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Documents say accused Grinstead killer may have confessed in 2005

New court documents say the man charged with killing Tara Grinstead and his alleged accomplice may have confessed to friends in 2005

The man accused of killing Tara Grinstead in 2005 and another man accused of helping him may have confessed to friends just a few weeks later.

Last week, the attorney for murder suspect Ryan Duke filed 23 motions in the case.

On Wednesday, the defense filed three, and WMAZ obtained copies of all the motions Friday morning through an open-records request.

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The three new motions ask the court to dismiss the indictment against Duke altogether -- arguing that the wording of the counts in the indictment is "too vague and ambiguous."

But, more importantly, the defense has also asked the court to throw out 5 of 6 charges against Duke based on the "statute of limitations."

Georgia law states that for five of the charges against Duke, including aggravated assault, burglary, and felony murder, the statue of limitations expires four years from the date of a crime.

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This motion includes three exhibits from the GBI case file, explaining that Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes allegedly confessed to a group of people while intoxicated at a party on a pecan orchard off Bowen's Mill Highway in 2005.

According to the motion, a man at the party, Garland Lott, told law enforcement, who later searched the pecan orchard for Grinstead's remains in 2005, but found nothing.

The GBI also searched for Grinstead's remains at a pecan orchard off Bowen's Mill Highway in 2017, but never revealed what they found.

The third motion requests a hearing on whether to throw out any incriminating statements Duke made to law enforcement without his lawyer present.

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That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 9:30 a.m. at the Irwin County Courthouse.

According to documents obtained in our open records request, District Attorney, Paul Bowden, also submitted a 52-person witness list to the defense this week, and filed a 'notice' demanding that Ryan Duke submit a written alibi to the state.

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