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Speaker 1: Tera Gornstead was a thirty year old former beauty queen

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Speaker 1: and local high school teacher living in the small town

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Speaker 1: of Oscilla, Georgia. This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

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Speaker 1: When I first started digging around in this case, back

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Speaker 1: before I even released the first episode of the podcast,

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Speaker 1: Marie started getting weird messages on Facebook from a fake account.

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Speaker 1: The Nancy Grace Show aired a series of live interviews.

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Speaker 1: Nancy interviewed Terra's neighbor, Joe Portier. During the interview, Joe

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Speaker 1: revealed a very crucial piece of information dates, times, people's names.

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Speaker 1: I had to know it all. Mind you, I am

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Speaker 1: not a podcaster and I'm definitely not an investigator, But

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Speaker 1: I was determined to tell Tara story, and most of all,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to know what app the toure. She was

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Speaker 1: the All American beauty queen. She won the title of

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Speaker 1: Miss tiffton she competed in Georgia. She used her pageant

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Speaker 1: winnings to fund her education, getting her college degree, than

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Speaker 1: going on for a master's degree and then taking a

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Speaker 1: position teaching history at Erwin County High School and the

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Speaker 1: quiet and rural town of Oscilla, Georgia. Now you would

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Speaker 1: think that in Oscilla, which is very rural, and what

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Speaker 1: I mean by that is you're not close to a

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Speaker 1: big interstate. It's a low population, hence a low crime rate.

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Speaker 1: What could possibly go wrong? Well, that evening something did

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Speaker 1: go horribly wrong. After a school picnic, a barbecue of sorts,

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Speaker 1: Tera Grinstead heads home, not far away at all, just

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Speaker 1: a matter of miles and she's never seen alive again.

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Speaker 1: That was in Leave It or Not two thousand five

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Speaker 1: October twenty two, two thousand five, and Beauty Queen Tara

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Speaker 1: Grinstead has never been seen again. I was so intrigued

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Speaker 1: by the story. I traveled to Oscilla to meet with

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Speaker 1: TERA's mother. I went through her home. For those of

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Speaker 1: you joining us, let me say welcome to crime stories

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Speaker 1: with Nancy Grace. Joining me is a man who was very,

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Speaker 1: very familiar with this story. It's not just a story

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Speaker 1: for us, it's a case to be solved. And joining

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Speaker 1: me is Payne Lindsay, who has done his own investigating

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Speaker 1: on the case. Paine. The day Tara goes missing, let

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Speaker 1: me say, the night she goes missing. Tell me your

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Speaker 1: analysis of the timeline. Let's start with that, and then

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you what I observed in her home. Sure,

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Speaker 1: So from my knowledge, Tara's day started with helping some

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Speaker 1: some of her younger students who were in a patch

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Speaker 1: that day get ready to get their hair and make

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Speaker 1: up done at her house. So started there in the

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Speaker 1: morning around lunchtime, and after that she made her way

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Speaker 1: to the pageant and stayed there tour around seven. Right

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Speaker 1: where where was the pageant? So the pageant was in Fitzgerald,

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Speaker 1: which is about fifteen fifteen or so minutes from Oscilla

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Speaker 1: from her house, so it's one town over, but it's

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Speaker 1: all part of the same sort of area, same county.

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Speaker 1: So that evening the pageant girls were attending a pageant

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Speaker 1: in Fitzgerald, which was about fifteen minutes away, and so

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Speaker 1: Tara goes to the pageant. Tara leaves the pageant and

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Speaker 1: around seven, eight fifteen, she arrives at a friend's barbecue,

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Speaker 1: and it was a small little get together with some

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Speaker 1: neighbors and some friends, and she stays there. Okay, back

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Speaker 1: it up right there, Paine. Don't mean to interrupt, but

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Speaker 1: I've got to I've got to narrow this town here.

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Speaker 1: So you say a small barbecue, wasn't the principal from

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Speaker 1: her school there. That's correct. It was her house, it

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Speaker 1: was it was it was his house at his house.

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Speaker 1: Now is he married? He is, yes? Does he have children?

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Speaker 1: Were they there? He does have children. I believe that

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Speaker 1: they were there. I think there were a lot younger. Okay.

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Speaker 1: Who else was there beside the principal who was hosting

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Speaker 1: the event, his wife, possibly his children. Who else was there?

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Speaker 1: So of the people that I know for sure that

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Speaker 1: we're there, the only two that I can name was

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Speaker 1: certainty would be her ex boyfriend, Marcus Harper's parents. They

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Speaker 1: were there. Right a minute, you said the boyfriend. Now

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Speaker 1: is this the boyfriend that was former law enforcement? That's correct?

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Speaker 1: And his parents were there, that's correct. Okay. Was that

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Speaker 1: not a sticky situation with her and her ex there? Um?

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Speaker 1: You know, ten years later, eleven years later, you know,

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Speaker 1: it does seem a little odd. I mean, Marcus Harper,

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Speaker 1: her ex boyfriend was not here, but her his parents were. Okay,

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Speaker 1: I thought you said the boyfriend was there? So were there? Okay?

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Speaker 1: All right? I guarantee you. Now I'm speaking for them

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Speaker 1: with no knowledge on this anyway, but I guarantee you

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Speaker 1: she was quote the one that got away, absolutely because

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Speaker 1: who couldn't help but love Tara Grinstead. You know, I'm

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Speaker 1: sure his parents must have wanted those two to stay together. Well,

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Speaker 1: that was not meant to be. Did she break up

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Speaker 1: with him or did he break up with her? You

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Speaker 1: know it was It was a weird situation. It was

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Speaker 1: an on and off thing for for a while. They

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Speaker 1: were they had a long relationship of about five years. Hey,

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Speaker 1: no offense, but just answer the question, who broke up

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Speaker 1: with you? I believe it was. At first it was Tara,

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Speaker 1: and then they got back together, and then Marcus broke

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Speaker 1: up with her and sealed it and that was it.

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Speaker 1: So Tara at that point I wanted to get back

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Speaker 1: with him. She was rejected, and the tables turned on Tara.

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Speaker 1: Do you see what I'm saying. I know what you're

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Speaker 1: telling me is backed up by some of your own investigation,

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Speaker 1: But I just find it hard to believe that anybody

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Speaker 1: would break up with Tara Grinstead. She's beautiful, sweet, loving,

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Speaker 1: a teacher. Everybody loved her. I don't get it, Okay,

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Speaker 1: but you know what what goes on in the minds

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Speaker 1: of men. Now you may think that that's irrelevant, but

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Speaker 1: in my mind, who broke up with who is not

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Speaker 1: irrelevant and awfully Who says she wanted to get back

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Speaker 1: with him and she was rejected. Who who told you that? Well,

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Speaker 1: actually I know that because I have some of her emails,

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Speaker 1: and um, I mentioned them in the podcast. Actually it's

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Speaker 1: called Up and Vanish. But um, if you know if

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Speaker 1: these emails are in fact her writing, which I believe

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Speaker 1: that they are. Um, she is emailing Marcus Harper's mother

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Speaker 1: begging for him back. And I think it was just

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Speaker 1: I think it was more of the idea that she

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Speaker 1: was rejected for the first time. Yeah, you know that

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Speaker 1: hurts slutely does the first time you're dumped. But you

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Speaker 1: know what, looking back, you know there's a country song,

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Speaker 1: God's greatest gift is unanswered prayers. Okay, so when you

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Speaker 1: get that first rejection, it really stings. But I'm pretty

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Speaker 1: sure God has a plan. So he breaks up with

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Speaker 1: her according to you, and you discuss that on Up

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Speaker 1: in Vanishes that the name of your podcast. Yes, okay,

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Speaker 1: so they break up, but it's simmering. It's back and forth,

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Speaker 1: back and forth. She's at this barbecue, okay, picking up

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Speaker 1: their pain. So at the barbecue, she's there untill about

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Speaker 1: eleven o'clock PM, school night. This is on a Saturday night.

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Speaker 1: This is October, so this is a Saturday night. So

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Speaker 1: stays at the barbecue till about eleven o'clock PM, leaves

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Speaker 1: the barbecue and presumably goes home, but she's never seen

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Speaker 1: again after she leaves the barbecue. How far away did

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Speaker 1: Tara live from the barbecue? About a two minute drive,

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Speaker 1: about a seven minute walk, minute drive, seven minute walk.

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Speaker 1: And she was in her car, wasn't she? That's correct. Now,

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Speaker 1: there's been a lot of discussion. Was she run off

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Speaker 1: the road? And again, this is not this is not Miami,

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Speaker 1: it's not San Francisco, this is not New York, Long Island, Philadelphia, Boston.

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Speaker 1: There's not a whole lot of high speed freeway chases

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Speaker 1: in Oscilla. Okay, it's a two lane. However, the problem

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Speaker 1: with the tu lane is a lot of it is

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Speaker 1: through densely wooded area. But it's a two where nobody

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Speaker 1: would see what happened. But her car, as I recall,

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Speaker 1: was found at her home. Is that right? That's correct?

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Speaker 1: It was? Now what items of her? So I have

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Speaker 1: always contended that she made it home that night. It

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Speaker 1: was a two minute drive, and that's where things went sideways.

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Speaker 1: Now of her belongings, keys, purse, and cell phone. What

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Speaker 1: was still in her home? Pain? So inside was herself,

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Speaker 1: ohone on the charger, but her keys and her purse

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Speaker 1: were missing. I just don't see her leaving that home

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Speaker 1: without her cell phone. Yeah don't. I don't either. I

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Speaker 1: don't see it. If you're gonna bring your person your keys,

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Speaker 1: you know, that's kind of that's the third thing you

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Speaker 1: usually grab if you're leaving the house. It sounds to

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Speaker 1: me and maybe I'm projecting pain. But when I come in,

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Speaker 1: first of all, the children still my chargers constantly for

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Speaker 1: their iPads. But I don't know what Santa had in

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Speaker 1: his mind when he gave them iPads two years ago.

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Speaker 1: But I would never have condoned that. Now they run

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Speaker 1: off with them like squirrels with a nut. And when

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Speaker 1: I come home and look for a charger, forget about it.

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Speaker 1: But once I go for my my usual um hunt

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Speaker 1: scavengers hunt, one of the first things I do is

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Speaker 1: plug everything up so it'll be ready when I need it.

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Speaker 1: So I just got maybe I'm projecting the idea that

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Speaker 1: she comes in plugs in herself and she's been gone

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Speaker 1: all day to the pageant, rehearsal, blah blah blah, the barbecue.

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Speaker 1: She's been out of the home all day. She comes home,

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Speaker 1: plugs at in, and then something happens. Now, when I

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Speaker 1: was in the home, pain and I was there with

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Speaker 1: her mother, and we went through every room, room by

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Speaker 1: room with a fine tooth come nothing was out of place. Again,

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Speaker 1: it was like a dollhouse that somebody had set up.

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Speaker 1: And I say that only because it was very small,

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Speaker 1: but it was beautifully decorated and appointed. No, there was

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Speaker 1: no sign of a struggle. No windows were broken, the

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Speaker 1: door had been pride open, nothing had been ransacked. Nothing.

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Speaker 1: So she takes her keys and her purse. She had,

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Speaker 1: I think, to go with someone that knew her. So

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Speaker 1: what what do you think happens? Then she's home? Did

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Speaker 1: you say eleven o'clock? Eleven o'clock, yes, And the next

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Speaker 1: day would be Sunday. Now she was reported missing on

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Speaker 1: what day? Monday morning? She didn't show up for school.

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Speaker 1: She was a teacher, and she no call, no showed,

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Speaker 1: and her students were worried and they called the police

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Speaker 1: and they went to her house. Now I'm a little

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Speaker 1: perplexed by that, because I would have thought she would

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Speaker 1: have gone missing at church the next day, or that

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Speaker 1: her parents may have thought it odd that she was

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Speaker 1: not in touch with them all day Sunday, and that

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Speaker 1: was the thing. Um. The alarm really wasn't raised until

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Speaker 1: later on in the afternoon evening time. And so Tara's

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Speaker 1: mother called a family friend who is a police officer

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Speaker 1: from Parry to go drive and check on Tara. So

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Speaker 1: he drove their Sunday night, knocked on her door, no answer,

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Speaker 1: and put his business card in the door and left

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Speaker 1: and went back home. Okay, let's go through that again.

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Speaker 1: So the mother does get concerned on Sunday when she

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Speaker 1: doesn't hear from Terry, right, and she calls a friend

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Speaker 1: in law enforcement in nearby Perry, Georgia, which is about

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Speaker 1: the geographic middle of the state, not not exactly but almost.

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Speaker 1: So the former law enforcement from Parry drives then to Oscilla.

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Speaker 1: Did the mother go there for us? I assume that

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Speaker 1: she did. No, she didn't. She just called um this

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Speaker 1: man and he went by himself. He goes over and

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Speaker 1: what does he find? From my knowledge, all he found

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Speaker 1: was that her car was in the driveway, but Tira

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Speaker 1: either wasn't in the house. Or she wasn't coming to

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Speaker 1: the door, and he left his business card wedged in

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Speaker 1: the front door to let him know, to let her

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Speaker 1: know that he was there, and then he left and

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Speaker 1: went home. Okay, so he goes, why does she call him?

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Speaker 1: Who is he to this scenario? You know, if he

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Speaker 1: used to date Tara back in high school. I believe

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Speaker 1: they had some sort of dating relationship, but he was

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Speaker 1: mainly just a family friend and somebody that her mother trusted,

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Speaker 1: So that's why she called him. If he comes over,

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Speaker 1: he checks her home again, what time did the mother

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Speaker 1: call him? This would be around I believe ten thirty

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Speaker 1: eleven o'clock at night. So this man didn't get to

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Speaker 1: her house until around midnight Sunday night, Monday morning, So

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Speaker 1: at that point she still wasn't called in missing, correct,

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Speaker 1: that's correct. The mother may have thought, Okay, she's out

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Speaker 1: for a night and didn't tell me. I'm not gonna

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Speaker 1: embarrass her. I'm not going to make a big deal

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Speaker 1: out of it. And so we get to Monday morning.

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Speaker 1: Then what happens? So Monday morning she doesn't show up

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Speaker 1: for school. Um students and teachers are worried, so the

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Speaker 1: local police is called and they go to terrace house

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Speaker 1: and the next door neighbor actually had a key to

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Speaker 1: the house and he let the police officers in and

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Speaker 1: they found the business card, and they also found a

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Speaker 1: latex glove in the front yard just to stone throw

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Speaker 1: away from her front door. Um, just actually just a

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Speaker 1: few feet. Everyone. Payne's podcast is up and vanished and

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Speaker 1: it's dedicated to the disappearance of Tera Grinstead. I'm just

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Speaker 1: telling you, by the looks of the inside of her home,

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Speaker 1: which was immaculate, and the inside of her car spotless,

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Speaker 1: there's no way she would have allowed any kind of trash,

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Speaker 1: including this late ex glove lay right by our front

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Speaker 1: porch in the yard. No way. So I'm telling you

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Speaker 1: that had to have been dropped during the kidnap. Okay,

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Speaker 1: it had to be. So what else do we know?

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Speaker 1: So she's reported missing Monday at what time around eight

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Speaker 1: thirty when she didn't show up for school in the morning. Okay,

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Speaker 1: what else do we know about the crime scene? So

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Speaker 1: there's very little evidence really, you know, like you said,

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Speaker 1: the house was pretty much immaculate. There wasn't really any

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Speaker 1: signs of a struggle. You just had this random latex glove,

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Speaker 1: Her keys and her person are missing. Um, you know, interestingly,

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Speaker 1: her front door was was locked shut and her car

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Speaker 1: door was found unlocked. So somebody either Terry either walked

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Speaker 1: outside of her house willingly and locked her door, or

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Speaker 1: a kidnapper locked the door or came back and dropped

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Speaker 1: her cell phone off or something like that and locked

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Speaker 1: the door. Then so local pol he's immediately called the

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Speaker 1: g b I feeling that something was very wrong. She

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Speaker 1: didn't just take off for a long weekend. Also, it's

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Speaker 1: a very small community, so word traveled quickly that she

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Speaker 1: was gone about I guess it was fab two thousand nine,

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Speaker 1: a video surfaced on the Internet featuring a self proclaimed

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Speaker 1: serial killer called the Catch Me Killer, and he suggested

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Speaker 1: that he was responsible for her disappearance. What became of that?

