though we still have plenty of questions.

This will be a summary of what I know, what I believe I know, and what the rumors seem to suggest. I will, as best as I can, try to provide the source for what I say, but sometimes I can't because I'm keeping dozens of secrets right now about a variety of things. Some people are bound by the gag order, some think they might be bound by the gag order, and some worry about the danger their secrets might place them in. Some just don't want folks to know they're talking to the press.

With all that in mind, don't easily dismiss something I say with confidence. I might know more than I'm saying.

Let's start with the beginning, which is frankly the period of time about which I have the most remaining questions.

On October 22, 2005, Tara Grinstead helped girls prepare for the Georgia Sweet Potato pageant at her home and later attended the pageant in Fizgerald. Later she attended a barbecue at the home of former Irwin County school superintendent Dr. Troy Davis in Ocilla. At about 11:15 p.m., she left a barbecue and was never seen publicly again.

We don't know if Tara drove directly home after the barbecue, but she indicated to Davis that she planned to go home, change into her pajamas, and watch a tape of the pageant. This mentioned pageant tape has long been a source of interest for me because I've always heard no tape was ever found.

A friend of Tara's told me that it is possible that Tara meant she was going to watch another pageant tape, such as tapes of the past pageants she competed in herself. This sounds plausible, as Tara might have had her nostalgic feelings of past glory stirred by seeing other girls compete that night.

If the GBI's allegations against Ryan Duke are factual, then we know Tara somehow made it the few blocks from Davis' home to her own Ocilla home. We know this is part of the GBI's story because all of the crimes Ryan Duke is alleged to have committed are alleged to have taken place in Tara's home some time on October 23, 2005. Those alleged crimes were burglary, aggravated assault, murder, and concealing the death of another.

When I first met Payne Lindsey, host of the Up and Vanished podcast, he told me that Tara's phone received the first phone call she did not answer some time early on October 23, which was a Sunday. Payne told me the time of the call, and I can't swear to it, but I believe it was 12:20 a.m. It was some time between midnight and 1 a.m. I believe this information was told to him by Dr. Maurice Godwin.

The point of giving this specific time is that, if true, it may indicate a time when Tara could not answer her phone.

As to what actually happened at Tara's tiny home on Sunday, October 23, 2005, we know very little, and it's amazing how little rumor is circulating about what may have happened there, at least from what I hear. No one seems to know what happened in that house, and few even seem to have a good guess.

I have heard one rumor about that night that had a somewhat believable motive, but I've also heard three different versions of that story now, and the motive isn't the same, depending on the source. It also involves a third culprit, and no third arrest appears to be coming. I was surprised when I visited a friend at the Irwin County Detention Center recently and learned that a version of this rumor had even reached behind bars.

But I don't believe that rumor. I have no proof of this, and it's really just a guess, but I doubt a third culprit was involved at all.

The vaguely illustrated charges against Ryan Duke do little to enlighten us about what happened at Tara's house. This may jibe with what I continue to hear about Ryan Duke's discussions with the GBI. I've heard that he has talked to the GBI, and I've heard repeatedly that he confessed. However, I've also heard he's told the GBI little about what happened, even if he did confess.

That could all be rumor, of course, but if no one who was inside the house is talking to the GBI, then it might explain why the charges listed in the warrants against Ryan Duke were so vague.

What the arrest warrants allege is that Ryan Duke broke-in to Tara's house to commit aggravated assault and murder, that he assaulted her with his hands, that he caused her to die while committing a felony, and that he concealed her death.

A lot of people in the community are wondering about the level of participation of Bo Dukes in these allegations. The GBI arrested Bo Dukes in relation to concealing Tara's death and burning her body in Ben Hill County, the neighborring county to Ocilla's Irwin.

All of the charges against Bo Dukes stem from his alleged activities in Ben Hill County. He has not, to public knowledge, been charged with any crimes in Irwin County, and Ryan Duke was not charged with any crimes in Ben Hill County, to public knowledge. This leaves an incomplete picture unless we believe someone did a macabre exchange at the county line.

Most people, me included, think Bo Dukes has cooperated with the GBI in some fashion and that he probably has a plea deal arranged, at least in principle. Heck, I've heard Bo Dukes may have talked with the GBI for months before the recent arrests.

On, March 3, 2017, the day Bo Dukes was arrested and released just a few hours later on a $15,000 bond, the District Attorney for Irwin County, Paul Bowden, arrived at the Ben Hill County Law Enforcement Complex, where Dukes was being processed. Bowden has no authority in Ben Hill County, so his presence was interesting to say the least. Surely it wasn't coincidence.

It's made me wonder if Bowden was there to in some way certify a deal with Bo Dukes, but that's just my speculation.

