ABBEVILLE, Ga. — Final Update: 6:30 p.m.
A verdict was handed down Thursday in Wilcox County Superior Court for Bo Dukes, one of the men connected to the Tara Grinstead case.
Grinstead is the south Georgia beauty queen and teacher who vanished from her home in Ocilla in Irwin County back in 2005.
The jury found Dukes guilty of all four of his charges in Wilcox County: two counts of making false statements, one count of hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal and one count of concealing the death of another.
While Dukes was convicted of lying to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and concealing Grinstead's death, Ryan Duke is charged in Irwin County for actually murdering Grinstead. His trial is set to start in April.
In all, the state brought 21 witnesses to the stand, four recordings of GBI interviews, pictures of human bone fragments and a fiery closing argument.
Here's a summary of what happened in the fourth and final day in court:
Bo's girlfriend, Brooke Sheridan, said Bo suffered from panic attacks and suicidal thoughts after his June 2016 interview with the GBI.
A recorded interview between Bo and GBI Agent Logan Holland from February 2017 was released. The interview took place on a drive down to the Hudson pecan orchard in Ben Hill County from Perry. The interview reaffirmed statements Bo said about burning Grinstead's body in his video-recorded interview with GBI Agent Jason Shoudel.
Dukes' brother, Jake Dukes, testified and said he didn't find out Bo and Ryan Duke were connected to case or anything about the case until the news broke of their arrests in 2017.
The defense did not present a case, but delivered a closing argument trying to discredit prior witness, John McCullough, and say law enforcement dropped the ball on the investigation, since they had Bo and Ryan's name on file since 2005.
After the defense gave their closing argument, the state gave theirs, saying Bo repeatedly said 'no' in his GBI interviews and even a 'hell no' escaped from his mouth when asked if he ever spoke about burning Grinstead's body to McCullough.
A sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9 a.m. in Wilcox County Superior Court.
Bo still faces charges in Ben Hill County for allegedly burning Grinstead's body on his uncle's pecan orchard, and in Houston County for allegedly sexually assaulting two women at gunpoint.
COMPLETE BO DUKES TRIAL COVERAGE:
DAY 3: 'It's stuff you can't even tell a therapist:' GBI interview footage of Bo Dukes shown at trial
Here's a full breakdown of what happened during the day:
Update: 5:06 p.m.
The jury unanimously found Bo Dukes guilty on all four counts. A sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9 a.m.
Update: 4:46 p.m.
The jury has gone back into the deliberation room.
Update: 4:30 p.m.
The jury came out of the deliberation room to listen to Bo's June 2016 interview with GBI Agent Jason Shoudel again.
Update: 4:00 p.m.
Judge Chasteen gave instructions to the jury, and they went into deliberation around 4 p.m.
Update: 3:20 p.m.
The defense did not present anything and rested its case right after the lunch break.
CLOSING ARGUMENTS
"This case is like a fire... it burns everything and everyone up," Defense Attorney John Fox opened, explaining those are the words GBI Agent Jason Shoudel said to Dukes in his February 2017 interview.
Fox said he hates to use that terminology but couldn't agree more.
Fox said the case has consumed the lives of everyone involved, including Grinstead's family, the suspects and even the lives of the jury.
Fox reminded the jury again to keep Bo's charges in Ben Hill County and Ryan's soon-to-come murder trial separate of the charges being tried in this case.
Fox said to focus on the fact Bo was entirely intoxicated when he allegedly confessed to burning Grinstead's body to his army buddy, John McCullough in 2006, and it is reasonable Bo couldn't recall the conversation when interviewed by the GBI in 2016, a decade later.
"Draw on your own life experiences," Fox said.
He urged the jury to think of a time where they or someone they knew drank until they couldn't remember the night before. Fox went on to call McCullough an 'unreliable narrator' because of the differences between McCullough's two interviews with the GBI in 2016 and 2018.
He outlined each charge in the indictment to the jury and tried to negate the claims in each using the evidence presented in the case. Fox brought up to the jury again that Bo and Ryan's names were in reports since 2005 and the GBI had their names since 2008, but it was not looked in to.
"The answer was in their file, all they had to do was read it, and simply put, they dropped the ball," Fox said. "You cannot conceal from the state what they already know."
Fox ended his statement just after 2:30 p.m., and the state started theirs.
District Attorney for the Cordele Circuit Brad Rigby started his closing argument the same way he opened on Monday.
"It takes 1,200 degrees to burn human bones," Rigby said.
Rigby said Bo repeatedly said 'no' in his GBI interviews and even a 'hell no' escaped from his mouth.
"The whole defense in this case proves he's guilty," Rigby said.
Rigby took the jury through the evidence in the case, showing pictures of Grinstead's home, her bone fragments and the GBI search in the pecan orchard. He also walked them through the charges, much like Fox did, but explained why Dukes was guilty.
