Documents reveal possible confession in Tara Grinstead murder case

ATLANTA - The man accused of killing a Georgia teacher and former beauty queen in 2005 and the man accused of helping him cover it up, may have confessed to friends a few weeks after the crime.

That is according to a number of motions filed by Ryan Duke's defense team.

His lawyers asked the court to dismiss the indictment against Duke.

They argue the wording of the charges was too vague and ambiguous.

They were also citing the statute of limitations, noting a Georgia Bureau of Investigation case file that reveals Duke and Bo Dukes allegedly confessed to Tara Grinstead's murder while intoxicated at a party and someone there alerted authorities.

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Tara Grinstead was reported missing in October 2005 when she didn't show up for work at a school in rural Irwin County. The case went cold until new information led to the arrest in February 2017 of Ryan Alexander Duke, a former student at the school where Grinstead taught.

But authorities have been tight-lipped about what led to the arrest and any motive behind the slaying.

Duke burglarized the teacher's home in Ocilla, about 190 miles south of Atlanta, and used his hands to kill her inside the residence, according to warrants that were read at a court hearing when his arrest was announced. He removed her body from the home with the intent of concealing her death, the warrants said.

Duke was indicted in April on two counts of felony murder and one count each of malice murder, aggravated assault, burglary and concealing the death of another.

A second man, Bo Dukes, was indicted in June on charges of concealing a death, tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension of a criminal.

RELATED: Ryan Duke pleads not guilty in Tara Grinstead murder case, arraignment waived

The Associated Press contributed to this report