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Speaker 1: We're talking about twenty seven year old Andrew Haley? What

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Speaker 1: was that all about? So at first it was pretty alarming,

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Speaker 1: and you know it was the family was notified and

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Speaker 1: the gb I got right on it and they took

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Speaker 1: it very seriously. But after some further investigation, they traced

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Speaker 1: the IP address and found out that it was just

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Speaker 1: a man playing a prank. It was some sort of

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Speaker 1: sick hoax. That he was playing, and he was eventually

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Speaker 1: charged with that and served time in prison for that.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about the latex glove. I'm sure that it

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Speaker 1: was tested at the time, but when I say at

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Speaker 1: the time, I'm talking about two thousand and five. Since then,

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Speaker 1: there have been major developments in touch DNA, in mitochondrial DNA,

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Speaker 1: and why filer DNA, which wi filer probably wouldn't apply

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Speaker 1: to this because wi filer is used to identify male

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Speaker 1: DNA in a c of female DNA, but hey, I'm

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Speaker 1: just a trial lawyer. It may a scientist would have

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Speaker 1: to weigh in on that. My point is so many

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Speaker 1: developments have been made in DNA and forensics. I'm just

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Speaker 1: wondering if the GBI has retested it, what do we

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Speaker 1: know about potential persons of interest? And everybody's submit to

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Speaker 1: questioning polygraphs DNA tests, what do we know paying There

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Speaker 1: were several polygraph tests and the g b I also

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Speaker 1: claims to have swabbed over two hundred different people in

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Speaker 1: this case for DNA, and there hasn't been a single

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Speaker 1: match on the glove. M Marcus Harper, the ex boyfriend

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Speaker 1: of Tiara, did submit a polygraph test, but it was

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Speaker 1: a private polygraph test, and the g b I does

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Speaker 1: not accept those. Well, of course they don't, because here's

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Speaker 1: the thinking about why law enforcement doesn't take private polly's.

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Speaker 1: Number one, you don't know the conditions under which the

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Speaker 1: polly was administered. You're not really sure of the questions.

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Speaker 1: For instance, if you ask the question did you see

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Speaker 1: the latest Harry Potter? That really has nothing to do

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Speaker 1: with it, and the person is not going to get

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Speaker 1: tripped up on the answer, they'll tell a truthfully answer.

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Speaker 1: You've got to know what the questions are for all,

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Speaker 1: I know, in a in a private polly, you could

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Speaker 1: have the answers written out, the person could just read them. Sure,

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Speaker 1: you know, you don't know what's going on in a

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Speaker 1: private polly. You don't know if the person took a

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Speaker 1: stative beforehand to loose alleviate rapid heart rate, no idea.

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Speaker 1: That's why they are largely discounted. Now, what can you

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Speaker 1: tell me about people that did or did not take

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Speaker 1: a voluntary DNA test? And now, that is simply an

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Speaker 1: oral swab. It's like getting a Q tip and running

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Speaker 1: it alongside the inside of your your cheek. That's all

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Speaker 1: that is. It's no big deal. For the most part,

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Speaker 1: pretty much everybody person of interest wise and close to

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Speaker 1: the case did submit a DNA sample. And the tough

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Speaker 1: part about this is that in in Georgia, the closed

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Speaker 1: records law prevents me or you of digging into their

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Speaker 1: files and seeing who exactly these people really are. So

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Speaker 1: I'm only I only know this from people that I've

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Speaker 1: interviewed and talked to personally, who have told me, yes,

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Speaker 1: I have submitted a DNA sample, or no I have not.

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Speaker 1: Now as anyone told you they did not, or they

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Speaker 1: refused to take it. Yes, So of everyone that I've

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Speaker 1: talked to, the only person that I know for sure

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Speaker 1: didn't submit a DNA swab, at least voluntarily, would be Troy,

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Speaker 1: the guy who had the barbecue that night. You mean,

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Speaker 1: the principle at the high school. That's correct, refused to

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Speaker 1: take a DNA test. That's what he told me. Why,

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Speaker 1: I don't really know. I think it was just a

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Speaker 1: He said he wasn't guilty, and he said that he

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Speaker 1: didn't feel like he had to do that, and that

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Speaker 1: was sort of his answer for all I know. Since then,

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Speaker 1: he may have taken it, But when did he tell

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Speaker 1: you he did not? Take it recently, that was better.

