In February, law enforcement officials made an arrest in the alleged murder of Tara Grinstead, a high school teacher and former beauty queen, who disappeared in October 2005. On Thursday, Ryan Alexander Duke is set to be arraigned on charges related to her death. The arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 am ET in Irwin County Superior Court, and you can watch it in the player above.
Duke was a former student of Grinstead, authorities say. He is accused of breaking into Grinstead’s home, killing her, and hiding her body.
Grinstead was last seen alive on October 22, 2005 when she was leaving festival. She said she was going to meet friends. She was never seen alive again, and police found her cellphone, car, purse and dog, safe at her home in Ocilla, GA. At the time, there was no sign of any forced entry or struggle at the home. There had been reports of a former student trying to break into Grinstead’s home, but leads in the investigation dried up until new information surfaced earlier this year. Police announced they had made an arrest at a press conference on February 23.
Duke’s attorney has requested to conduct Thursday’s hearing without his client having to appear. It remains to be seen whether Duke will show up for the arraignment.
Chris White contributed to this report.