"Your job is to seek the truth," Rigby told the jury.
Rigby said Bo was at a crossroads in June 2016 when he was interviewed by GBI Agent Shoudel, but chose to protect himself and Ryan and 'embrace the darkness.'
Rigby mentioned a Bible scripture from the book of Isaiah, chapter 61.
"Today, your verdict can burn bright... it can burn hot," Rigby said.
The court took a short recess around 3:20 p.m.
Update: 12:00 p.m.
The recording continued after a short recess, where Bo talked about his time in the army with Holland.
After the recording ended, Bo's younger brother, Jake Dukes, came to the stand to testify. Jake said he didn't find out Bo and Ryan were connected to case or anything about the case until the news broke of their arrests in 2017.
Judge Robert Chasteen, Jr. explained to Bo before the court broke for lunchtime that he had a right to testify in the case, but it had to be of his own accord.
Bo turned down the opportunity to testify.
The state rested its case before the lunch break. Court will be back in session around 1:30 p.m.
Update: 10:50 a.m.
The recording continued from the drive down the orchard, and Bo described how Grinstead's body looked in the tall grass that day in 2005, and how they burned her body.
Bo said Grinstead's body was discolored and had marks around her neck.
"You could tell it was something," Bo said, in the recording.
He said it was cold that day and remembers wearing a sweatshirt. He said he and Ryan stacked a bunch of wood on top of the body to burn it.
Update 10:30 a.m.
GBI Agent Logan Holland was called to testify next. His testimony would bring forth the next recorded GBI interview.
Holland said he drove Bo down to the Hudson pecan orchard in Ben Hill County from Perry after Bo's interview with GBI Agent Jason Shoudel in February 2017.
In the interview with Shoudel, Bo confessed to helping burn Grinstead's body, and that Ryan had killed her. That video was shown Wednesday in court.
RELATED: 'It's stuff you can't even tell a therapist:' GBI interview footage of Bo Dukes shown at trial
This new recording was from the drive down to the orchard. In it, Bo said he didn't think Ryan told anyone what happened, but it had been a long time since the murder. Bo also said Ryan told him he didn't use gloves when moving Grinstead's body, even though there was a glove found in her yard back in 2005 and admitted into evidence.
On Wednesday, GBI forensic biologists testified and said Ryan's DNA was found on the glove. This was revealed in Ryan's bond hearing last month.
RELATED: Bond denied, new evidence revealed during hearing for man accused of killing Tara Grinstead
The recording continued, with Bo saying Ryan drank a lot and did cocaine occasionally. Bo said him and Ryan talked once in March 2016, and once again in the week before this interview. Before then, the last time Bo said he talked to Ryan was in 2007.
Update: 9:50 a.m.
Bo's current girlfriend, Brooke Sheridan, said on Jan. 10, 2017, Bo confessed to her that Ryan had killed Grinstead and he helped Ryan move and burn her body in the Hudson pecan orchard. By then, she said they had been dating for about a year and a half and were living together at Bo's mother's home in Rochelle.
After Bo confessed to Sheridan, she said they retraced his steps from that night, and drove through Ocilla and eventually to the pecan orchard.
According to Sheridan, Bo did tell her when he met with the GBI in June 2016, and said they were swabbing people for DNA. She said he didn't tell her he went alone.
Sheridan said since his June 2016 meeting with the GBI, Bo's behavior changed. She said he began to have panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.
Two or three weeks after Bo confessed to Sheridan in Jan. 2017, she said they broke up, but still remained in communication. She said she divulged the story to her close family members and was interviewed by the GBI.
While still in communication, Sheridan said she told Bo about Defense Attorney John Fox, and eventually resumed her romantic relationship with him.
Original story: 9:25 a.m. on Thursday
Thursday morning marked the start of day four of trial proceedings for Bo Dukes, the man accused of concealing Tara Grinstead's death back in 2005, in Wilcox County Superior Court.
Grinstead was the south Georgia beauty queen and teacher who vanished from her home in Ocilla in Irwin County in October 2005.
Dukes is charged with four counts in Wilcox County: two counts of making false statements, one count of hindering apprehension of a criminal and one count of concealing the death of another.
While Dukes is accused of concealing her death, Ryan Duke is accused of actually killing her. Duke's trial is set to start in April.
RELATED: Bond denied, new evidence revealed during hearing for man accused of killing Tara Grinstead
So far, 18 witnesses have been called by the state to testify and we've seen and heard three recordings of GBI interviews.
Dukes' current girlfriend, Brooke Sheridan kicked off witness testimonies for Thursday, starting at 9 a.m.
This is a developing story, stick with 13WMAZ for updates.
MORE TRIAL COVERAGE: