OCILLA, Ga. — A jury has found a man accused of killing a popular high school teacher in 2005 not guilty of murder.

Tara Grinstead vanished from rural Irwin County, Georgia. She was last seen leaving a cookout.

Ryan Duke had told investigators in 2017 he killed Grinstead and helped Bo Dukes burn her body.

Duke went as far as telling Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents details that had not been made public.

But when he took the witness stand during his trial, he insisted he was innocent and that it was his friend who had killed her.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the jury acquitted Duke of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary but found him guilty of concealing a death.

Grinstead’s body has never been found. However, her DNA was found in bone fragments located in the area that Duke said she was burned.

Duke will be sentenced Monday.

CINCINNATI — A former Hamilton County deputy fired for "excessive force" against an inmate in June 2020, was found not guilty Friday of assaulting the same prisoner.

Judge Bernie Bouchard acquitted Jesse Franklin, 39, of misdemeanor assault following a brief bench trial in Hamilton County Municipal Court.

"He had a use-of-force that the judge found was lawful," Franklin's defense attorney Mike Allen said. "He kicked him to take away the threat."

Nick Ballanchino was being processed by then-Sgt. Franklin at the Hamilton County Justice Center June 9, 2020, after being arrested for disorderly conduct while intoxicated and obstructing official business.

Jail video shows deputies struggling to get the hand-cuffed Ballanchino under control. Deputies took Ballanchino to the floor where Franklin said the prisoner bit down on Franklin's boot. In response, Franklin kicked Ballanchino in the head, resulting in a hospitalization where the inmate received five stitches, according to a release from Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters' office.

Sheriff Jim Neil said Franklin was fired in July 2020 “after an investigation revealed that he used excessive force.” Ballanchino filed a lawsuit against Franklin and the Sheriff's Office, saying he still gets headaches and dizziness from the incident.

Allen said he expects Franklin to try to get his job back.

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