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Speaker 1: He told me that recently, uh this year. That would

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Speaker 1: be back in two thousand five and two thousand six,

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Speaker 1: whenever the g b I was interviewing him and requesting

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Speaker 1: that DNA sample. Now, the principle is not a suspect

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Speaker 1: or a person of interest. I can tell you this,

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Speaker 1: though paying There's more than one way to skin a

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Speaker 1: cash all right. You know, there have been a lot

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Speaker 1: of incidents where police get d NA off a star,

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Speaker 1: from cup, off a drinking glass, from a hair brush,

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Speaker 1: from actually a pizza crust. They have successfully taken DNA

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Speaker 1: from a pizza crust. Oh, yes they have. It wasn't

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Speaker 1: the easiest thing to do to set up the whole

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Speaker 1: thing and maintain a proper chain of custody of the

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Speaker 1: pizza crust, but it's been done. So people don't have

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Speaker 1: to volunteer to give a DNA sample. You can get

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Speaker 1: it in many many ways. Um Hence you look out

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Speaker 1: your backyard and say the FBI digging through your trash. Okay,

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Speaker 1: that's one way to get it. So for all I know,

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Speaker 1: they've got is a DNA, whether he's submitted to it

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Speaker 1: or not. Where does the case stand now? Pain. So

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Speaker 1: for the g B I, they seem pretty bent on

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Speaker 1: the idea that the glove is without a doubt linked

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Speaker 1: to terrorist, kidnapper and or killer, and they believe that

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Speaker 1: one day they'll get a match and that will solve

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Speaker 1: this case. I don't feel that way. Um. I feel

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Speaker 1: that the the glove itself could in fact be a plant,

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Speaker 1: or the DNA on the glove could just be a

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Speaker 1: a person from a factory or just you know, a manufacturer,

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Speaker 1: and that's why it doesn't match any person in this case.

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Speaker 1: I think the the solving this case hinges on the

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Speaker 1: idea that somebody does know something, even if it's something

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Speaker 1: small or minor, and they might not even know that

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Speaker 1: what they know is very important, but that we need

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Speaker 1: to discover that and connect all the dots, or collect

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Speaker 1: the dots and then connect the dots. And that's what

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Speaker 1: we're trying to do right now. Paying do you really

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Speaker 1: believe Okay, now, two things. Number One, when you say

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Speaker 1: d n A at the manufacturing plant where the latex

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Speaker 1: glove was made, that's entirely possible because I've relayed to

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Speaker 1: you the story about John Benet and her underwear and

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Speaker 1: the d n A on her underwear that matches nobody,

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Speaker 1: They detect us. I've been told in that case actually

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Speaker 1: went and bought girls underwear at a department store and

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Speaker 1: there was DNA on it already, which means that you know,

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Speaker 1: that's got to be from a plant where someone touched it,

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Speaker 1: handled it in some way. No one has seen Tara

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Speaker 1: Grinstead or heard from her since Saturday, October two thousand five.

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Speaker 1: A missing person's report was made October twenty four, two

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Speaker 1: thousand five, eight fifty a m two Oscilla Police Department

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Speaker 1: by neighbors. Tara had not shown up from work that morning.

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Speaker 1: Her parents could not reach her. The last known contact

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Speaker 1: with her was Saturday night, around eleven pm. There is

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Speaker 1: no known description of the clothing she was wearing when

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Speaker 1: she disappeared. Her home lot or car parked and unlocked,

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Speaker 1: missing her purse and keys. If you have information on

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Speaker 1: Tara Grinstead, contact the g b I at four seven,

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Speaker 1: eight nine, eight seven four or five four five Oscilla

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Speaker 1: Police to to nine for six eight seven four nine four,

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Speaker 1: repeat two two nine four six eight seven four nine

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Speaker 1: four or toll free one eight hundred five nine seven

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Speaker 1: tips one eight hundred five nine seven eight four seven

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Speaker 1: seven or go to tips at find Terra dot com.

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Speaker 1: You can stay anonymous. Pain. I want to thank you

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Speaker 1: for being with us, and more importantly, I want to

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Speaker 1: thank you all for listening. If any of you can

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Speaker 1: help solve the mystery of missing Terra Grin instead, please

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Speaker 1: call those numbers. Nancy Grace signing off, goodbye friend,