Bo Dukes, who concealed Tara Grinstead’s death, reports to prison

ajc.com

The man who helped conceal the body of a former beauty queen and South Georgia teacher is now a state inmate. Bo Dukes was booked this week into the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Butts County.

A mug shot showed Dukes, 34, with a newly-shaved head.

Dukes was convicted March 21 for his role in Tara Grinstead's October 2005 murder He wasn't charged with killing Grinstead, but instead was alleged to have helped a former friend burn her body at his family's pecan farm.

It took the jury less than an hour to convict Dukes on four counts, including two counts of making a false statement, hindering the apprehension of a criminal and concealing the death of another. The following day he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The trial for Grinstead’s accused killer, Ryan Alexander Duke, was set to begin Monday in Irwin County.

But late last week, the Georgia Supreme Court halted the trial, graning a request by Duke's lawyers. His attorneys, John and Ashleigh Merchant, contend they were unconstitutionally denied funds for experts they need to testify on Duke's behalf. A new trial date has not yet been set.