Why was Ryan Duke acquitted of murdering Tara Grinstead?

Dateline reports that Ryan Duke's defense, led by Ashley Merchant, argued his 2017 confession was false. A GBI witness agreed a credit card could not open Grinstead's hotel-style latch if it was engaged, and a crime scene tech found no blood or cleanup in the house. Duke testified that Bo Dukes told him he killed her and that he was on drugs during the confession. Merchant said jurors told her they believed Dukes was capable of the crime and that police had blinders on.

• Bo Dukes invoked the Fifth Amendment to every question when the defense called him.
• Defense lawyer John Merchant argued Dukes planted the glove on purpose.
• The jury deliberated about eight hours before returning not guilty on the murder counts.

▸In their words

“That's one of the biggest hurdles that we've got in this case, because juries believe confessions.” Ashley Merchant · at 1:14:20 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Dateline NBC (2026-11-03). Read the whole episode summary →

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