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Legal expert: Ryan Duke's testimony on own behalf may have swayed jury in his murder trial

Two men are now acquitted of murdering former beauty queen and teacher, Tara Grinstead.

ATLANTA — Ryan Duke has been acquitted of murder in Tara Grinstead’s death, nearly 17 years after Grinstead first disappeared from her Irwin County home in central Georgia.

Friday's verdict means there are now two men convicted of covering up Grinstead's death, but no one is convicted of killing her – even though both defendants blamed each other.

Duke was seen crying as the verdict was read in the courtroom. His defense team said that he just kept thanking them.

“He felt like the jury heard him and it’s something that’s been weighing on his mind for a very long time," said Duke's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant.

RELATED: Ryan Duke acquitted of murder in Tara Grinstead case

Tara Grinstead's parents sat in the courtroom expressionless as the verdict was delivered on Friday. Duke's brother, Stephen, addressed the media outside of the courthouse expressing his gratitude to the jury.

“Ryan has been locked up for a while now and we’re very thankful for the jury and listening and believing in him and we’re excited to get this chapter of our life over with and move on to the next one," he said.

During the trial, Ryan took the stand in his own defense – admitting to the court he helped hide Tara’s body, but blaming his roommate, Bo Dukes, for killing her.

11Alive legal expert Page Pate believes that this testimony was key to swaying the jury.

“In a case like this, where the state is going to say he confessed to making the crime here, to killing the person, you have to put your client on the stand to say he didn't do it," Pate said.

The prosecution tried to counter Duke's testimony by pointing out he previously confessed to police he had strangled Grinstead. The defense argued he made that confession under the influence of drugs. Bo Dukes was convicted in 2019 of moving Grinstead's body, but was never charged with murder. Pate said determining who actually killed Grinstead has proven difficult.

“The biggest problem is they've pursued multiple theories of who did it. So, it's almost impossible now to step back and say, okay, wait a minute, there's some entirely different person who's involved or it's this first guy, Bo Dukes," he explained.

Duke is set to be sentenced on Monday, and Grinstead's family is expected to speak during the hearing. 

Duke's defense attorneys said he doesn't plan to speak during the sentencing hearing.

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