Since I'm speculating, I'm going to guess that the motive for whatever happened to Tara wasn't theft since her tiny house might be the least likely target for that sort of crime in that neighborhood, and it wasn't anything as twisted as someone who wanted to kill for the thrill of killing, like a serial murderer. I think the motive had to have something to do with the fact Tara was a beautiful, popular young woman: Either someone was attracted to her or was angry or jealous about one of her romantic relationships.

I've heard Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes were roommates when Tara went missing. I've heard this so much I believe it's true, but I've confusingly heard they lived in Valdosta, Tifton and Fitzgerald.

I've heard that Bo has said that Ryan showed up in the middle of the night on October 23, 2005, and said he needed help with something.

The GBI's tale alleges that Tara's body was destroyed between October 23 and October 28, 2005 at a pecan orchard called Fitzgerald Farms, north of the town of Fitzgerald. So far, to public knowledge, only Bo Dukes has been charged in relation to the allegations regarding the pecan orchard.

I believe Tara's remains were found.

We probably would know that already, but the gag order is probably preventing it. The GBI announced the search at the orchard on February 28, and by March 3, the search was apparently over. This highly suggests they found what they were searching for.

I've heard that Bo Dukes had trouble pointing out the exact location of the burn site. And every rumor I've heard since the day of the announcement of Ryan Duke's arrest has said the body was burned. I even heard that before the arrest announcement.

I have no idea if Tara's pocketbook and keys, or any jewelry she may have been wearing, were found.

So how did this crime stay a secret for more than 11 years?

It didn't.

I've been told it was like an urban legend to young people of a certain age group, although they were only kids when Tara went missing. Somehow people throughout the community seemed to be accusing Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes even in the hours before Ryan Duke's arrest was announced. And I think some people had heard the rumor but dismissed it because they thought it had been investigated and found false.

I believe that in 2005, a tipster overheard some talk at a party that alarmed him. I believe that between 2 and 6 weeks after Tara went missing, local law enforcement officers were told about this tipster's allegations. I believe this led to a search at a pecan orchard north of Ocilla known as Fitzgerald Farms.

In 2005.

Nothing was found. I was told the tipster couldn't find the burn pile or found the wrong burn pile. Remember, I heard Bo Dukes also had trouble locating the burn pile. It's a big orchard. I've heard 100 to 150 acres.

I don't know how far the investigation went, such as whether Ryan Duke was interviewed. Right now, we can look back with our perfect vision and say, "That should have been investigated more heavily," and we'd be right. But this was 2005, and that was a strange time for Ben Hill-Irwin community, especially for law enforcement.

Usually, the most damning trouble an officer has to deal with in Irwin County is a deer vs. car wreck, because there are a lot of them. Suddenly, the officers in Irwin and Ocilla were getting flooded with tips and leads. "Check yonder near that old silo!" "I heard there was a moonshiner's shanty house back in them woods!" "I saw somebody acting funny at the swamp!"

This is how I think the media coverage in Tara's case might have actually hurt, because law enforcement was following so many tips, they might not have been able to tell the bad from the good. And, if you think about it, "I was drinking at a party and heard somebody bragging about killing Tara Grinstead" doesn't really sound like a good tip.

And I think, to a large degree, the local law enforcement served as an unintentional filter for the GBI, because I believe GBI Special Agent In Charge JT Ricketson was being honest when he said Ryan Duke was "never on our radar." Even if it wasn't true, I think he believed it was true. I doubt the tip was ever handed up to the GBI because there didn't seem to be anything to it.

In probably 2008, I called in a tip about someone who thought the people who killed Tara were out to get him. I talked to local deputies and they checked it out, determined there was nothing to it, and that was it. My tip involved someone who was later investigated by the GBI, but I was never even called by the GBI about it, so I doubt that tip was passed up either.

Maybe it didn't need to be passed up, as I don't think my tip had anything to do with Tara's disappearance. But with this other tipster, the one who talked about Ryan Duke, I think the filter may have filtered out the wrong thing.

In early 2006, I believe, some sort of tip led to a massive search of the Queensland area, which is very near the pecan orchard. This was a time when the tips had slowed down and a search was worth a news story on its own. It makes you wonder if this was someone else coming forward with a similar tip, but this time it was someone anonymous who could not point out the specific location in person.

I'm just about done, but I will say that according to the guys I talked to in jail, Ryan Duke is being kept mostly isolated from the other inmates. Apparently he has gotten a haircut, and a shave, too, I think.

I want to address some of you conspiracy theorists out there. Let go. I know some of you have believed for years that this person or that person was guilty of something in Tara's case, but to continue to hold onto these diabolical fantasies about people who should be cleared at this point is maddeningly arrogant and truly thoughtless.

I'm not sure I believe the GBI's story yet, because we really haven't heard it in full, but around Ocilla, where people have lived and breathed this case for more than a decade, no one believes any of the usual suspects associated with Tara were involved in any way. I haven't heard the first rumor locally that involved anyone whose name was known outside Ocilla before February 23.

And I hear a lot of rumors, as you've read.